Last year, during what is now an annual pre-birthday surf trip, I was lucky enough to spend two weeks in the paradise that is Kandui Villas. A remote spot tucked away in Indonesia's Mentawai Islands, it had taken us two plane rides, a couple of car rides, and a couple of boat rides to get there. But once we were there, it was sheer bliss - our humble abode was an expansive rustic villa built in the traditional Indonesian style, or Uma as they're called there, and I spent my d

While anyone who's ever truly committed to living a fit and healthy lifestyle knows that there aren't any genuine quick fixes (and fad diets are a terrible idea, for many reasons!) when it comes to getting fit and/or losing weight, sometimes you just need to speed things up a bit - whether that's because you've got a holiday, wedding, or school reunion coming up (or an anticipated run-in with your ex), or you're trying to get into shape for a fitness-related goal (be it a 10k

During the long, hot Dubai summers, I often joke that the temperatures get so high outside that I turn into a "human dim sum" - steamed from the inside out. So it's somewhat ironic, then, that it's during the human dim sum time of year that I was lucky enough to discover - with thanks to my friend Kirsteen (the co-founder of Get Fit Chick, Kirsteen is a fellow HAPA who hails from Hong Kong so she knows her dim sum, and like me, lives in the area, which is how she stumbled acr

In books and the movies, goodbyes are often an extended process. The main character gets the chance to sit by their ill-fated loved one's bedside and hold their hand, looking deep into their eyes before saying all of the words they had always longed to say, before they drift off forevermore. The hero gets the chance to pause and deliver a smooth catchphrase before finishing the villain off with a final blow or shot. But in real life, that's not the case. When someone dies in