Reflections

2025 in Review was originally published on December 26, 2025 in "Heaven on Earth" and republished in "Reflections" in June 2026. This year went by quickly. It was a “moving” year: I had three different addresses in Greater Vancouver. It was also the year I visited two bucket-list destinations— Neuschwanstein Castle and Mont-Saint-Michel . Neuschwanstein Castle inspired the Disney logo, while Mont-Saint-Michel appears in photographs to rise mysteriously from the sea. I have visited many UNESCO sites over the years in an effort to understand what makes them worthy of inscription. When some of these World Heritage sites are also popular tourist attractions, I have sometimes subconsciously avoided them. I suppose such places must also hold strong aesthetic appeal for YouTubers and Instagrammers. Since this relatively short journey would likely be my swan song to Europe, I challenged myself to embrace the crowds and visit several of these popular sites. In the end, I co...

2024 in Review was originally published on December 31, 2024 in "Heaven on Earth" and republished in "Reflections" in June 2026. I was travelling in Asia at the beginning of 2024. After spending a few days in Malaysia, I flew from Kuala Lumpur to Dhaka on January 8th. There had been civil unrest in Bangladesh prior to my arrival. The long-time Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, had been re-elected for her fourth term. In anticipation of large-scale protests in the capital city, I opted for an unusual route: I visited places of interest in descending order of preference. I worried that I might have to leave the country earlier than planned. In the end, however, the government was not overthrown during my visit. That did not happen until August. The next country I visited was the Maldives . I stayed there for the month of February. I based myself on the island of Maafushi and took short trips to several other islands using public ferries. There are many foreign workers ...

  2023 in Review was originally published on December 23, 2023 in "Heaven on Earth" and republished in "Reflections" in June 2026. I was sitting in the lobby of a small hotel outside Cubao Bus Station in Quezon City as I reflected upon the past 355 days. It was 3 AM, yet the city was not sleeping and the air was humid. What a contrast this was to the way 2023 began in Vancouver . Heavy snowfall had fallen just before Christmas 2022. Inflation had been rampant ever since I returned to Canada in March 2022, and I did not even feel the desire to window shop during my stay in New Westminster in 2023. For months, I battled skin problems and spent much of the early part of the year in my room. Yet I did not sleep much, as I was constantly being contacted by overseas friends asking me to help them immigrate to Canada. There were over one million newcomers to Canada in 2022, and the trend continued in 2023, with Canadian cities increasingly bursting at the seams. In Apri...

  2022 in Review was published in Heaven on Earth in December 2022 and republished in Reflections in June 2026. New Year's Eve in Cali, Colombia I started the year in Cali, Colombia. Subsequent to spending another two weeks in Colombia. I flew to Costa Rica. Based in the capital city, San Jose, I made day trips to different parts of this small Central American country. Inter-city transportation in Costa Rica is sporadic but still doable for the most part. I could have enjoyed Costa Rica more if I were an outdoor sports enthusiast. I, however, enjoyed its renown biodiversity. Following my Costa Rican visit, I flew to El Salvador. In order to avoid the stringent Covid requirements of Nicaragua, I had to forgo land transport from Costa Rica to El Salvador via Nicaragua. That would have been a 25 hour bus ride with a transfer in Managua. I saw a lot more historical sites than expected in El Salvador, which is one of the less touristy countries in Central America. El Rosario Church in S...

This passage was originally published in December 2021 in Heaven on earth and republished in Reflections in June 2026. The first quarter of 2021 feels uneventful now—almost like a blur. For months, I was in a cocoon. I barely ventured beyond a two-kilometre radius from my apartment, obsessively checking COVID-19 updates every day. I gained weight from all the food I was teaching myself to cook. In hindsight, anxiety attacks and learning how to cook are not a great combination. Physically and mentally, I wasn’t doing well. I dealt with a string of health issues: breakouts, insomnia, constant fatigue. Clinics refused to book face-to-face appointments, and telehealth appointments did little to help. It felt like being stuck in limbo—worried about my health but unable to access proper care. By March, my anxiety had shifted outward. I was deeply concerned about the Delta variant and the devastating situation in India. When vaccines were approved for emergency use and rollout plans were anno...

This post was published in early December 2020 in "Heaven on Earth" and republished in "Reflections" in June 2026. My usual practice is to compose a yearly review in the last few days of a year but I have decided to write my review earlier this time around. 2020 is a memorable year for most people around the world, better be gone and forgotten. The COVID 19 pandemic has turned life upside down for a great multitude of people since mid-March. My daily routine did not change much except for the 3.5 months that I stayed in the Philippines during the lockdown. Well, there is a first for everything. Fireworks at the Dubai Mall for the New Year countdown I celebrated the birth of 2020 in Dubai, U.A.E. My visit in the country was pretty unremarkable until I met a local man in Al Ain. I spent a couple of hours in his farm in the oasis. I learned so much about the culture of UAE from him and experienced Arab hospitality. In Al Ain Oasis The late Sultan of Oman passed away on...

This post was originally published in Heaven on Earth in December 2019 and republished in June 2026. Sunrise in Bubaque, Guinea-Bissau I started 2019 in the idyllic island nation of Cape Verde in West Africa. Then something unthinkable happened in Senegal the next day; my cell phone was stolen in the Dakar Airport on January 2nd. Though cheaper versions of smartphones were available in West Africa, I opted not to buy a replacement phone there because of concerns about their quality. During the subsequent three months, I had to depend on an outdated Lonely Planet guidebook and verbal instructions of locals to make my way through West Africa. My journey from Senegal to Ghana was nothing short of an adventure movie script. Many times, the scenery was so extraordinary. The sunsets and sunrises were phenomenal. Sunset in Touba Kouta, Senegal West Africans would often say to me, "Mama, Africa is suffering." I would just nod in agreement and reply, "I know, and I am suffering w...

This post was originally published in "Heaven on Earth" in December 2018 and republished in "Reflections" in June 2026. Essaouira, Morocco at Daybreak. Life was very routine and mundane in the first half of the year. I dug out all my photo albums and scrapbooks, and scanned all my paper photos into a USB stick. I gave away more clothes, shoes and accessories. But still I could not eliminate the use of a locker. I suppose I would need a locker in Vancouver as long as I spend half of a year in Canada. When weather is getting more extreme in Vancouver, winter clothing is a necessity. Unlike the summer of 2016, I did not volunteer in public events as much this summer. I tried to help people on a one-to-one basis more. Sometimes it is just listening to people's complaints. At the same time, I spent a lot of time gathering as much information about West Africa as possible. Travel conditions were looking worse and worse the whole time. Subsequently I made a decision th...