Singapore Tatler wanders into the world of three adventurous souls who live life to the fullest on their own terms, and finds out which travel experiences impacted them the most

It is a statement many have made in their lifetime: “It’s on my bucket list.” But how many can truly say that they’ve properly dreamt one up, let alone checked off everything on that list? Wherever this revolutionary road that is life may take us, for many, venturing off to see the world has to be part of the journey. From playing outside the lines to disconnecting to connect, the rewards of inspired travel experiences are endless. Singapore Tatler wanders into the world of three adventurous souls who live life to the fullest on their own terms.


 

The Visual Traveller

Rosalynn Tay

Few people can go on an amazing escapade halfway around the world yet achieve the same level of fulfilment without having to travel a single mile. Rosalynn Tay is one of them.

Two years ago, she not only checked off a box on her bucket list “to ballroom dance”, she even won several amateur competitions in ballroom dancing after training professionally for less than a year. Ask anyone who has met the vivacious woman and they will tell you that Rosalynn approaches her hobbies with serious gusto.

Having recently taken up photography, she has pencilled in her diary a long list of destinations to see and snap with her Leica M camera. Some “photography holidays” she’s gone on include a tour of India by train on Palace On Wheels and a month-long cruise from South America to Antarctica all alone despite her fear of water (she can’t swim).

“I’m a ‘gypsetter’. I travel for experiences and to capture the luxuries of life on my Leica M camera that are far from material” – Rosalynn

Her most recent trip has produced the most captivating shots by far, but at a great risk: “I journeyed across Ethiopia with a group of professional and amateur photographers for three weeks. We witnessed the most beautiful works of nature, but also the challenges of mankind. Yes, we met with heavily armed citizens, but I do not fear people, for I believe in their pureness of hearts.

“But we faced danger so real and completely beyond any of our control at the Danakil Depression, which is located in the northern part of the Afar Triangle. Considered the hottest and one of the harshest environments on earth, it was here that my shoes broke and I had to survive trekking in flip-flops, and where I was mere inches from sinking into a sulphuric acid lake.

“I took this photo on my trip to Ethiopia. All I wanted to do was take their pictures, to capture the intensity in their expressive eyes, carefree spirit, and unparalleled richness of culture” – Rosalynn

“After that, we continued to camp out with no electricity, mobile network or proper water supply. There were moments when I seriously asked myself what I was doing there, but looking back at the photographs and life lessons I’ve learnt make me glad I went.”

“There were moments when I seriously asked myself what I was doing there, but looking back at the photographs and life lessons I’ve learnt make me glad I went.”

Next on her list: Cuba, Morocco, Iceland, Xinjiang in China, a Mediterranean cruise, and the Baliem Valley Festival in Irian Jaya, Indonesia in August, as well as London, where she’ll spend quality time with her daughter Debra who is studying there.

“I got these while cruising from South America to Antarctica. It symbolises my love for the ocean and marine life, and the preciousness of what comes from the earth” – Rosalynn

Hailing from Penang in Malaysia, Rosalynn says she caught the travel bug from her mother, having crossed all of China, the Silk Road to Kazakhstan, and climbed many mountains together in the 1980s and 1990s.

They say the world teaches you to live, and this former intrepid crime news reporter who has a double major honours degree in geography and mass communication, is now clearly on top of the world.


 

The Vogue Voyager

Kim Lim

It would be safe to say that many young ladies have lived vicariously through Kim Lim’s Instagram posts. And who could blame them?

Kim’s feed offers her over 25,000 followers a glimpse into a vibrant life of style and noteworthy moments that speak to her many sides: the fashion lover, the food aficionado, the beauty junkie, the design addict, the family girl, and of course, the jetsetter.

“My jetset beauty essentials are simple: a signature fragrance, complexion powder and sunblock—I never go without sunblock” – Kim

At just 23 years old, Kim has traipsed the globe more times than many would in a lifetime. Studying in London during her formative teenage years too, taught her independence and instilled in her a more global outlook being surrounded by fellow students from all walks of life; it is also one of her favourite places to shop.

“Europe is home to me. Even after exploring all its different parts over the years, I never get tired of wandering through London, Paris or Italy, and I’m always looking to discover something new, which is often the case, be it art deco architecture of a building I’ve not noticed before or a freshly minted boutique of underground designer labels.”

