A good start to a happy weekend! My photo essay under pen name 蓝天游 on Czech Republic’s St. Barbara's Church of Kutna Hora《圣巴巴拉教堂 捷克小镇上的建筑瑰宝》is published today! So happy to see it being featured nationwide in print! Special thanks to Lianhe Zaobao, you have made my day! Thank U so much 感谢 感恩 :)

I got the chance to see Southern Finland for the first time in December last year during Christmas and fell in love with Finland. I spent most of my time in Helsinki, but one day I took a one hour bus ride to Porvoo, a medieval town filled with cute, colorful streets. Porvoo is the second oldest city in Finland. And if only the cobblestone streets could speak, they would tell you tales of many Finnish artists who’ve called Porvoo their home. 

I fell in love with Porvoo as soon as I saw it. And not just because Porvoo is pretty – even though it is, very pretty indeed. It’s one of those places that you find on those ’10 most beautiful villages’ kind of lists, alongside a plethora of stereotypical descriptions – picture-perfect, candy-coloured houses, picturesque, cute as a button, quaint cobbled backstreets, and so on.
 
Fact is, Porvoo really is that. It is picture-perfect. The medieval town and riverside have a happy, holiday-ish vibe which is unique in Finland. That is my favourite part about Porvoo. The time seemed to tick even slower in Porvoo. Wandering around in the enchanting town is easy to get lost back in time and feel the easy-going and historical atmosphere.

去年十二月我迎着冰雪的芬兰之旅，去寻找冬天里冻出来的美景。无雪的北欧冬天不知道会是怎样一幅萧瑟的画面，而我是幸运的，赫尔辛基以银装素裹等待着我的到来，没有雪的冬天，又怎能算是一个完整的冬天呢。我在赫尔辛基有几天的时间，就去波尔沃（Porvoo）这个童话般的小镇走走，体验了芬兰的另一面。波尔沃中世纪小镇有着完全不同于赫尔辛基的精神。

踏入古镇，首先会想到的是，我重新定义“景色如画”这个词。波尔沃是一座有着200多年历史的古，具有北欧威尼斯之称，处处美景如画。如果没有身着现代装束的居民和游人熙来攘往，我会以为整个古镇还被尘封在600多年前的某一天里。当初我为何选择去波尔沃完全是被网路照片那一整排河边红色小屋给深深被吸引了，所以决定前往追寻。我查找了一下交通方式，其实从赫尔辛基搭巴士过来还满方便的，在时间充裕的情况下，决定来个波尔沃 一日遊，享受一下芬兰第二古镇的魅力。从赫尔辛基到波尔沃车程大约只需55分钟。在赫尔辛基市中心的长途汽车站即可乘车前往，长途汽车车身上通常标有 Porvoo 字样。

波尔沃小镇上的观光客並不多，尤其是冬季。一到冬季添了些许神奇的魔力。如果说夏日的波尔沃明媚灿烂的酷似油画，那么冬日的波尔沃则更像是冰雪中的童话世界，同一个地方，相反的季节，风格迥然。

It was a warm, spring day as the Setagaya Line snakes its way through the quiet, residential streets of Setagaya Ward. Its ten-station line is a haven for local feeling and one of the true little joys of suburban discovery. The compact, two-carriage tram might be just a regular commute for locals, but it also gives sightseers a rare glimpse of Tokyo away from the crowds. Easy to get to, easy to ride and easy to enjoy, the Setagaya Line is a must for those looking for a picturesque day of feel-good sightseeing. I spent a day getting on and off, exploring quiet residential neighborhoods and local shopping streets.

The Setagaya Line is one of two surviving tramways in Tokyo (the other is the Arakawa Line which i will blog about it separately). Sangenjaya is a town with a long history. Beginning as an area with three tea houses, travelers and warlords stopped here on their way in or out of Edo city. Today, Sangenjaya sits beneath a towering expressway, offering a fascinating mix of old and new.

I've made this series of photos into a comic book illustration. Making a picture different, quirky, and a little bit crazy doesn't necessarily make the image immature. Such effect has great potential to really make moments memorable and really etch that fun memory in stone. The comic effect can be an important reminder to not take life too seriously, have fun, and enjoy those special moments in life.

