It’s the time of year for resolutions.

Last time I made one was in 2020, so I figured I’m due. This shall also serve as Chapter 10 (out of 12) of my “Begin Again” series. Because that’s what the process of blogging has been for: to help me slake old skin and start again.

The one thing I’ve managed to hold onto as an adult is a propensity to regard the world around me, and everyone in it, with a child-like wonder.

I’m always curious to find out what lies just around the (river)bend, what vistas I would chance upon if I kept walking towards the unknown… just a wee bit further. I tend to see the good in people by default, while recognising that personalities are complex and full of surprises.

Yes, I do misjudge people and scenarios. But on the whole, seeing with an open heart and mind has done me well. It has ensured I fumble fearlessly-foolishly down a path that is unique, and replete with moments of uncertainty, rapture, disappointment and – ultimately – joy.

I don’t really ever know where I’m going. I’m good at vision, strategy, transformation, execution in a work context. But in my own life, I’ve never had a larger plan. I’ve always been driven by restlessness, curiosity and a lust for wonderment.

In the year ahead, I shall pursue WONDER with zeal and intensity; indulge my desire to be intrigued and awed by new kinds of experiences across all facets of my life.

2026 shall be MY YEAR OF WONDER-LUST.

* * *

In the last 18 months, I’ve tried out many new things in the spirit of curiosity and learning.

For 6 months last year, I offered to “intern” at my publishers, because I wanted to learn more about the publishing industry in Singapore and beyond. I wanted to consider if publishing was a possible pathway for me.

My publisher was most kind: he let me have an office to myself! 😃 He was excited at the thought of my coming in, and assigned me a few modestly-sized projects. In the meantime, I took the opportunity to meet with others in the industry.

The best part of going into “work” at my publishers’ every day was the semblance of structure I sorely needed post full-time job. Being with colleagues at the publishing house was also a form of solace. Our daily lunches in the office were the happiest moments in my life last year.

Instead of taking up a second career in publishing, however, I got side-tracked. I ended up writing and completing a novel – my very first work of fiction!!  

True, I had written some 30% of it already in 2016, around the time I took up a position at the museum. The narrative was set in a fictional Singapore and revolved around sparring young scions of old families. A grand museum featured prominently, as did a casino.

In the back of my mind, I knew I needed real-life experience to be able to write this. And indeed, after stepping down from the museum, scenes and characters flowed from the pen so much more fluidly.

I spent the first 6 months of 2025 finishing up and then editing the novel, even going so far as to “retreat from the world” for 2 months, first in London and then in Kamakura (Japan).

I felt such a tremendous sense of achievement when I appended the words, “THE END” to the manuscript!

In July, I spent a month querying literary agents in New York, London and India. This was hard work. I had to first research and shortlist a dozen agents who might be interested in the specific genre and type of book I was writing. And then, I sent personalised query letters to each of them, hoping that they might be convinced to represent me; hoping that my M/S was good enough.

[NOTE: If you wish to be published in major English-language markets abroad, you first need an agent, who will then represent you and shop you around to a publisher. Yes, it’s a complicated process.]

Most of the agents I queried replied to decline, if they replied at all. I was disappointed, of course. But then, after all, this is my first attempt at fiction and one doesn’t succeed from the get-go.

One of the agents reverted with valuable feedback. At the same time, an old friend, having very generously read my M/S in its entirety, also fed me loads of detailed and useful comments to consider.

In short: I needed to work on character development. I was very good at crafting elaborate scenes and set-pieces. The dramatic arc of my novel worked well; the action was fun and engaging. But there were one too many characters and side narratives, where I should’ve been focusing on deepening interactions between my primary characters. I had to do some major cleaning up.  

In 2026, I shall continue to plug away at the novel. I’ve set it aside now for almost 6 months. So I’m confident I’ll be able to look at it again with a fresh pair of eyes; regard it once again with child-like wonder, as it were.

My goal is to send out the new and improved M/S to publishers – in Singapore, this time – before the end of 2026.

* * *

In the past 18 months, I also set out to explore my roots.

I travelled to places my various grandparents hailed from, in particular: Medan (in Sumatra), Quanzhou 泉州 and Fuzhou 福州 (in southern China).

