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To travels and trunks

A lover and a fighter, out to see the world.

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Travel
- Australia
- Africa
- Asia
Singapore

Hi, I’m Clara

I’m an author, writer and traveller, but most of all I’m a storyteller. Come with me, and let’s go see the world.

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Throwback to the time a typhoon forced us to cancel our Japan trip the night before our flight, so Dean and I embarked on a Grand Perak Tour instead. Spent a week in Ipoh, Taiping and Penang checking out street art, clambering around limestone caves and staying in refurbished shophouses-turned-hotels. We also ate so many slices of cake, bowls of horfun and plates of cheap seafood only for me to end up with food poisoning on the last day… from Penang’s famous Ayer Itam laksa. But it was delicious, so no ragrets: 10/10 would eat again🔥

All the feels watching @thetravelintern turn three. Thanks for taking a chance on me in 2015 - it’s been an honour to grow with you guys. When I was freelancing, people asked all the time if I worked for TTI. Here’s the backstory - I answered their first open call, got picked out of 500 or so applicants, and got sent by puppetmaster @pohtecktoes on a mystery trip to China where I only found out the destination at the airport (!!) The internship only lasted a month but I continued working with TTI on various projects, representing them on media trips and writing travel content for clients. And it was @pohtecktoes who introduced me to Siew Hua, who commissioned my freelance travelogues for The Straits Times before she offered me my current job. After three years, TTI has become a company AND a community. I’ve met so many good folks, as evidenced by these photographs. And I’m super excited to watch you guys push boundaries with fresh content, enable more people’s dreams, and make new friendships along the way ❤️

Prek Svay is only a 10-minute speedboat ride from the luxury resort on Song Saa island, but they are worlds apart. Families subsist on fishing, carpentry or cashew nut farming; backpackers lounge in beachfront bungalows; children play with stray animals and go to school for free.

Work trip last month on Song Saa private island where I spent five days in paradise, sleeping on clouds and feasting on sunshine. Is this the real life?! @songsaacollective @songsaafoundation #songsaa #songsaaprivateisland #truecambodian #petriepr

A few Saturdays ago I returned to Tampines JC, ten years after graduation, to sing the school song and watch the green and white flag come down for the last time. TPJC was a whirlwind two years of memorizing geography notes and writing endless literature essays and spending hours rehearsing theatre studies productions and worrying that despite my best efforts, I would not do well enough to get into university. In other words: it was hella stressful. But no ragrets because this was also where I met @danielselvy and how different my life would be now if our paths had never crossed. Also: First time walking through the school compound with @deansmole (who was one year above me although we didn’t know each other back then), swapping memories and laughing at how they all overlapped in our chapalang, scrappy, lovable alma mater💚

Before I published Stay Gold, an author friend told me that the first six months of my book’s life was crucial. That’s when you have to do all your marketing, she said; if the book doesn’t sell, bookshops will stop displaying it. In Singapore’s difficult retail market, books are generally considered bestsellers if they sell more than a thousand copies. When I started marketing Stay Gold in June - telling @danielselvy’s story in print and video and English and Mandarin - I didn’t tell anyone that this was my goal. I just tried to keep my book on the shelves. Six months on, these copies are from Stay Gold’s first reprint. We’ve sold out the initial print run of a thousand copies and I am thrilled and so grateful. To everyone who bought a copy, sent encouraging words, instagrammed the book or recommended Stay Gold to family and friends - thank you💜 Gonna be mailing these out to my newest readers - thanks for waiting on the reprint! If you’d like to a signed copy for yourself, a loved one or the office Secret Santa, DM me and I’ll do my best to get it to you before Christmas. Stay Gold is also available at Kinokuniya, Times, Popular, Book Depository and all public libraries in Singapore. Happy holidays everyone, and have a wonderful December ✨🌲#readstaygold

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Category: Singapore

Growing up is not that scary: Things I’ve learnt as a 28-year-old

Growing up is not that scary: Things I’ve learnt as a 28-year-old

Reflections, advice and things I’ve learnt as a 28-year-old. Continue reading Growing up is not that scary: Things I’ve learnt as a 28-year-old

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Stay Gold: An Almost Healthy Boy in a Mostly Healthy World

Stay Gold: An Almost Healthy Boy in a Mostly Healthy World

Everything you need to know about Stay Gold: An Almost Healthy Boy in a Mostly Healthy World. Continue reading Stay Gold: An Almost Healthy Boy in a Mostly Healthy World

My best friend’s biography

My best friend’s biography

“I’ll write your biography,” I promised my best friend before he died. Continue reading My best friend’s biography

2016: Roots and wings

2016: Roots and wings

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be. Continue reading 2016: Roots and wings

A search for hope: One year after QZ8501

Asia, Singapore, travel

A search for hope: One year after QZ8501

Sailing with the Republic of Singapore Navy on the search for Air Asia QZ8501. Continue reading A search for hope: One year after QZ8501

SG50: Love and loss

SG50: Love and loss

Growing up amidst the loss of my grandmother, my best friend, and my youth. Continue reading SG50: Love and loss

Rite of passage: Crossing the Equator with the Singapore Navy

Rite of passage: Crossing the Equator with the Singapore Navy

I get down and dirty in an equator crossing ceremony with the Republic of Singapore Navy. Continue reading Rite of passage: Crossing the Equator with the Singapore Navy

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