In July 2011, when I was in Cambodia during a week-long whirlwind backpacking trip across three Southeast Asian countries, I took a photo of the dish above. Called lok lak, it was touted as the country’s national dish and it happened to be the only […]
When Jayavarman II united the Khmer people and founded a kingdom at the turn of the ninth century, he would probably have never imagined that centuries later his country would eventually become the mighty Khmer Empire, nor would he have envisioned that his nation would […]
Jakarta is hot and humid all year round, but I wasn’t prepared for what Kaohsiung had in store in late September and early October. When James and I were walking along its harbor on a sunny day, I kept thinking of how sweltering this part […]
“What is your hobby actually?” This was a question I asked my mom a long time ago with me expecting her to say cooking, singing, or dancing. But she didn’t even need one second to reply. “Putting on make up!” she answered spontaneously, followed by […]
Toward the end of the 19th century, East Asia was a very turbulent place with two main powers – the Empire of Japan and the Qing dynasty of Imperial China – scrambling for influence and control over the lands between them. The Korean Peninsula, in […]
Four years of not returning to a place is a long time for someone who used to go there almost every year. That is how I felt about Hong Kong, a fascinating city which was at a crossroads during my last visit before the pandemic. […]
It shouldn’t come as a surprise why we are the dominant species on Earth today, so much so a geological epoch called the Anthropocene has been proposed due to the dramatic and profound impact humans have had on the planet. We are capable of creating […]
Big cities often have humble beginnings. Manhattan was once a land where the local Lenape people harvested wood for their bows, while Tokyo and Dubai used to be merely fishing villages. Kaohsiung, an economically-important industrial hub whose port is the largest in Taiwan, is no […]
It was three months ago when the idea of writing this post crossed my mind. At that time, the air pollution in Jakarta, a city I’ve called home since 2008, was at its worst in recent years. Videos circulating online taken by airplane passengers showed […]
Back in my high school years, I always studied in my room from 6 to 8:30pm on weeknights because my parents told me to – they were among those stereotypical Asian parents who wanted their children to study hard to get good grades. But after […]
It was 10 years ago when I visited Taiwan for the first time. While Taipei 101 was impressive with its cool architecture evoking a Chinese pagoda, the gloomy skies and rainy weather of the country’s capital were persistent. Luckily the trip also included a short […]
Today, teaching life lessons to help others become better human beings can be done in many ways. Some people prefer to make educational videos, others choose to do this through engaging social media content, and quite a few still enjoy sharing their thoughts and experiences […]
What an Amazing World! 