The latter trip was the most fruitful.

In April 2026, I returned with my father, uncles and aunties to our ancestral village – today a suburb of the port city of Fuzhou – to pay our respects to my paternal great-grandfather and great-grandmother during Qing Ming 清明, or the Tomb-Sweeping Festival. We were joined by my dad’s cousins in Taiwan and in Fuzhou city itself.

The highlight of our trip was a visit to our ancestral Clan Temple, which was immaculately restored and really quite stupendous in outlook. It dates to the 18^th century (Qianlong Period) and is a protected heritage site.

I’d never really thought about my own family heritage. So it was a quite a surprise to learn, from my Taiwanese uncle, that we belonged to the historic Jiangshan Chen Clan 江山陈氏 – my surname “Ting” is actually the word “Chen” 陈 pronounced in the Fuzhou (aka Foochow or Hokchiew) dialect.

The Jiangshan Chens had been here in this specific village, named after them (陈厝村), since the Northern Song Dynasty 北宋 (11^th century CE). In fact, so my uncle further explained, the Jiangshan Chens could trace their ancestry back to the Yingchuan Chen Clan 颍川陈氏, one of six old families who, during the Wǔ Hú Luàn Huá 五胡乱华 period in the 4^th century CE, when the Western Jin Dynasty 西晋 was under attack from “foreign barbarians”, fled south to Fuzhou to establish roots there.

So basically, our roots go back to the 4^th century CE.

[Though because these roots go so far back, there are probably, like hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people who have the same lineage, so one has to take said “lineage” with a pinch of salt – it prob ain’t nothin’ that special. 😅]

My Fuzhou cousins offered an alternative history, noting that we belonged to the Taoqi Chen Clan 陶岐陈氏 who settled in ancient times in Zhejiang 浙江. That said, the Taoqi and Jiangshan Chen clans have had extensive historical connections across the ages. In any case, my great-grandfather had decided to throw in his lot with the Jiangshan Chen Clan and his name is etched firmly onto the walls of the Clan Temple.

Clearly, this requires much more research. Though I must admit it’s very exciting to discover that one belongs to an ancient clan with a swashbuckling, wuxia-ish name.

“Jiangshan” is a wonderfully-nuanced Chinese word literally meaning “rivers and mountains” but also translating to “homeland / patrimony / fervent feelings of belonging”. It’s a word and concept straight out of those Louis Cha sword-fighting novels 金庸武侠小说 I read, wide-eyed, in my youth.

In 2026, together with some of my cousins, I shall return to Fuzhou, to have deeper conversations with relatives there, and to do some research of my own into my family history.

* * *

I’ve travelled for other reasons too in the past 18 months, chiefly to experience port cities I had written about in my book, The Great Port Cities of Asia: In History, but which I hadn’t actually been to.

These were destinations on my bucket-list. I went to Palembang and Hoi An, for example; and spent three weeks in the port cities of the Gulf and the Swahili Coast (Lamu, Mombasa, Zanzibar, Dar Es Salaam, Muscat, Dubai, etc).

I thought I’d keep going. After all, I’ve only been to some 45 of the 60 port cities in my book at this point. I thought to go to Cambay and Surat, Aceh and Makassar, Yangzhou and Nanjing.

And then sometime mid-year, I decided this was me looking back. No matter that I hadn’t been to all the port cities in the book; the book was already written. It was done. Time to move on.

I need to look forward. I need to keep exploring new vistas.

In the spirit of new vistas, I shall embark on a brand-new Grand Tour in 2026. I’ve been meaning to get back to wandering the streets with my camera again, lost in wonder and inevitably getting lost while wandering.

Part IV of my epic Grand Tour of port cities around the world shall take me to the COSMOPOLITAN CITIES OF THE LEVANT. I’d long planned to visit this part of the world, but just as I was concluding Part III – Port and Imperial Cities of the Subcontinent, I suddenly landed the museum job, and it was impossible to travel.

“Levant” refers to the Eastern Mediterranean; a region that straddles Asia, Africa and Europe; a historic crossroads of peoples and cultures. Historic port cities (and inland caravan cities) there were also similar in outlook to Singapore, in that they were multi-ethnic and multi-religious trading hubs.

