Starting Over

A lot of headwinds predicted to come this year. But don’t worry. Take courage. If you have worked and lived long enough, then you would’ve already started this year from experience and not from scratch. Like me during these past 24 months, I’m sure you’ve been through a lot and through all kinds of work situations and challenging people (e.g. bad leaders, backstabbers, crybabies…

Anything Under The Sun

Anything under the sun.  Well at least that is how I remember or describe Abu Dhabi.  It seems like anything is possible here.  Dubai may be the most popular of all the Emirates in the UAE but Abu Dhabi is still the capital; and it has several reasons for being so.  As one travel guide puts it, Abu Dhabi is not afraid to challenge…

My Tokyo Blues

This is one example of those late melancholic posts.  I finally had the chance to see Tokyo a second time last Winter.  The first time was way back in the Autumn of 2013 when I was invited by a major Japanese furniture manufacturer to attend a 3-day convention.  Since then, I always remember Tokyo as a cold city (my first encounter with the outside…

From Tokyo to the Bay

“…a thousand miles from comfort…there’s no place I’d rather be…”–Clean Bandit This is where it all started.  The first time I saw Japan was way back in November 2013.  I was invited by a major Japanese furniture manufacturer to attend a convention in Tokyo.  It was a 3-day event with a 2-day extension for us to do anything we want.  It was my first…

One Lovely Blog Award 2017

A month ago, I was given the ONE LOVELY BLOG AWARD by my fellow blogger Audrey.  Audrey pens Living for Experiences, a blog about her wonderful insights on life and useful tips on travel.  Do check her wonderful blog.  This is my second award from her, with the first award causing me to earn a few followers.  It is encouraging to know that people…

Silence is Golden

This write-up should have been posted more than a month ago.  I actually forgot I have these photos from our recent Club Med Bintan retreat; and I was only reminded of having them when I was looking at my passport while on queue at the renewal section of the embassy a few days ago.  I have to admit that long holidays are always short. …

The Seoul I Love

You know what?  It’s a good thing we will have our company retreat next week.  It will give me enough time to shake off this overwhelming feeling I had from my last trip.  I just came back from Seoul and obviously still in a daze; my body already here but my mind still back there in the cold.  I usually only spend a week…

A Year in Postcards

I could have called this post “A Year in Review” or “My 2015 Travels” but I thought it would be a cliche.  We always do this year-end post or write-up where we cross out a few items in our travel bucket list (or any bucket list for that matter) and admittedly, this post is in some ways no different.  But it’s a little bit…

Experiencing Thainess

“Travelling:  It leaves you speechless, then it turns you into a storyteller.”– Ibn Battuta Finally, I ran out of sensible things to say except maybe to tell you about the series of crazy and unbelievable events that led me to this place and made me love it.  Bangkok was one of the last cities I planned to visit.  I have always loved the city…

A New Orient

“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us”– Anonymous This fascination with the east has been going on for quite some time now.  Well obviously, I grew up in this neighborhood.  And if you are here, you are spot on.  Now is the perfect time to be living, thriving, and breathing in this part of the world. So why…