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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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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

First media fam with The Straits Times - In September I took a road trip out of Sydney to ride a hot air balloon at sunrise, make a fire in my glamping tent, spot dolphins along the coast and ride both camels and ATVs across sand dunes. Full story on straitstimes.com, which is offering free access to all premium articles today to compensate for a recent production glitch. Happy 11/11!

Keeping a blog in the Instagram age has made me realise how much I cherry-pick what I show the world. Despite shooting prudently, I still end up with at least a few hundred photos per trip. From there, maybe five pictures will make it to Instagram, and another 15 might make it into a blog entry. Each picture is selected to fit neatly into a narrative. What happens to the rest? Each time I go through old photos in my phone or hard drive, I’m struck by the scenes I’d snapped but long forgotten. The ease of photography has made digital hoarders of us all. These are the small moments from North Korea that don’t quite fit anywhere; that I don’t want to forget. Link in bio, 📸: @deansmole

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Tag: winter

这是个好日子: On travelling and loneliness

这是个好日子: On travelling and loneliness

Inner Mongolia in winter can be a cold and lonely place, but good company makes it a little warmer. Continue reading 这是个好日子: On travelling and loneliness

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