The major difference was that where Singapore has succeeded in peacefully shepherding its ethnic and religious harmony, almost all of the port cities in the Levant lost their cosmopolitan nature in the vicissitudes of war, nationalism and sectarian strife.

There’s much to learn from the history of these cities.

I’m confident I shall be able to grand-tour and work in the next few years. I always have – until the museum (which came with specific circumstances taking up all my waking time). And yes, it will take me perhaps 3 to 4 years to get through all the cities. And then it’ll be on to Part V. 😆

In January, I travel first to Egypt, spending two weeks in Cairo and down the Nile to the cities of Luxor and Aswan; then another two weeks in Alexandria and Port Said. The latter two cities have been on my bucket list for ages, the first because of Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet (my favourite novel cycle of all time!); the second because it sits at the northern entrance to the Suez Canal and I’ve written about it in all my books.

After Egypt, I plan to go on, whenever I can… On to Jerusalem and Haifa, Damascus and Aleppo, Beirut and Antakya, Nicosia and Rhodes, Izmir and Istanbul, Thessaloniki and Athens, concluding my journey in Corfu.

These are uncertain times for many of these cities. Safety will be a major concern. I will have to plan my trips carefully, and seek advice where necessary.

But I can’t wait. I’ve already upgraded my tech. New mirrorless camera – tick. New iphone 17 Pro – tick. Lists of historic buildings I wish to shoot – tick. List of grand hotels I wish to stay at – tick.

I’m all set.

* * *

The rest of my time (since July), I’ve been sending out CVs and interviewing for roles, even as I’ve been posting on DREAM OF A CITY and scheming a new Grand Tour.

The very first CV I sent out (in late July) was a turning-point, of sorts. I applied – on a whim – for a position in an industry entirely different than that of the museum. I didn’t think I would get called up. I thought it’d be good practice to update my CV and cover letter.

The ACT of sending in the job application was transformational.

Upon clicking “SEND,” I felt a tremendous sense of relief and liberation. From that moment on, I was no longer shackled to who I was before. I was no longer the Director of the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore. I had let that go, completely; said my final goodbye. 

I was now free to be someone else completely.

I sent other CVs and applications out. I was headhunted for roles here and abroad. I gamely explored all opportunities. Declined an offer, expressed interest in another. I also accepted little writing or speaking gigs here and there.

Truth is, I’m restless. It’s time for me to get back to work.

This 18 months of travel, writing – and planning travel + writing – has been fulfilling and rejuvenating; but being a writer-wanderer is a lonely business. I’m keen to get back to working in a team, strategising, envisioning, implementing, executing – contributing ideas and action to something much bigger than myself.  

Fingers crossed, however, I’ll land somewhere wildly different than where I was before. I want something new!!! Somewhere I can apply skills learnt and professional experience gained, of course; but also where I can pick up new knowledge, work with new people and communities, forge new memories.

I’m looking forward to indulging my Wonder-Lust too, in a brand-new job in a brand-new space. And so in 2026, I shall get back to work full-time, sooner rather than later.

* * *

There you have it, my resolutions for the year:

1. Simplify NOVEL
2. Uncover ROOTS
3. Embark on GRAND TOUR
4. Return to WORK
5. Go out to SEA more frequently

To round up the quartet of resolutions… a promise to myself to edge closer to the sea in everything that I do next year.

I love the sea. I yearn to be more maritime. 

All the times I’ve been on or near the water these past 18 months, I’ve felt deliriously happy. I get lost in the immensity of the nothing-but-sky above my head; the magnetic draw of the horizon, suggesting adventure and opportunity; and all manner of ship and vessel bobbing around me, having sailed from or just about to sail to, far-off places and ports of call.

I imagine myself like sea-farers of old, navigating by the stars as I steer my ship into the unknown in search of stories and buried treasure, bravely taking on whatever destiny cares to throw my way.  

Wanderlust… Wandering, Lost… Lost in Wonder… Wonder-Lust…

2026 shall be MY YEAR OF WONDER-LUST.

Happy New Year, everyone!!!