“Maybe you’re a woman in search of a word.” [Eat Pray Love]

“Maybe you’re a woman in search of a word.” [Eat Pray Love]

What’s in a word?

Recently, I revisited a quote from the movie Eat, Pray Love that made me stop and take the time to really reflect. In the movie, Julia Roberts, who plays Liz Gilbert (author of the book upon whom this story is truly based), struggles to find a word that represents who she is. The friends she’s made in Italy try to find words to represents themselves and the cities they’ve visited – London is “stuffy”, New York is “ambition” or “soot”, and Rome is “sex” – but all Liz can think of to define herself, is “writer”, which her companions point out, isn’t who she is, but what she does for a living. At the end of the book, after a satisfying journey of learning to let go of a nasty divorce and love herself again so she can start to love somebody else, Liz decides that her word is, in fact Attraversiamo, an Italian word meaning let’s cross over.

Gilbert’s journey throughout the movie helps bring her back to who she used to be by helping her to cross over to her old self; someone who was happy; someone who had the capability to give love and receive it; someone inspired who had the ability to inspire others, through actions and words – in her case, words written in the form of a book. The word Attraversiamo for Gilbert, was the perfect reflection of who she was at that particular moment in time. Continue reading ““Maybe you’re a woman in search of a word.” [Eat Pray Love]”

Two Days in Malacca: The Perfect Pit-Stop

Two Days in Malacca: The Perfect Pit-Stop

In 2008, I had the great fortune of landing in Singapore, where I started the journey of a lifetime. After regrouping in South East Asia’s most hustling and bustling hub, I decided to head north towards Kuala Lampur. En route however, I made the decision to stopover for 2 days in Malacca, the third smallest Malaysian state, located in the straits of Malacca – a paradise for pirates in days gone by. Here are my impressions on road as I discovered a city steeped well in history – a great stopover for any wanderer on walkabout.

Continue reading “Two Days in Malacca: The Perfect Pit-Stop”