nature – The Tragic Queen

12 Quick Pics To Convince You To Go To The Beach This Summer

August 5, 2026travel1 Comment

I love the heat and I love the beach, so when the weather started to get apocalyptically warm this summer, my cousin Olivia and I decided to spend the day at the nearest one.

From Moynihan train hall, it takes about 50 minutes by train to get to Long Beach, followed by a 10 minute walk as the crow flies.

The idea was to get some hard seltzers and sandwiches, purchased at our corner deli, and then spend the day on a clean, pristine beach, unbothered and beautiful.

A couple of weeks before going with Olivia, I did a dry run. I put together a playlist, some new swimsuits, and a new beach blanket, then hit the beach. I was ready to lay out on the sand all day, looking like an American Bridget Bardot (minus all of her controversies).

The water was numbingly cold, but swimming around made it enjoyable. I spent hours floating in the water and fighting the waves, blissfully losing track of time.

In the distance were cargo ships, silhouetted blue, and it was weird but cool to see freight being moved a couple of hundred yards away from the place that I was laying. Every few minutes it seemed an airplane flew overhead, flying a banner advertising something.

Since I went during the middle of the week, the only people with me on the beach were teenagers. There I was with the youth of America, watching them stage wrestling matches in a circle behind the life guard tower, then disperse once they saw the cops coming.

(Oh to be young).

I knew even then that I wanted more days like that where I could listen to Olivia Dean and read a good book on top of warm sand, forgetting about life for a while.

When we went together, Olivia and I got to relive our childhoods, throughout which we were mermaids swimming in the ocean. We did hand stands in the water, then immediately had to lay out on our sides on our towels to let the water trickle warmly out of our ears. It was the two of us together, excitedly squealing every time a wave rolled towards us and deciding whether to go over or under it at the last possible second.

Clouds sailed across the sky, which was a perfect robin’s-egg blue. Seaweed brushed against our bodies as we swam out.

When we weren’t in the water, Olivia and I sat on our towels, playing good music and chatting on what became a perfect Saturday. We both had playlists with about 8 different vibes, mainly containing songs about how the singer is young and will always be young (good luck with that).

After sufficiently tanning and swimming around, there was soft serve ice cream with sprinkles on the boardwalk, and then we called it a day.

By the time we were on the train going back, our bodies were briny, water-logged, and sun-drenched, but we’d had a good time. Being in the sun and the saltwater softened me. Swimming has a way of clearing my head in a way that nothing else does.

Before the summer’s end, everyone who can should make a pilgrimage to the beach, if for no better reason than to quiet the noise of everyday life. You will get a nauseatingly picturesque day if you go to Long Beach where the water may be chilly but the weather is often beautiful.

And if you ever need a “beachy and peachy” playlist to play at the beach, feel free to use mine:

Wait A Minute! by WILLOW
Why by Dominic Fike
Meet Me At Our Spot by THE ANXIETY, WILLOW, Tyler Cole
Ciao Ciao by La rappresentante di lista
Closer by The Chainsmokers, Halsey
Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles
Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey
HOT TO GO by Chappell Roan
DtMF by Bad Bunny
Disparate Youth by Santigold
Rollercoaster by Bleachers
Champagne Coast by Blood Orange
Dancing On My Own by Robyn
All My Girls Like To Fight by Hope Tala
The Less I Know The Better by Tame Impala

(And anything by Olivia Dean)

Have a good summer!

The Tragic Queen,

Raquel

P.S.: Check out my previous blog post about all of the books that I have read so far this year

Chasing Waterfalls

March 13, 2026Uncategorized1 Comment

On our main day out, my family ventured out of Seminyak to go to Ubud, a town in Bali known for its artisanal crafts and beautiful landscapes.

We started our day with a stop at a jewelry store. (Silver is incredibly cheap in Bali and so no trip would be complete without buying a few rings and earrings).

After that, we set about exploring.

My aunt and I were very brave and went to check out a glass bridge overlooking a gorge and treetops. While it was mildly concerning to walk across something made entirely of glass, we enjoyed seeing Ubud from a whole new angle.

From there, we took a stroll through The Kemenuh Butterfly Park where we saw butterflies nuzzling into all of the flowers that lined the garden paths.

After a hot day walking through Ubud, we decided to cool down at the Tegenungan Waterfall. I had known that I wanted to go to a waterfall when visiting Bali. I was told that it was a must-see experience when visiting the country.

The waterfall in question is buried a little ways into the jungle, but with changing stalls like at a water park.

The place was full of tourists milling around in the water, all of us overjoyed by the waterfall scaling the cliffside in front of us.

I walked across the mini bamboo bridge and then a patch of rocks, before getting into the water. Plunging my head underwater felt like being baptized. My body became instantly cool, making the hot and sweaty trek down the hillside to the waterfall completely worth it.

I swam as close as I could to the waterfall, feeling the cool spray come off it. The little bit of water that got in my mouth tasted earthy and even a little sweet.

After I was done swimming around the waterfall, I got into the surrounding pools. It made for a refreshing end to a long, hot day.

The waterfall was, without question, my favorite part of the trip.

