I have been off radar quite a bit lately as I have been quite tied up with the release of our second book, and until yesterday, been involved in two literary festivals back to back. What an amazing journey though - which I would like to share bit by bit over a few posts so … Continue reading My new children’s book – The House on Palmer Road
The Cat of Hanoi
The streets of Hanoi are crazy, chaotic, vibrant and exciting. Every pedestrian walkway and space in front of the shops is either filled with tables and chairs for a street-side food stall, or with scooters squashed together handlebar to handlebar. There's really no place for a cat to find a foothold. But while on a … Continue reading The Cat of Hanoi
Journey Back to the Ancestral Village
I headed back to my ancestral village in June. That's the thing about being an 'overseas Chinese'. We all have 'ancestral villages', where our ancestors lived and made that journey out of the poverty of China at the turn of the century. In this case, the village I sought out and visited was my maternal … Continue reading Journey Back to the Ancestral Village
Today I return to my first love
The last time I wrote a poem was when I was 19 and in university, doing a BA in English literature. I hadn't returned to it much in an academic way until just two days ago while helping my daughter with poetry annotation for her IB course. It struck me how much I had enjoyed … Continue reading Today I return to my first love
Photo 101 – Scale
This is my country. I had taken this panorama of the city area overlooking Marina Bayfront in August last year when Singapore celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence. Even when I look at this picture now, I feel a great sense of pride. A little country with no resources, we took ourselves from third world … Continue reading Photo 101 – Scale
Photo 101 – Moment & Motion
As a freelance travel journalist, I sometimes like to capture candid shots of people on the streets to catch the local flavour. But I am aware that some people don't like having their pictures taken by strangers, and in parts of Asia, the older folk in particular, can be a little superstitious about having their photo taken. To get round that, I sometimes … Continue reading Photo 101 – Moment & Motion
Photo 101 – Pop of Colour
Had a lovely lunch tasting today at St Pierre, Singapore's only Relais & Chateaux restaurant. It's a fine dining French restaurant at One Fullerton, overlooking the Marina Bayfront. Lunch stretched over three hours, ending with a magnificent dessert trolley of petit fours, from little cakes to macarons, jellies and chocolates. Here's my pop of colour … Continue reading Photo 101 – Pop of Colour
Photo 101 – Warmth & Light
The light outside today is not warm, but hot and glaring. So for today's assignment, I felt it best to pick something out of my heap of holiday photos. I think warmth and light from the sun is nicely captured here, illuminating one of my favourite desserts, Baklava, perfectly paired with sweet tea Turkish style. This was … Continue reading Photo 101 – Warmth & Light
Photo 101 – Natural World & Leading Lines
I pottered out into my garden just now to undertake today's assignment, Natural World & Leading Lines, with my Canon SLR. My garden isn't big, but it is lush with a wilderness of tropical leaves and where ants, bugs and a large mottled garden lizard live. While looking for shapes and lines, I thought it … Continue reading Photo 101 – Natural World & Leading Lines
Photo 101 – Connect + Vast
Haunting, mesmerising and simply gobsmacking. This is just a corner of Ta Prohm, one of the most famous temples in the vast Angkor Wat complex in Cambodia. Forgotten for centuries, this stone temple which was once an integral part of a powerful Hindu kingdom, had been literally swallowed up by the forest over time. Branches, roots and entire … Continue reading Photo 101 – Connect + Vast
The Runaway Palate 
You must be logged in to post a comment.