Adventures of a Third Culture Kid.
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The L-1011 TriStar: Brilliant Masterpiece, Tragic Miscalculation
Featured image credit: FotoNoir Air Lanka’s Lockheed L-1011 TriStars were the aircraft that first pulled me into the orbit of commercial aviation. I flew on them almost every summer holiday between Riyadh, where I grew up, and Colombo, where our friends and relatives lived, from 1995 until the fleet was replaced by brand-new fly-by-wire A330s…
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Books that Made My 2025
I hope you are having a great start to your 2026. Since I discovered Derek Sivers’ incredible collection of book notes many years ago, where he generously shares insights into the books he reads, I’ve been inspired to do some version of the same, starting with a few book notes myself, but over time, simply sharing…
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Make Something. Anything!
The French Impressionism exhibition at the NGV brought over a 100 works from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, making the perfect weekend date with a friend. I found myself less absorbed by Monet’s gorgeous lilies than by the labour behind them. Each painting was sweat equity embodied, glazed in the residue of thousands…
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Regenerative Everything?
I’m by no means an upright ecowarrior. But over the years, through disparate sources and experiences, I’ve become very interested in how people approach their impact on the planet. This has included a week living in a simple ecolodge in Ecuador whose owners cultivate the land using permaculture principles, discovering Alice Waters and her incredibly…
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Reflections on Time and Legacy in Phnom Penh
The National Museum of Cambodia suspended time and as well as the relentless heat, when I visited over the weekend. Sticking around in Phnom Penh for a few days following a work conference, I wanted to explore Cambodian culture through its food scene, and of course, its museum. Home to one of the largest collections…
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Books that Made My 2024
If I may, I had a very, very good reading run last year. Some were recommended by friends, others gifted by family, and a couple thrown in by Amazon’s algorithm. I inevitably found a few at my favourite bookstore’s exceptionally well-curated bargain table. I fortunately didn’t have to give up on any of the books…
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The Antidote to Mental Atrophy
A recent piece in The Atlantic shocked me: even Ivy League students – those elite overachievers – are struggling to read deeply. Not scrolling. Not skimming. But focussing and engaging with a book. And it’s not just them. Many of us haven’t read a single book in the last year. Not one. When was the…
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A Life Less Ordinary Archives: Dancer and Political Provocateur, Venuri Perera
For my third visit to the archives of ‘A Life Less Ordinary’, where I talk to interesting thinkers and doers from Asia, it’s Venuri Perera. Venuri is a Sri Lankan performance artist, choreographer, curator and educator whose work has been shown around the planet from Colombo to Berlin. She is trained in Kandyan dance, a…
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Eat a Peach by David Chang: The Unfiltered Journey of a Culinary Maverick
Momofuku founder David Chang is a Renaissance guy. And his memoir, ’Eat a Peach’, reveals the intense highs, excruciating lows, and continuous growth throughout his career as a chef, restaurateur, and media guy. I read ‘Eat a Peach‘ a couple of years ago, but there was so much I highlighted from the book (full book…
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Notes from a weekend in Tasmania
Escaped the city for Tasmania’s tranquility, embracing near-tech-free living and nature’s wonders, like the Northern Highlands and Cradle Mountain. The trip—ferry and cozy cabins included—inspired a return to mindful consumption and hope for sustainable futures. In Tara Brach’s words, we often miss living in the present, something this weekend remedied.
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A Life Less Ordinary Archives: Writer Ashok Ferrey
I’ll never forget the time I got to spend with Sri Lankan polymath, writer and curator of The Ceylon Literary Festival, Ashok Ferrey, during one of the first recording sessions of my podcast, A Life Less Ordinary, back in 2017. My co-host, Tanya and I, got more than carried away by Ashok’s fascinating life and…
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An escape from the city
A couple of weekends ago, Peter and I visited Daylesford, the charming little town popular with Melbournians seeking refuge from the workweek. It was our first overnight escape from the city since we moved to Melbourne in 2022 and something we had been looking forward to doing for a while. And it was so worth…
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Podcasts!
While there’s plenty of noise in the podcast universe, there are countless sources worthy of soundtracking meal prep in the kitchen, cleaning the house, drives to the store, flights to places near and far. Here are some of my faves.
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A short breather from the concrete
On Friday I took the train from Melbourne’s CBD up to the edge of the beautiful Dandenong Ranges National Park with a friend visiting from Sydney, to do one of the most popular bushwalks in the city, the 1000 Steps trail. Surrounded by the world’s tallest flowering plants, these towering 70m+ eucalyptus trees known as…
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Why is Apple Music keeping this a secret?
I used to be a resentfully loyal Apple Music user, overcoming pangs of envy every time my partner’s Spotify algorithm spat out the perfect mix of tunes to discover. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve secretly, then not-so-secretly Shazam’d his recommended music to add to my own library. And let’s not even bother…
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How to answer a question
I stumbled across this YouTube reel of Jay-Z being interviewed by the legendary journalist Nardwuar in 2008, where he is asked the most basic question, “Who are you?”. What a brilliant case study on how to enhance the flavour of a question with insight, depth, unexpected and story! Full interview here. I also started the…
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A Life Less Ordinary Archives: Four Years to Everest
In 2017, I collaborated with writer Tanya Warnakulasuriya to create the podcast ‘A Life Less Ordinary’, featuring remarkable individuals from Sri Lanka. The first episode highlighted the inspiring journey of the first Sri Lankans to summit Mount Everest, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and determination.
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A Bookish Odyssey: My 2023 in Books
In 2023, I achieved my goal of reading 25 diverse books, from Viola Davis’ inspiring memoir to Andrew Chen’s insightful analysis of network effects. Highlights included Hilary Mantel’s transporting historical novel and Rosamund Young’s eye-opening account of animal lives. I also delved into finance, philosophy, and the music industry. Here’s to an epic 2024 filled…
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Paris revisited
Peter and I joined the rest of Australia in travelling to Europe this summer, first stop Paris. It had been nearly a decade since I last visited Paris, heading there with my partner to spend time with his parents who kindly invited us to join them for a few days their annual retreat to their…
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An ever-so-brief look back on 2022 (well into 2023)
2022 flew by so fast it was only on an 8 hour flight to Singapore in late December that I could take stock of the milestones that made the year so colourful. It wasn’t just the feeling of time moving faster the older I get, but waking up to the pace of post-COVID Business As…