On my About page, I wrote that my wanderlust has “exposed me to one common thread: no matter where my travels take me, food is found at the centre of every culture. The rituals of preparing and eating a meal provide social cohesion and, for travellers, they offer an invaluable glimpse into everyday life. It […]
The Ethics of Riding an Elephant in Thailand
If only every visitor to Thailand with the bucket-list dream of riding an elephant knew the torture many of them endure to make that dream come true. Or to paint them a colourful picture. Or to give them that massage on the beach. It’s the dark side of elephant tourism and, in Thailand, virtually inescapable. […]
The Meaning of Cherry Blossoms in Japan: Life, Death and Renewal
To everyone’s delight, cherry blossoms in Japan are already blooming as families and friends unite for the highly anticipated, centuries-old tradition of hanami (cherry blossom-viewing). The explosion of pale pink petals is a euphoric sight to behold, but did you know there’s more to their splendour than meets the eye? The meaning of cherry blossoms […]
What We Can Learn From the Terrorist Attacks in Paris and Beirut
If you haven’t heard, Facebook has recently come under fire for adding a safety check feature for Parisians after last week’s terrorist attacks so they could let loved ones know they were physically unharmed. It’s a welcome and considerate gesture in their time of crisis. Except that neither this option was made available after the […]
Why I Choose a Life of Travel
After years of complacency, I’ve answered the call of the open road. But no one told me it would be this hard: that surrendering the only home I’ve ever called my own would trigger my deepest insecurities, feel like a psychic and emotional amputation, and leave me inconsolable for days. Or that, despite the realization […]