我这次去东京为自已安排了一趟怀旧路面电车之旅，体验的是东京市区宁静的另外一面。我已经三访、四访东京，不想再走人潮拥挤的观光或购物景点，所以搭乘路面电车走进东京朴实住宅区体验不同于东京繁华的悠闲氛围原来是一个不错的旅行方式。我找一个晴朗的好天气，跳上这一条路面电车。东急世田谷线，从起站到迄站，短短的十个站点，不到十八分钟的车程，整体给人迷你可爱的感觉。东急世田谷线是东京唯二的路面电车，另一条是都电荒川线。

我将这一系列的普通照片制作成漫画版的照片。我用漫画的形式重新诠释照片里的内容，发挥了我的想象力，让我的照片更有趣。 无论是黑白素描风，还是日系小清新风格都能够轻松搞定，内含表情贴纸，气泡贴纸，让漫画版的照片更加生动。

Japanese people have had a long relationship with cats. More than 1,000 years ago, people in the upper class were already living with cats. Common people also started having pet cats at home several hundred years ago and Japanese people have been involved with cats in a variety of ways since then. There are shrines that worship cats as gods across Japan and cats have also played a part in folk beliefs through the ages. Cats have been loved by Japanese people through the ages.

Yanaka in Tokyo is famous not only for its old world charm, but for its sizable population of friendly stray cats. Of all the sights to see in the cozy, old-fashioned neighborhood Yanaka, one stuck out to me the most: cats, cats everywhere. 

Gallery Nekomachi 猫町 is an art space that only has cat-themed works on display. I felt that it was like a spot which would appear in the films of Ghibli. ​The 15-year old gallery itself is a pleasant place to visit, occupying an old house at the top of a steep set of stairs.

喜爱猫咪的东京 “谷中银座” 商店街，有很多以猫作为吉祥物的店铺，猫迷们走在街上，总会被那些真假猫们牵去了目光。
 
谷中一带猫踪处处，什么都会和猫扯上关系，GALLERY猫町就是一个专门以猫做主题的艺廊，由民家改建，藏于幽静的住宅区中。如果你肯定自己是百分百猫奴，便一定要来这里。老板非常喜欢猫，所以便开设了这个gallery。老板不为赚钱，只有望有更多人认识这些同样同猫的艺术家。

A wonderful start to the weekend! My photo essay under pen name 蓝天游 on Kyoto, Japan UNESCO World Heritage Site's Jishu Shrine 地主神社《京都地主神社求良缘地》is published in today's zbNOW/早报现在 Lianhe Zaobao 联合早报 Special Travel Edition ! Thank U so much 感谢、感恩  :)

​I’ve started a new painting.  I was always trying to figure out something new to try, artistically. And so this circles series. Each circle painting measures 12" x 12".
 
WHY CIRCLES? The circle is a universal symbol everyone can relate to. Simple yet profound, it symbolizes wholeness, enlightenment, and the universe in all cultures. For us, the circle means connect, create, and celebrate.
 
When I work in this style, I create the circles spontaneously and decide on their placement in an entirely intuitive manner. I don't pre-plan anything. I then painted in various circles, one color at a time. For instance, first I painted in all the yellow shapes. Then all the orange shapes, then blue, green, etc.
 
I strive to create a balanced variety of circles and colors. The idea is that the different shapes and placement of colors will cause the viewer's eyes to bounce around the canvas. In this way I seek to create a sense of movement and energy in these funky artworks.
 
There is beauty in repetition.

For anyone who enjoys the sight of old-fashioned Japanese houses and the rich culture that flourished in the early 1900s, the Nezu residential district of central Tokyo is a wonderful place for a stroll. The joint Takehisa Yumeji and Yayoi Museums are located in two adjacent buildings in a side street near the Tokyo University. Takumi Kano, a Japanese lawyer, established the Yayoi museum in honor of the painter Takahata Kasho. Six years later, the Takehisa Yumeji Museum followed.

东京大学弥生门旁，是一条清幽的小径。我沿著东京大学围墙信步而往，不久便抵达竹久梦二美术馆。

竹久梦二美术馆与弥生美术馆优雅静謐地矗立在小道上，红砖的洋房，翠绿的竹林，幽秘的小池塘。竹久梦二美术馆和弥生美术馆由两幢小洋楼组成，两个美术馆由走廊连接在一起，只需要一张票就可以参观两个美术馆。两个美术馆彼此相邻相通，展览空间却是各自独立的美术馆。竹久梦二美术馆是以竹久梦二为主题的，所以展品都是与竹久梦二相关的内容，是东京都内能欣赏到梦二作品的唯一场所。

A very happy start to a great week! My photo essay under pen name 蓝天游 on Hong Kong's Jao Tsung-I Academy《隐于香港的饶宗颐文化馆》is published today! So happy to see it being featured nationwide in print! Special thanks to Lianhe Zaobao, you have made my day! Thank U so much 感谢 感恩 :)

A very happy start to July ! My photo essay under pen name 蓝天游 on  Taipei, Taiwan《台湾老街漫步游》is published in Lianhe Zaobao 联合早报 zbNOW/早报现在 special NATAS Travel edition today! So happy to see it being featured nationwide in print! Special thanks to Lianhe Zaobao, you have made my day! Thank U so much 感谢 感恩 :)

The minimalist principle of eliminating everything superfluous. This concept is brilliant. There is one such store in Tokyo since 2015.

