CBT: Some cafes of Ho Chi Minh City

For those of you in the know, Vietnam is actually the 2nd largest producer of coffee in the world, after Brazil. They mainly produce Robusta beans, which has a stronger, more robust (duh) flavour than Arabica, grows at lower altitude and contains about 50% more caffeine. Its resistance to disease, higher yield per tree and… [Read more…]

Hoi An

And so I am sitting here right now (yea, you could call this ‘live blogging’) in Hoi An, Vietnam at a cafe overlooking a street. I’m quite literally people-watching after a lunch of Vietnamese noodles, thinking random thoughts while waiting for my custom-made shoes to be ready. Hoi An, has Unesco World Heritage status. Which… [Read more…]

Storyteller Food

CBT Chengdu: Ein’s Coffee

And so the first night we arrived in Chengdu, we rushed down to the main shopping belt Chunxi Road for a good Macs and a place to chill. We trotted around, and around the corner from the Starbucks I spotted in the short distance a sign! It said ‘Illy’s'! Imagine my excitement at finding non-Starbucks,… [Read more…]

CBT Chengdu: Coffee – Music’s simple life

Despite my joy at the apparent discovery of the abundance of coffee-selling places in the heart of Chengdu, to be honest, they were not very fantastic. My main issue is that many of them are designed like bars instead of cafes; and designs that are too grand and intricate don’t put me at ease. The… [Read more…]

Practically dreaming

I have always been fascinated by Chinese names. With different cultures, names mean different things. My Malay and Indian friends may correct me if I’m wrong; but in my understanding, the names in their culture reflect their heritage and who they ‘come from’. Jewish names were often given to remember an event in the father’s… [Read more…]

CBT Chengdu: Starbucks; familiar yet strange.

And so what else did I do besides hug kids, pour cement, cry and teach in Sichuan? I drank coffee, of course! Haaa. Even my team-mates would ask me almost everyday on R&R if I went to any cafe that day. To my surprise, I found out that Chengdu actually has a relatively active coffee… [Read more…]

My YEP Vlog/ Why I still go on YEP

Here it is. The much awaited video-log of some of the days in Sichuan are here. Firstly, let me say this is not an artistic piece of video. It’s just all my little clips of me talking to the camera put together from beginning to end. I didn’t do anything aesthetic to it. Neither is… [Read more…]

走前面的人走过的路 – The road more travelled.

Chinese culture has always emphasised inter-generational legacies; dual-directionally. From young, we are taught to remember its source while drinking the water (饮水思源), that roads are paved by people (路是人走出来的 – 鲁迅), that those who come before plant the trees; while those who come after enjoy the shade (前人种树，后人乘凉).  Culturally speaking, I believe this is one… [Read more…]

There are no banquets under the sun which do not end.

And the tears come streaming down your face When you lose something you can’t replace.. Lights will guide you home. - Coldplay Here  I am. Back in civilisation. Currently in a hotel in Chengdu; it’ll be a few days of RnR before heading back on Wednesday. I want to blog before those emotions start to… [Read more…]