Navel Gazer
Single women and the dreaded M question
Post Chinese New Year, our columnist discusses the dilemma of the Western-educated, single Asian woman.
Ray Cheong reminds us that dreams keep our hopes alive
Navel Gazer: By ALEXANDRA WONG.
Auntie? Moi?
On what could have been a long night on the last day of the year, a bus driver adds unexpected cheer.
The chatty taxi-driver
A reformed bad guy teaches our columnist a timely lesson about giving — and forgiving.
She’s all heart
An old saying goes, ‘We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give’. Meet a lady who lives by this ethos.
A tale of two kiddies
Spend two hours playing with some strange kids or use that precious time on money-generating assignments? You might be surprised.
A poignant memory of Myanmar
Our columnist has had her heartstrings tugged in many countries, the latest being Myanmar, where one particular afternoon etches a poignant memory.
Stranger danger?
It’s surprising how some people will go out of their way to lend a hand to a stranger.
Sad cat tale
When you do good, it’s only fair that life treats you in kind, right? A pizza-maker gives our columnist a fresh perspective.
Quiet old Dad
Our columnist thought she knew all there was to know about her father, until his ex-students show there is more to the quiet, simple man she has known all her life than meets the eye.
Are you kidding me?
What’s the scariest thing our columnist has had to do? Meeting her best friends’ daughters.
Perfect time capsule
Sekeping Kong Heng, a newly unveiled guest house in Ipoh’s Old Town, gets our columnist pondering over adaptive reuse in her hometown.
Sweet and simple
How do you define real love? The Navel Gazer finds the answer in an unexpected place.
Money isn’t everything
Our columnist was just taking up an offer for a free lunch from a nasi kandar proprietor she once interviewed, but he dished up much more.
Joy to the world
An encounter in a taxi reminds our columnist how things that mean very little to one could mean a whole lot more to someone else.
Meeting the man
At the invitation of a reader, our columnist gets a rare chance to meet a historical figure who now resides in Bangkok.
Mum, my chum
How many of us can call our mother our best friend? Our columnist – whose unconventional lifestyle would give any mother lots of grey hair – never did. Until now.
Banishing the shadows
On this Merdeka week, Alexandra Wong reflects on her own Malaysian journey through a Malay kampung in Perak.
Caring for others
While visiting a community centre to get a photo for her story, our columnist learns that generosity is not about the size of your pocket, but your heart.
Coming home
Our world-weary former food reviewer finds her raison d’être again when she steps back to the place where it all began.
A doctor who cares
In the course of treating our columnist’s ugly pimples, one good doctor taught her the beauty of compassion.
The artist in geek’s clothing
How science enabled our columnist to pursue the arts.
Tomyam, with insight
Once upon a time, if someone had told our columnist that she would be on texting terms with the tomyam warung operator below her apartment, and that he would be chauffeuring her to the airport someday, she would have said, “Crazy ah?”
The good heartbreak
Can a painful heartbreak grow into something strong and beautiful? Yes, it can, says our columnist, writing about her first love.
Stranger in a train
Is it possible for a chance encounter to change your life? Yes, says our columnist who met a reader in a train.
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