All you will find in the tiny bookstore of "a Single Room with a Single Book” Morioka Shoten in the luxury shopping district of Ginza in Tokyo is simply a single room with one table in it, displaying just one book. More precisely, multiple copies of the said title will be there for one week, with a different book coming up in the following week, and so on. The agony of choice is washed away, as Morioka Shoten has made the choice for you. 

You must buy the book Morioka Shoten wants to sell you. How refreshingly easy.

在东京逛过很多书店，我闲着时总想找些可以让人安静下来的地方，书店无疑是最好的去处。但去过许多让我惊喜的书店，特别难忘的是​一间微型书店以“一册、一室” 概念的森冈书店。

第一次去森冈书店的我带着满满好奇心，穿过奢侈品林立的银座大街，走过热闹非凡的街道，鳞次栉比的高楼，森冈书店就开在相对幽静小巷中的铃木大楼里。我一直觉得，出门旅行除了买买买我们还有太多事情可以做，比如可以在银座买的开心，也还可以找到这样一家有趣的独立书店存在。只有十几平米，没有书架，仅有的家具是一张年代久远的桌子和靠墙的一排储物箱。这张桌子正是这家书店的展台兼收银台。

一个空间、一本书，在这里不再是由顾客亲自从上千上万本丛书中挑选自己有兴趣的来看，而是由店主人每周亲自选定一本书。这么做虽然看似不可思议，但少去选择后，或许更能让我们接触到不同的作品与思想。另外，店家​精心挑选出一本好书在店内售卖，再根据这本书构建一个相关主题，策划一系列与这本书有关的展览、活动、对话，让顾客有机会更深入了解作者与书籍，增加阅读时的趣味。而这些体验是读者无法在网络上获取的。

This store is tucked away in a little nook in Ginza in Tokyo. I circled it 3 times before almost giving up then I caught sight of a little sign and finally honed in on its location. Gekkoso, a historical art store, is established in 1917 in Ginza, Japan. This quaint art store is more than a hundred year old and they make some of the most iconic art supplies and stationery items. It was one of the original store in Japan to bring wester art supplies into Japan. Their logo is a cute French horn, as a symbol to gather friends in one place. 

Once you get in, it is a small but magical place. I am just an amateur artist but the stuff here sure makes you wish that you are a professional artist. The paper, the colours, the sketch books everything is delightful. 

The Gekkoso shop has all the watercolor you can imagine. The handmade brush is also worth to invest on. The price isn’t that expensive compared to other designers’ brushes. Of course, I got myself some of the Gekkoso brushes and acrylic paints as memento for the trip.

日前小小的旅行到日本，抱持着好不容易可以出门去一趟东京玩，出门前兴奋的查了十来家左右的美术用具店，想要好好去朝圣一下。在攘往熙来的银座街道上，有这么一家梦幻的古朴小店，名字叫做月光荘画材店。不过由于行程安排， 不是所有人都对美术用具跟我一样有特殊狂热。第一次去银座找月光庄时，在巷子里绕了好几圈。这对拿地图在东京找地址一段时间我来说，很不寻常。

月光荘画材店里贩售各式百般的艺术纸类、画材用具，从1917年就座落在银座，至今已近百年的韶光。

Think back nine years. In other words, cast your mind back to the faraway year of 2010. Where were you and what were you doing?
 
When I started That’s Life Capture It! blog in July 2010, I never expected it would be anything more than a hobby (that’s all most blogs were back then). Had you told me back in 2010 that I’d still be chugging along, spewing out posts about the places that capture my attention, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. A lot has changed since those early years, from my own personal experiences to the general landscape (less bloggers, the rise of Instagram and social media overall). Quite candidly, it’s sometimes been more than enough to want to throw in the towel, especially as I still have a full-time career and a half-completed academic course study. But now, with more than 250 posts, thousands of visitors from around the world and countless memorable experiences, I’ve never been more excited and committed to the possibilities that lay ahead. I’m so happy to get to do something I love and call it my passion, and I’m proud of it I’ve built along the way.
 
My greatest learning has been the importance of accepting myself. Of being proud of what I put out there, of the message I send and of the type of blog I am creating. If you have been along for the whole time you know the blog has taken many turns…some better than others but all with the true intention of creating content that is authentic and organic.
 
Comparing myself to my fellow travel blogging peers has been a struggle; I am human. But what I have learned is that we are all on our own journey. And while our paths may cross, and often times do, we all have different goals, different passions and different dreams.  Each one of us is pursuing happiness. I feel nothing but inspiration and motivation. And so I use that inspiration and motivation to drive me forward. In a saturated “market” of blogging, it is important to stay in my lane; to be true to myself and remain authentic and real. I know that my learning is not done. Almost everyday I learn something new about this journey.