“I never get tired of wandering through London, Paris or Italy, and I’m always looking to discover something new.”

Left: “No matter how many times I’ve been to Japan, the crepes never fail to entice me back to Harajuku” – Kim

Right: “I may be used to hot weather, but spending a summer in Europe forces me out of my comfort zone. I can discover more about myself in new foreign environments” – Kim

What people don’t realise is that all this shopping and travelling could be considered market research, as she is looking to bridge the gap between passion and profits by investing in emerging fashion designers, specifically Asian ones, and has travelled to Bangkok a number of times to suss out the scene.

Kim is her father’s daughter after all, and the business of fashion and retail is undeniably where her expertise lies. She is currently working on exciting projects with Digital Fashion Week Singapore, and will be promoting local designers to watch in the months to come.

“I have a fixation for hot pink Chanel bags and have collected them from around the world. This new piece saw me dashing across the Bangkok airport just to acquire it. I almost missed my flight because I just had to have it” – Kim

Fashion aside, the Maldives is a paradise she yearns to visit after scuba diving in the clear waters of Redang Island in Malaysia; while the US sits at the top of her to-do list: “On our last family vacation to the US, I was too young to properly experience or be aware of what was happening. Being quite the adrenaline junkie, I’m eager to go back specifically to visit the amusement parks and ride as many roller coasters as I can.”

Clearly, there are many more facets to this ocean-loving, thrill-seeker than what meets the eye, and she likes it that way.


 

The Academic Explorer

Michael Ault

When Michael Ault says he doesn’t have a bucket list, that is because he has an infinite—thus, indefinable—list of possibilities just waiting to be pursued and achieved, one that evolves as he does, with new times bringing on new interests, lessons, adventures and opportunities.

He has designed, built and owned his brand of superclubs from Brazil and Spain to Singapore and New York, yet it is all but a conduit of his travels. To date, the New York City-native has journeyed to just shy of 170 countries across seven continents including Antarctica, and seen all Seven Wonders of the World. Many of these trips were taken with his wife Sabrina, and he says there’ll be many more to come with his son Phoenix, who turns six next month.

“From getting hitched in Venice to chasing animals on safaris in Sri Lanka, and Marrakech in Morocco, travelling is always better with my loved ones.”

Michael on safari in Sri Lanka with his son Phoenix

“I would consider myself very much of an explorer and place myself more in the academic camp—a Darwinian of sorts. Art and collecting, mythology and the study of nature and war are all pieces in a grand puzzle, which I hope to complete before my days are through.”

This perpetual thirst for discovery is reflected in his knowledge that spans the history of antiquities of Ancient Greece to the art of ancient weaponry, while the vast nature of things he has collected while travelling—and the places that he has travelled specifically to obtain them—is astounding, to say the least. “A tour through any of my massive storage facilities is like a visit to New York’s American Museum of Natural History,” he asserts, referring to his fascination of the natural world. 

Michael’s most recent hobby is the collection and study of the world’s most rare shells, of which two incredible “hypotypes” sit right at home alongside bottles of sand he has gathered from beaches all over the world. (He’s also amassed a plethora of animated suits with prints of sailboats, seashells and marine life.) Unsurprisingly, his favourite activity to do while travelling is to go scuba diving, having logged over 2,000 tanks worth of dives.

Left: On camel safari outside Marrakesh, Morroco

Right: Exploring the Bayon temple, Cambodia

From a list of experiences and destinations that would take a thousand-page novel to depict is his home on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts—“my own slice of heaven”—and “The Grand Tour” or what a year-long trip across Europe to stay at every famous and grand hotel was referred to in the olden days.

But just when you think it is all a beautiful journey, he tells you that he’s backpacked from Thailand through Burma, flew to Pakistan, then worked his way through Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and out via Beirut—in the rough and uncertain mid 1980s no less—and always had a fear of flying, until he survived two plane crashes.

Michael flying a WWI biplane with wife Sabrina

There is no better way to describe this inspiring entrepreneur and family man than in his own words: “My first trip was to Sintra in Portugal, with my family when I was just six months old. Naturally, I have no memory of that summer, but instinctively, I’ve always had the heart of an explorer.”

 

Photography Cher Him

Fashion Direction Desmond Lim

 

This article first appeared in Singapore Tatler July 2014 issue. Get a copy from newsstands or purchase the digital version on Zinio or Magzter.