SuperFineFeline's New Adventure
Breakfast at Stumptown Coffee Roasters in New York City, Virginia is for Lovers sign at a rest stop along Blue Star Memorial Highway, our passports at Hotel Indigo Katong in Singapore, Q number at Joe's Shanghai & me pointing at stuff at National Mall in D.C.
See you later, Singapore!
After a 6-month long foodie farewell tour in Singapore, I arrived at Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C. a month ago to start a new adventure.
I would be lying if I said that I was fearless about my journey into uncharted waters. It wasn't easy to leave everything behind to start afresh in a new country but I figured it was worth a shot with my husband by my side. Life's too short for regrets and things we wish we had the courage to try.
As someone wise once said “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
What's new, pussycat?
Reading Thich Nhat Hanh's The Art of Power in a sala at Kamalaya Koh Samui
Looking back at the last five years of my life, I guess I got tired of playing it safe and decided to seek change. It was scary to leave a job in the banking industry to start a new career in social media, digital marketing and public relations - a move that I had pondered for years. I had to learn to live with less indulgences. No more expensive shoes and meals, no more vintage bottles of Champagne on special occasions, no more pricey culinary workshops etc. Even though I had less money to splurge and sometimes the journey was pretty rough, I felt happier as I was learning something new in a field that I was passionate about and working on developing creative skills amongst other things. I'm glad I started my blog over a decade ago as a creative outlet and how it has helped me to make the transition into a new career.
I tried out new things such as meditation, reading books by writers such as Thich Nhat Hanh on consciousness, practising restorative Yoga, and travelled solo to wellness resorts such as Kamalaya Koh Samui and Fivelements Puri Ahimsa in Bali. I used to drink about three cups of coffee a day but that reduced to three cups a month after a very short vegan detox experience at Fivelements. I made new friends from around the world during my stay at Kamalaya and I'm looking forward to more new experiences in the US.
The view from the wellness center at Kamalaya Koh Samui
With this new start in mind, I've decided to give my blog a slightly different direction as we draw closer to SuperFineFeline's 11th birthday in September. Join me on my journey as I share my gastronomic memories and my experience in a new country - from my culinary experiments to my favourite haunts for retail therapy and various other discoveries as they unfold. Stay tuned to this space and my Instagram profile for more updates.
PS: Anyone thought of seeking out diner jukeboxes to play Tom Jones' 'What's New, Pussycat' just to see what happens?