Life

Reed diffuser and a dark bird figurine on a shelf

21 Oct 20262 min readLife

Making a small room feel like home

Students and researchers abroad often live in small, temporary rooms. Some thoughts on why a few deliberate details matter more than space.

A woman in a conical hat among peach blossoms

26 Sept 20261 min readLife

Peach blossom season

In northern Vietnam, Tết does not really begin until the peach branches arrive.

A crowded street market under colourful umbrellas

3 Jun 20262 min readLife

In praise of the morning market

Supermarkets are convenient, but the traditional market is where a city shows what it eats and how it lives. A reflection on chợ in Vietnam and morning markets in Taiwan.

Performers in painted faces and ornate headdresses at a temple festival

25 Mar 20262 min readLife

Temple festivals and the goddess of the sea

Taiwan's folk temples are loud, colourful and close to everyday life. An introduction to temple festivals, processions and Mazu, the sea goddess.

Rows of red lanterns strung across a space in Kaohsiung

14 Jan 20262 min readLife

One Lunar New Year, two ways: Tết and Taiwan

Vietnam and Taiwan celebrate the same Lunar New Year with many shared roots and plenty of small differences. A side-by-side look.

19 Nov 20252 min readLife

Reading the seasons in two places

Northern Vietnam has four seasons you can name by smell. Southern Taiwan has heat, plum rains and typhoons. Notes on learning a new calendar of weather.

An alley in Taiwan with old buildings and greenery

30 Sept 20252 min readLife

On being a Vietnamese student in Taiwan

Some reflections on studying far from home: language, small routines, and why the distance between Vietnam and Taiwan is both short and long.

Lotus flowers, a teapot and fresh vegetables on a wooden table

6 Aug 20252 min readLife

Tea in a Vietnamese home

In Vietnam, tea is less a drink than a gesture. Notes on green tea, lotus tea and the cup of iced tea on the pavement.

11 Jun 20252 min readLife

Matcha, from tea ceremony to latte

Matcha has travelled from Japanese tea rooms to cafés all over the world. What it actually is, how it is made, and why it tastes the way it does.

3 Apr 20252 min readLife

Half sugar, less ice: learning to order milk tea in Taiwan

Bubble tea was born in Taiwan, and ordering it here is a small language of its own. Notes on sugar levels, ice levels and why the drink matters.

20 Oct 20244 min readLife

The autumns I remember

Milkwood flowers in Hanoi, a first autumn away from home in Singapore, and coming back to Taiwan after two years.