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Wayne Liew Interview: Peek Into This Free Travel Guides and Trending Attractions Blog
Wayne Liew Interview: Peek Into This Free Travel Guides and Trending Attractions Blog
Brilliant
as it may sound, the cool concept of meeting a fellow travel blogger is
not only a nice perk when it comes to this blogging community, but also, it’s
an intensely fantastic learning experience – because you get to know more about
their travel hacks and histories. Such is the case for this fellow travel
blogger, who I am quite fortunate to have met here because of the one
of the posts I had about his homeland, Malaysia.
kuaby [kwa-bee] verb. The act of researching, understanding or finding out more about an attraction, city or a country for an upcoming trip, journey, holiday or adventure. Wayne Liew created a travel blog, mostly as an outlet to apply what he enjoys doing. Nevertheless, he’s an online advertising specialist at an education technology company. So cool, right?
Quite undeniable that his travel blog is way cooler and more comprehensive than mine, which I really find awesome. Kuaby, is Wayne’s blog baby. He’s background is quite similar to mine, except that he’s Chinese, and I, on the other hand, am Chinese Looking. He has a full-time job in one of the coolest capitals in South East Asia, home of the twin of twins – Petronas. Yes, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
It’s time
to pick his brain farts over here and get to know more about a life of a travel
blogger in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Here you go! A shout
out to Wayne for doing an excellent job in having this Q&A.
Bowdy: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and where you are from?
Wayne: Hi,
Bowdy. I am Wayne. I was born in Penang, Malaysia, but I now live and work
in Kuala Lumpur, which is the capital of the country.
Right
now, I work as an online advertising specialist at an education technology
company while running kuaby, a travel website of mine on the side. I launched
kuaby about a year ago because I saw how it could become the ideal project
where my expertise in online marketing, my passion for traveling, and my desire
to learn photography come together.
My career
and my life, in general, has always revolved around the Internet. When I was
still in high school, I started a phpBB forum for my schoolmates. It became the
go-to place for gossips and discussions among them.
Right
after that, I launched a personal blog. I faced design issues with a free
template that I was using. While Googling for solutions, I came across blogging
forums, and they quickly became my favorite sites to visit. I was learning so
much about online marketing, content writing, basic coding, and how to monetize
websites.
From
there, I set up hundreds of niche sites, and they were earning me extra pocket
money through affiliate marketing when I was in college. At the same time, I
was actively blogging and posting on social media about everything I learned.
Even
though I was studying accountancy back in college, my career in that field
didn't last for long. Two years after I joined an audit firm, Rocket Internet
entered the Southeast Asia region with both Zalora and Lazada. They discovered
me through my blog and the content that I was putting up. Long story short, I
was bought out from my audit firm to work with Lazada Malaysia on search engine
optimization (SEO).
As a
person, I have the INTJ personality according to the Myers-Briggs Personality
Test. My first encounter with people is always awkward because I am bad at
small talks. However, if we share common interests and get along well, our
conversations can last for days.
Bowdy:
What are the three things that people would be surprised to know about Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia, and why they should come visit?
Wayne: First of
all, most street vendors at touristy places like Petaling Street, as well as
waiters and waitresses working at restaurants, are not Malaysians. Younger
Malaysians prefer desk jobs in offices. As a result, businesses had to hire
foreign workers to fill these vacancies.
Secondly,
the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur has a lot of nature to offer. You can find many
villas with pools in the jungle, an elephant sanctuary, glamping spots,
highlands and more where locals usually go for weekend getaways. The only
downside is that you'll need to spend one to three hours in a car, but it is
usually worth the drive.
Last but
not least, Kuala Lumpur has many highly-rated speakeasy bars despite the fact
that the majority of people living here are Muslims. If you are interested,
look for PS150, Omakase + Appreciate, Suzie Wong and The Attic to get started.
KL offers
a broad range of attractions, but the real charm of the city is the diversity
and friendliness of the people living here. Strike up conversations with them.
It doesn't matter if they are a local, an expat or a foreign worker, their
story and perspective on Kuala Lumpur as a city will fascinate you. Ask them
for food recommendations too. Everyone living in Kuala Lumpur is a
self-proclaimed foodie in some way.
Bowdy: What is it like working in a blogger in Malaysia? The Good, The Bad, The Funny
Wayne: Blogging
is a very common part-time profession here. Over the years, there are at least
five local blogs that evolved from part-time passion projects to large digital
businesses.
It is very easy to find free Wi-Fi hotspots in Kuala Lumpur, so
most restaurants or cafés here are blogger-friendly.
The bad thing about working as a blogger in Malaysia is our
currency, ringgit that is plummeting in value over time. Most blogging or
social media apps out there charge in US Dollars, so as ringgit as a currency
becomes weaker, these apps become more expensive for us.
The funny thing about Malaysian bloggers is that we go all out
just to take the photos or videos that we need. I've seen bloggers and social
media influencers stand on chairs at restaurants just to take the perfect
"aerial view" of their food. There was also once when I saw bloggers
put their food on the floor for photos simply because the restaurant has
beautiful tiles that make a good background.
Bowdy: Tell us your day job and typical day at work.
Wayne: As
mentioned in the intro, I work as an online advertising specialist at an
education technology company.
On a day-to-day basis, I optimize advertising campaigns on
Google AdWords and Facebook, so they are consistently generating leads and
delivering positive returns.
Aside from managing the campaigns, I am also involved in
brainstorming sessions around marketing strategies and funnels that we use to
sell our products.
This is how a typical work day looks like:
10:00 am: Arrives at the office, goes through my inbox and start
planning for the day ahead.
11:00 am: Team meetings to kick start the day.
12:30 pm: Goes through and optimize advertising campaigns.
3:30 pm: Complete other tasks or attend brainstorming sessions.
4:30 pm: Launch new campaigns, targeting ideas and ads depending
on the results and the needs of the business.
6:00 pm: Leave work.
I love my full-time job because it syncs perfectly with the work
that I am doing with kuaby. At the same time, I can transfer the knowledge and
experience that I gather from my full-time job to kuaby or vice versa.
Bowdy: Apart from your day job, do you have other passion
projects you are currently involved in?
Wayne: Not
at the moment, but I am tinkering with a few ideas that are going to be
extensions of the kuaby brand.
I always wanted to have my digital product, so
I am actively working on that. At the same time, I also want to start a
marketing agency because I want to bring more of what I am good at to my side
hustles.
Bowdy: Any advice for people who would like to travel around Malaysia?
Wayne: Don't
just come to Kuala Lumpur, and assume that you've seen Malaysia. The country is
very diverse. What's on the West coast is different from the East coast, and
the differences will even be starker when you look at the Borneo side of
Malaysia.
Traveling
Malaysia overland (by car, bike, bus or train) is a good idea too. Most parts
of Malaysia are still untouched by urbanization. Visiting and exploring these
areas will present you with unique experiences that the usual tourists don't
get.
[MALAYSIA TRAVEL] Read the rest of Explore Malaysia Travel Blog Series:
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