Why I Fail at New Year’s Resolutions (& How 2018 Will Be Different)

As the hour chimed midnight and fireworks danced across the skies of Sydney Harbour, I sat on my favourite couch and eagerly Googled this term: New Year’s Resolutions. As a firm believer of “what will be will be”, I’m not one to dwell on resolutions. After a particularly tumultuous 2017, however, a confidence booster would…

Designed in Denmark – Chasing Hygge in Copenhagen

As a passionate connoisseur of Danish designs, my tour of Denmark would be incomplete without an artful ride through the streets of Copenhagen. With a population registering a little more over five million people, this southernmost Scandinavian nation undoubtedly punches above its weight in cutting edge contemporary design. The Danish design footprint – with an…

5 TED Talks to Change Your Mind

I logged into WordPress today, horrified at the realisation that I have not produced any original content for over a month (Almost Friends was really a repost from August)! A blogger I follow astutely pointed out that if we don’t adequately nourish and nurture our blogs, what right do we have to demand an active…

Almost Friends

There is a bus shelter not too far from my place Boasting a fresh coat of red and white paint It beckons Everyday As if keen to rouse me from my trancelike state With a coffee in one hand And a head full of Coldplay I dash for the 7.23 that would take me to…

Giethoorn – The Floating Utopia

Have you ever wondered where the fairies might live if they have their pick of the world today? Have you ever wondered where you might live – what type of life you might lead – if the choice is based on lifestyle alone? If the hustle and bustle of city living is becoming a bitter…

An Artful Exploration of Amsterdam

A lot has changed since the 17th century when the Netherlands basked in glory as the world’s economic powerhouse (in fact, Amsterdam was home to the world’s first stock exchange). What has withstood the tests of time, however, is its enduring influence on the global art scene, from Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Vermeer to Amsterdam’s…

Retracing The Fault in Our Stars in Amsterdam

A month ago today I returned home to Sydney, Australia from a whirlwind 26-day sojourn in Europe (you may start with Day One here). I lament that an entire month has lapsed since my last post, and in all honesty, I have been battling hard about the destination for my first post. In the end,…

Photo-Blog Day 26 – Copenhagen (Goodbye)

Dear Copenhagen Goodbyes are never easy. But I wonder why they must always be this hard. You’ve always known how much I needed to be here. Now you know how grateful I am to be here; and that leaving you for the second time is no easier than the first. I look at the expectant…

Photo-Blog Day 25 – Copenhagen

A lack of time has oftentimes been the culprit of everything; from our inability to spend quality time with loved ones, to more fundamentally our inability to see beyond our fingertips. It is just as well then that I am in Denmark – the purveyor of dreams and possibilities – where time is measured not…

Photo-Blog Day 23 – Copenhagen

They say we should always leave something for next time. So this is my Next Time. Like a secret lover I’ve been counting down the days before I can see you again. Have you missed me, my dear Copenhagen? – Copenhagen

Photo-Blog Day 22 – Amsterdam 

Is there someone you’ve never quite forgotten? Would you lose yourself in streets just like this, hoping for a familiar figure to come into view, a smile on their face, brimming with pleasant expectancy of seeing you again? – Amsterdam

Photo-Blog Day 21 – Giethoorn

If I were to conjure up a perfect day it would start by waking to a countryside radiant with a riot of colours, fireworks in the sky and you by my side. – Giethoorn

Photo-Blog Day 20 – Amsterdam 

There is something about the world’s most liberal city – with the scent of marijuana perfuming the air and red draped windows adorning the canals – that makes me desperately hold onto moments of tranquillity like this. – Amsterdam 

Photo-Blog Day 19 – Amsterdam

I have never been as ambivalent about a place as I am about Amsterdam. It is as if the traditionalist in me has been physically torn between the familiarity of old ways and the insouciant liberalism pervading the land; caught between an urge to run and hide, and an urge to embrace. – Amsterdam