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To travels and trunks

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

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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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After 2.5 years, hundreds of interviews, countless invoices and more clients than I could sometimes handle, I have finally moved on from this workspace. Being a freelance writer was my dream job and I never imagined I’d get to do it so young. I used to start each day with a cup of tea and a to-do list at this desk. Now I get dressed in the same spot and then make the 50-minute commute to 1000 Toa Payoh North. Five years after graduation, here I am in the newsroom. It’s a big change and a job I always wanted, ever since I pinned an SPH scholarship advertisement to my bedroom wall 15 years ago. It’s been an unexpected journey getting here but now, finally, I get to call myself a journalist🤓

A morning hike through Horton Plains; peeling off our layers as the moon morphed into the sun.

Being 28 brings less wide-eyed wonder when I travel, but it also makes new experiences that much more precious. More, reflections, advice and things I’ve learnt as a 28-year-old at claralock.com

Happiest day of my life! 🙌🏼 Launched my first book, Stay Gold: An Almost Healthy Boy in a Mostly Healthy World last weekend. Stay Gold is the story of my late best friend @danielselvy, who passed on at 25 but touched many lives including mine. Big thanks and lots of love to everyone who was a part of this❤️ Stay Gold is available at Popular, Times and Kinokuniya, or DM me for a signed copy while stocks last! 📷: @charlotteacs #readstaygold

If you go on a trip and social media doesn’t hear about it, did you actually travel at all? Last month in Sri Lanka, I unplugged as best as I could — no SIM card, no Instastories, and certainly no checking my email on the go. When I disappeared from the internet for a few hours and the world kept spinning and I didn’t have to reply to client emails right away, it was the best thing ever. I felt so free. But I also know that posting on Instagram makes me think more deeply about what I want to say. And I do like reading my old captions because they remind me what I was feeling at that time. Instastories made our feeds less instant, and the #throwback tag is virtually redundant these days. So now that I’m back in the throes of connectivity, here’s my first picture from Sri Lanka, on a balmy afternoon where our tuk-tuk driver stopped and gestured at a random tower by the road, and we climbed it, and were met by this view🌴

Here’s the thing about travelling for work. We capture the most scenic views, the tastiest meals and the funniest videos, but it’s virtually impossible to portray the reality behind a work trip because how can you possibly convey the pain behind the 4am starts and 14-hour days and an ever-mounting sleep debt? Hokkaido is storybook beautiful - towering snow-capped mountains and foxes in the bushes and golden-hued fields kind of beautiful. Even so, during the long drives, there were many points that we fought to stay awake. Highway karaoke was a joy, but it was also a necessity. Still, we are terribly fortunate that our work takes us places. And I am terribly fortunate to have had these folks as company over the past ten days of sake, secrets and 267GB worth of footage. Thanks for a memorable trip, guys. If all this sounds up your alley, #TheTravelIntern’s Jul-Dec ‘18 programme is taking applications until 12 May. Deets at thetravelintern.com - don’t say bo jio!

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Tag: trek

Climbing Poon Hill: To the summit and back

Climbing Poon Hill: To the summit and back

Two city slickers make it to the peak of Poon Hill. Continue reading Climbing Poon Hill: To the summit and back

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Up Poon Hill: Days one and two

Asia

Up Poon Hill: Days one and two

First half of a five-day trek up Nepal’s Poon Hill, though at 3210m high it should really be called a mountain. Continue reading Up Poon Hill: Days one and two

Taroko Gorge, Hualien: Hey Gorgeous

Taroko Gorge, Hualien: Hey Gorgeous

March 2011 | Hualien, Taiwan

We got comfortable, and then wanderlust kicked in. So we hiked Taroko Gorge. Continue reading “Taroko Gorge, Hualien: Hey Gorgeous”

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