Category: Asian
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4AG – Chinese heavy metal
For Aggressive Gentlemen (4AG) is a Chinese heavy metal band. Actually it’s the only one in Kota Kinabalu. I was in Razz Ma Tazz nightclub with my husband Mike. 4AG were playing. I knew nothing about metal and it all sounded like feedback and noise to me. “Don’t be like that,” Mike (a metal fan) […]
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My book as someone’s present
It feels so good to see my book given to someone (whom I don’t know) as a present. Wow! I hope they enjoy reading it.
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The Hakka Association in Kota Kinabalu
Yap Keng Vui and Chua Chun Kiong brought me to meet curator Allen Lin at the newly-built Hakka Association building in Kota Kinabalu. “The Hakka Association has 13 districts in Sabah,” Allen said. “Penampang, Putatan, Kota Belud, Ranau, Labuan, Lahad Datu, Tawau, Sandakan, Keningau, Beaufort, Kota Kinabalu and Tenom.” At the entrance is a massive […]
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Sabah holiday 2015. Inside the Sabah Art Gallery
My friend Yap took me to the relatively new Sabah Art Gallery. It’s an ecologically friendly building, powered by solar panels. Responsive lights turn on as you approach a painting. It’s a little freaky, but you get used to it 🙂
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Sabah holiday 2015. My book in Gaya Island Resort library
My cousin Shevon WhatsApped this photo to me, taken at the library in Gaya Island Resort.
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My Logan: Sunday Markets in Woodridge
I’m generalising a bit, but most cities seem to be made up of areas with distinct characteristics: there’s usually the cultural area with its stately museums and galleries; a historical financial district giving ground to swanky new businesses; neighbourhoods known for quiet elegance or tightly-knit permanance. There’s often a colourful side of town, where new […]
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Shinji Ogata – artist
Feature above: Treasury Hotel and Casino in Brisbane, the location of the photo shoot where I met Shinji Ogata. His post about this drawing is here. I first met Shinji Ogata on a corporate branding photoshoot for Treasury Casino in Brisbane. While the make-up and hair people worked on us, I heard someone ask him […]
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My book in Times book store!
My cousin Alyssa saw my book in a Times book store window in Kota Kinabalu. I remember looking at a similar window this time last year before the book was out. I tried to imagine it sitting among other beautiful glossy books about Sabah. It seemed like a dream. Thank you Alyssa.
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Klasik Elastik PHOTO VIDEO
Klasik Elastik is a duo made up of Sophie Van Aerde (violin, recorder) a doctor from France, and me (piano, melodica). We play mostly classical and gypsy songs. Sophie likes to be very expressive, varying the speed of the music when she feels like it. She has taught me how to listen and follow her. […]
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Blogger to author
I wrote my first blog SabahSongs from 2009-12. It was about people working in the field of music in Sabah, on the island of Borneo, where I was living at the time. When I said I was moving to Australia, readers of the blog asked me to turn it into a book. Eight manic weeks […]