I’m not sure what is so magical about seeing a waterfall. It might just be the abundance of nature staring you in the face or it just might be that it is pretty to look at. Either way, it was the type of bucket list material that I had hoped to do while traveling.

In order to get into the water, you have to walk over some rocks, so I recommend river shoes. This destination mostly served as a photo-op for tourists, but if you’re lucky enough to go to the Tegenungan Waterfall, be sure to take a dip.

The Tragic Queen,

Raquel

P.S.: Check out my most recent blog post about my trip to a monkey sanctuary

The Forest Through the Trees

November 25, 2025Uncategorized1 Comment

My East-Coast-to-Singapore-jet lag had me waking up at 4:00 in the morning as an energizer bunny, much to the chagrin of my aunt, but on my third day in Singapore, it actually paid off, as we got up bright and early for a treetop walk at Windsor Park.

(When I tell people that I’m “feeling outdoorsy” it really just means that I am leaving the house) and yet here I was at a nature walk that was in fact oozing nature all around me.

The Treetop Walk is a 5 mile long hike that takes you through a monkey-filled rain forest. Long wooden walkways sprawl up and down hillsides with thick swaths of trees on either side of you. A narrow suspension bridge carries you over the trees.

Monkeys stared at me from the trees, looking almost as fascinated by me as I was with them. The mothers walked around with their babies strapped to their chests.

They crawled on top of the metal structures for the construction site that was happening next door and then ran alongside joggers, like they were their running partners.

The monkeys are famous for trying to snatch items out of tourists’ hands in an attempt to bargain for food. At the beginning of our hike, a monkey started chasing my aunt around, trying to get her water bottle from her. That same monkey ran out in front of me and I ran screaming in the opposite direction. I was too terrified to get anywhere near it, much to the amusement of the other tourists around me. I eventually was able to walk by, unassaulted by the monkey, and continued on with the hike.

The Treetop Walk is not for the faint of heart. The humidity was so strong it was like I was swimming just walking around. I sweated more than I thought was humanly possible with sweat stains going from my arm pit to my hip. It felt like every hot yoga class I had ever taken. I was so hot and sweaty that at some point I stopped making sense.

We walked across a swinging suspension bridge which had a strict weight limit and instructions for what to do if a snake fell onto the bridge in front of us (panic).

For much of the hike, I wore a beautiful sunhat that my brother gave me as a birthday gift. It looked like I had a satellite dish on my head. Once I put it on, it actually kind of made me look like the flying nun.

At some point, my aunt and I had seen countless monkeys and bravely walked across a swaying bridge. We wanted to go home, but, after much denial, we realized that we were lost. We had been wandering on the trails for a while and suddenly could no longer see the forest through the trees.

We walked over the tree roots that all looked like kimono dragons to a tired and dehydrated traveler. We asked people for directions that only made us more lost until the trail we were walking on spat us out on a random sidewalk along the highway, an anticlimactic, but much-needed end to a treeline hike through the forest.

From there, we jumped on a bus going in a direction– we weren’t sure which–and then wound up at a McDonald’s. After returning to civilization, our legs destroyed from all of the walking and our bodies nearly wrecked from heat stroke, I went for a swim in the pool to cool off.

After a long, hot day of being chased around by monkeys, walking across a suspension bridge, and getting stranded on the side of a road, I can finally say that I have seen nature in the wild. I have looked a monkey in the eye.

The Tragic Queen,

Raquel

P.S.: Check out how I spent my previous day in Singapore, exploring Chinatown.

Flower Power: The Orchid Party at The Botanical Garden

June 17, 2024Uncategorized2 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, the Botanical Garden in Queens was throwing their annual Orchid Party, which promised craft cocktails, live dancing, high fashion, and lots and lots of orchids. Florals in fashion was the theme, as they showcased designer dresses with nature in mind. I dressed for the part, wearing my flower petal jacket, and headed on over.

I had a hard time rustling up any enthusiasm amongst my friends since the last day of the event fell on 4/20. After exhausting everyone in my proverbial rolodex for my admittedly last minute plans, I went it alone.

The event started with drinks and live dance performances set to a mash-up of Prince and even more Prince. If dancing doesn’t work out for these dancers, they could always go into work as contortionists.

On stage with the dancers, there was a runway competition where audience members were asked to strut like they were on a runway and the rest of us had to choose a winner.

After that, I strolled through the conservatory where the rows and rows of orchids were intersected with elaborate floral-themed designer outfits, designed like sculptures in a sculpture garden, and lily pad-filled pools.

The fashion was designed by up-and-coming New York City designers Collina Strada by Hillary Taymour, Dauphinette by Olivia Cheng, and FLWR PSTL by Kristen Alpaugh.

Walking through the conservatory was like walking through a perfume ad. It was very romantic, so naturally I was there all by myself, lubed-up on a margarita and sniffing orchids. Beside the flowers were plaques, explaining the science of the different plant species, making the entire set-up like one part Natural History Museum, one part flower shop, and one part hip hop dance competition.

There was something for everyone to enjoy: fashion, science, dance, and alcohol. I can’t really think of a more blase way to kick off spring than to go to a fashion event and look at flowers while having a drink.