Category Archives: Travel

Notes from el desierto

Posted on January 9, 2022 by Topher Ong

It’s the middle of summer and the weather is heating up. The battle against COVID has continued, with thousands of cases and swamped testing centres. The New Year has coincided with a noticeable surge in temperatures. Days have hovered in … Continue reading →

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Aloha, 2021

Posted on December 31, 2021 by Topher Ong

This year has been a strange one for all of us. It started off without New Year’s Eve celebrations. International travel has been decimated for the most part. Social distancing became the new normal. Then masks became mandatory and a … Continue reading →

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Boxing Day Madness

Posted on December 25, 2021 by Topher Ong

The Christmas long weekend is upon us. Beginning today, the 25th, Australians will observe a four-day break. Practically all stores and services are closed during Christmas Day. This includes the leading supermarkets such as Coles, Woolies, and ALDI. By law, … Continue reading →

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‘Gone in a flash!’

Posted on December 11, 2021 by Topher Ong

The aftermath of COVID has seen the closure of many stores. The months-long lockdown and lack of clients precipitated their downfalls. Some are lucky enough to still be standing. These are usually mid-level and high-volume franchises. They can afford to … Continue reading →

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Love Hard (2021) reviewed

Posted on November 12, 2021 by Topher Ong

For this week’s post, my first choice was reviewing season three of You. However, being a recent release, there wasn’t much material. I also thought of reviewing Knives Out (2020) which was both a critical and audience darling. Although the … Continue reading →

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Royal Botanic Gardens: ‘A Walk to Remember’

Posted on October 16, 2021 by Topher Ong

I remember visiting the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney with the family. My Dad had been there before, but he was looking forward to another day trip. This was the first such foray for the rest of us. The 30-hectare botanic … Continue reading →

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Sydney’s historic Hyde Park

Posted on September 18, 2021 by Topher Ong

Hyde Park, Sydney is a large urban park located in the city’s central business district. The Park covers two blocks (16.2 hectares) and is the oldest such parkland in the country. The Park was built between 1810 and 1927. City … Continue reading →

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9/11: Twenty years on

Posted on September 11, 2021 by Topher Ong

9/11/2001 On this day twenty years past, Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked two airplanes that struck the twin towers late that morning. This was the most brazen and the worst terror attack ever in history. Pictures of the crumbling towers dominated the … Continue reading →

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July 2021 (lockdown) reads

Posted on July 31, 2021 by Topher Ong

Another month, another list. Since my last catalogue, I’ve cleared another trio of reads. I started off with Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere, which has been dubbed as the foremost Filipino novel. We studied this text in high school, although the … Continue reading →

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An ode to the COVID epicentre

Posted on July 17, 2021 by Topher Ong

Have you been paying attention to the news? Then you’ll realise that this pandemic doesn’t choose At first, they made masks mandatory It was a nod back to recent restrictions The current wave began at Bondi Once it started, the … Continue reading →

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