Sep 21
As we stood on the edge of a grassy square facing Palenque’s Temple of the Cross, Bama and I suddenly heard an eerie growl from the nearby jungle: a long and guttural roar, disturbing enough to make anyone stop in their tracks. Read more
Jun 7
Sometimes, even when traveling on the far side of the world, it’s possible to find similarities with home where you least expect them. That is what we recently encountered in Mexico. Biting into the sweet vanilla crust atop a concha bought at La Vasconia, Mexico City’s oldest bakery, I drew an immediate parallel with the pineapple buns of my Hong Kong childhood. Read more
May 31
It took Bama three trips to get the shot he wanted of the pagoda-like meru at Bali’s most iconic Hindu temple, Pura Ulun Danu Beratan. Persistent rain, not unusual given the fickle weather in the island’s north-central highlands, had dampened his first two visits years ago. Now, he stood transfixed at the postcard-perfect scene before us: bright blue skies with scattered wisps of cloud over Lake Beratan, the temple’s famed meru appearing to float on its calm, mirror-like surface. The dark palm-fiber roofs of both towers had been recently rethatched, and beneath their eaves, lustrous gold-painted wooden carvings shimmered in the early morning light. All was quiet. Read more
Apr 26
My first brush with Turkey (now officially Türkiye) happens out of pure necessity. En route to Mexico, Bama and I may be genuinely fatigued after stepping off a long-haul flight, but the idea of holing up in an overpriced airport hotel and doing absolutely nothing is out of the question. Not when we have 20 hours to spare in one of the world’s great historic cities — and the only one to straddle Europe and Asia. Read more
Apr 15
How far would you go to visit a dream destination? It seems surreal now, sitting in our living room with the suitcases unpacked, to think that we’ve spent the past two weeks in Mexico. Just a few nights ago, Bama and I completed a marathon two-day slog that began halfway across the world. My seatmate on the 16.5-hour flight between Mexico City and Istanbul (with a stopover in Cancún) couldn’t believe we were in Istanbul for a 16-hour layover before the 12-hour flight back to Jakarta. “That is such a long journey,” she exclaimed in wide-eyed shock. “¡Qué horror!” Read more
Feb 23
Half an hour after stepping out from Silangit airport’s tiny arrivals hall into a parking lot bathed in morning sunshine, the promised hotel pickup was still nowhere to be seen. It was hardly an auspicious start to a hectic five-day assignment on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Joining me this time was British photographer Martin Westlake, who’d also shot my Bali food story six months before. Our flight had left Jakarta at 6:45 a.m. on a Monday and we were keen to hit the ground running. Read more
Jan 5
The server was getting impatient. Hovering over our table, she made it clear from her thinly veiled annoyance that we’d taken a little too long to order our food. Bama and I were having our Boxing Day breakfast at a no-frills cha chaan teng (local diner) in Cheung Sha Wan, a working-class neighborhood of Hong Kong’s Kowloon Peninsula. We’d crossed the harbor to track down Gold Garden Café and its puff pastry egg tarts made to a traditional recipe. “Did they just come out of the oven?” I inquired politely. “No, you’ll have to wait till 11 for that. The ones we have now are still kind of warm.” Read more
Nov 20
Suitcases propped against a counter in the vaulted departure hall at Tashkent train station, Bama and I wolfed down our own triangular somsas in a paper bag, biting through layers of thin, flaky pastry to get to the fragrant beef and onion filling. This humble breakfast on the go would herald the start of a culinary adventure through Uzbekistan — 14 days spent hopping between the ancient Silk Road cities of Bukhara, Khiva, and Samarkand, along with Tashkent, the country’s modern capital. After years of dreaming about such a trip, we were ecstatic to finally be in Central Asia. Read more
Sep 21
My favorite fridge magnet doesn’t depict a place, but a polar bear sprawled on the cool blue surface of what must be a zoo enclosure, fast asleep with its snout resting lazily on one paw. Scrawled above the slumbering carnivore is a short message: “I’m NOT a morning person.” That was true once. For I grew up in Hong Kong, a night-loving city that never sleeps, and my family — with the exception of my ever-punctual mom — was often late to bed and late to rise. On weekends or holidays, I relished being able to lie in until 10 or 11 and never felt guilty about letting the morning pass me by. How things change. Read more
Jun 9
Somewhere in the waters of eastern Indonesia’s Komodo National Park, I tried to steady my camera while bouncing over the waves on a motorized rubber boat making circles around the Ayana Lako di’a, the early morning sunlight reflecting off its gleaming whitewashed hull. It was May 2019 and a last-minute work assignment had brought me an overnight cruise aboard this nine-cabin ship by the local Ayana hotel brand. The name Lako di’a means “safe journey” in the Manggarai language of nearby Flores — a long, thin, and mountainous island slightly larger than Connecticut (or about the size of Montenegro). Read more
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