The Year of the Wood Snake is just around the corner, and ethnic Chinese communities across the globe are gearing up for the festive season.…
Meet Timur the Conqueror
Conquerors must be among the most divisive figures in human history. They are often regarded as heroes by the people they represent, whose territory grows…
A Sunny Winter’s Day in Tung Lung Chau
It’s that time of the year again when I’m anticipating my annual winter holiday in Hong Kong, a tradition that only resumed in 2023 after…
Kyoto’s Pavilions of Beauty
At midday in Kyoto James and I were enjoying a quirky Japanese TV show – a miscellany of over-excited hosts, cartoonish animation, and video game-ish…
New Hopes Rising from the Ashes
On a particularly sunny day in June 2023, James and I revisited the National Museum of Indonesia as we were curious with how it looked…
How Good Meals Saved the Day – A Kintamani Story
In November 2022, when the skies of Bali were mostly gray, I found myself standing in the courtyard of a large Hindu temple complex I…
Da Nang and the Friendly Dragon
A Vietnamese restaurant located in a once-lively mall in a gentrified neighborhood of Jakarta has for years become my choice whenever I crave food from…
Beauty Has A Name: Punakha
On the morning of our second day in Punakha Valley, we looked up to the sky before leaving our hotel; the sun was mostly obstructed…
Architectural Gems of Old Cirebon
Six giant golden shrimps shine brightly under the sun, perched above the half-moon portico of the fine white building. The Indonesian flag flies proudly over…
Trowulan: Beauty in Red Brick
I am standing in front of Candi Tikus, its red brick structure almost entirely below ground level as if the earth was purposefully dug out…