This trip wasn’t part of my travel plans for 2026, but I needed to return to Taipei to sort out some paperwork. With heavy rain forecast, I wasn’t sure how much art and journaling material to bring. I wanted to travel light, so I decided to keep things simple. It was the perfect opportunity to finally use my Peerless watercolours, which I’d had for ages! Before the trip, I’d cut the watercolour sheets into smaller pieces to fit an accordion-fold palette for my Traveller’s Notebook. I also brought two Traveller’s Notebook inserts because, well, I couldn’t decide between them! 😂 One was the accordion watercolour insert, and the other was…
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My first art retreat took me all the way to Porto, Portugal, for eight days of travel and discovery, including four days spent creating, experimenting, and sharing ideas with fellow artists. The retreat, Relics of Nature, was led by Jane Chipp, whose work I’ve admired for years. Although our paths had crossed through online art programmes such as Wanderlust and Fodder School 5, where we were both guest teachers, we’d never actually met in person. I was looking forward to finally meeting Jane and experiencing what it would be like to create alongside other artists for several days. Four Days of Making Together The retreat began with welcome drinks and…
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This is the much-delayed second post from my Rome trip during the Jubilee Year last October. Life rather got in the way, so this one is fashionably late—but perhaps that’s fitting. Revisiting these pages has been a lovely way to relive the trip all over again. Rome in October was buzzing with pilgrims, tourists, and school groups (I realise that my photos don’t include any of the crowds! 😅). Exploring the city on my own during those first couple of days brought plenty of memorable moments—including accidentally letting myself into the wrong Airbnb building and then promptly getting locked inside! It wasn’t quite the start I’d imagined, but it certainly…
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It’s been a little while since I last updated my blog. Life has been wonderfully full lately, so both my blog and Instagram have taken a bit of a back seat. But I wanted to share a recent trip that has already become a favourite in my travel journal. A couple of weeks ago, my team and I travelled to Singapore for our annual trip, timing it with a three-day public holiday to minimise time away from work. Before we left, my weather app insisted it would rain every single day we were there. Thankfully, the forecast was far more dramatic than reality, and we were treated to plenty of…
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At the end of May, I made another trip to Jeju Island in South Korea. I’ve always wanted to see this place after a friend told me I should go. I organised our company retreat for a few days of team-building and relaxation. Another bonus was that it’s relatively cheap to fly there from Shanghai. This trip would be a great break to take before my kids return to Shanghai for their summer break. Let me take you on a trip around Jeju Island through my lens and my sketches. Day 1 Arrived in warm sunny weather. Immediately, we got a van to take us to the eastern side of…
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The past two months have been a whirlwind of significant life events, including graduation and university preparations. The journey involved challenges but also moments of gratitude, connection, and reflection, documented through sketches and memories shared on Instagram.
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The final leg of our Europe 2019 adventure was Holland or the Netherlands. Yes, it is indeed 2019 because for so many reasons, this journal took longer to finish. Unlike the other 2 journals of this trip, I actually didn’t get any pages done while on the trip. I had ran out of paste/glue by the time we were almost halfway through our Finland trip. And we did try to find stationery stores but either ran out of time or just couldn’t find any. Lesson learned: Bring more the next time we actually can travel out of China again (yes, it’s been 3 years… and counting… since pandemic hit). For…
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Almost 6 weeks spent in quarantine has come and gone. And I can say, “I survived!” Here’s a sort of breakdown of the days: Day 1 – arriving in Taipei, Taiwan Day 2 counts as first of the 14-day quarantine in Taipei Day 16-17 – time spent getting COVID tests to be able to return to Shanghai plus errands and meeting with family and friends Day 18 – arriving in Shanghai, China and first day of quarantine Day 32 – left quarantine hotel to quarantine at home Day 40 – finished quarantine and back at work For the first part of my quarantine in Taipei, Taiwan, all went smoothly. The…
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[This post is a bit long as I’ve decided to combine a travelogue and sharing with you the mini travel album I made to document the trip.] It’s summer… and the itch to travel has kicked in. My dearest friend, Kristina and I have been brainstorming about where to go and because of the ever-changing regulations due to the new cases that happened in Beijing back in June, it was not easy to make real plans. With so many things I have been dealing with, personally and professionally, I decided, I really needed a break, so I finally gave Kristina a definitive “yes” to travel. We came up with a plan…
