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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During China’s long public holiday, I spent ten days in the Eternal City — Rome — wandering through cobbled streets, stepping into centuries-old churches, and sketching ancient ruins with my sketchbook always close at hand. This year is the Jubilee Year, and I’m deeply grateful to have been invited by my sister, Angie, and her husband, Willie, to experience what truly felt like a once-in-a-lifetime event. The first couple of days were spent exploring, getting lost, and sketching — simply trying to get a feel for the city. Then I had the joy of meeting my wonderful friend Kristina, who flew in with her husband for what we now hope…
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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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On this trip, I opted for a minimalist approach to my art supplies. I brought along a single journal and a small sketchbook. Additionally, I packed two watercolor palettes, although I only used one. I also brought a set of Caran D’Ache water-soluble pencils, some brushes, and fountain pens. We arrived in Hong Kong around noon. However, I had an urgent matter to attend to, which unfortunately left me with no chance to sketch. The next day, I set out early to run some errands. As a habit, I always find the post office first to purchase stamps for sending postcards to family and friends. Although I planned to take…
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The last time I posted an “Around here…” series was back in May. I cannot believe it has been that long, really! The flurry of activities that came about as we came out of lockdown was just overwhelming. A bit of warning, this post of photo-heavy. June: First order of business after lockdown was doing the round of hospital/doctor visits. Then came the search for apartments since we needed space for a family of 7; that includes our 4 rescue/adopted cats. With the exodus of expats, there is more option but of course I had to ask the neighbours for their experiences during lockdown because I need to be prepared…
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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…
