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Continue reading →: ✍🏼 The Paradox of Memoir Writing
The seemingly contradictory thing about memoir is when you write about yourself, you’re writing about experiences that other people can relate to as well.
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Continue reading →: Seeking solitude and sanity in everyday life
Do you like to be alone? How do you find the time? What to you usually do?
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Continue reading →: 📚 How the right books found me at the right times
A reader’s brief history on the books that have impacted my life…
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Continue reading →: Sihanoukville, Kampot and Kep: 7 days and 6 nightsLooking to spend more time in Cambodia? What else is there to see besides Angkor Wat, right?
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Continue reading →: Beyond Pub Street: where to eat in Siem ReapPub Street can be overwhelming and crowded and once you’ve taken a turn around there, it’s nice to go somewhere else to eat. Now, don’t get me wrong. There are some good restaurants in that area, and we occasionally stop by, but since living here, we’ve found a whole…
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Continue reading →: I did it! #365grateful challenge completed.Practicing gratitude, not unlike meditation, has gotten a lot of attention these days for having many benefits. I imagine if I was a writer for Cosmo magazine, I’d probably have to claim something like this:
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Continue reading →: What to do + what to buy when you get sick in SE AsiaWhat to do when you get sick in SE Asia. Tried and true natural remedies. Yup, even something for mosquito bites, too.
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Continue reading →: Do you have to be anti-social to be an artist?How do you find the time to write?
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Continue reading →: Chiang Mai versus Siem Reap: an expat weighs inI’ve compared the two cities via transportation, accommodation, shopping, visas and more.
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Continue reading →: 8 Things I’m Loving About Life Right NowBetween small things like reading and mediation, I’m trying to figure out what works for me!
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Continue reading →: How to listen to yourself (or go a little crazy)Life’s little hacks: morning routines and a gratitude practice.
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Continue reading →: I’m Chinese, but I’m not ChineseOn a regular basis, I’m mistaken for being Chinese – as in from the Motherland, China, Chinese. Now, to be fair, I look pretty damn Chinese, but these days it’s getting ridiculous.
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Continue reading →: I am Wonder Woman (an Asian American woman reflects on childhood female superheroes)A tale of finding comic book heroes, like Wonder Woman.
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Continue reading →: 21 things my journal wants me to remember about 2016Happy New Year! Ever since I was a teenager, I loved the idea of a fresh start to each New Year. Usually, I’d write down a bunch of beautiful goals and then promptly forget about them.
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Continue reading →: 7 wonderful days in PenangPenang Malaysia was one of those places that I constantly heard good things about, but never had made it to. But this year, I set my jets to see it. I planned months in advance to get a good ticket price and timed my hotel reservations, too. I’m so glad…
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Continue reading →: Living with lizards: a love storyIf you ask SE Asians what they are afraid of, they will most likely say: ghosts, snakes and lizards. Since I grew up in Hawaii, I can certainly understand why ghosts would be a legitimate concern. Ghost stories are very much part of Hawaiian culture, whether this be a modern…
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Continue reading →: #365grateful halfway point, check-in and pit stopFor the last few months, I’ve been miserable. At the beginning of this school term, I was handed a shit schedule that involved losing much of my free time, sleep and sanity. And I really, really resented it. At first, I tried to get the barest minimal change made to…
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Continue reading →: An Asian American expat musings on the post-election malaiseAs an expat, one of the things I experience is how different governments treat their people, and how my passport country measures up. Until I had moved overseas, I had taken for granted American infrastructure, rules and regulations and our homegrown love for criticizing politicians and government. I lived in…
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Continue reading →: ✍🏼 Confessions of a brave and insecure memoir writerI’ve been in a “working on the book” mode. I haven’t been in the mood for doing much of anything else, besides maintaining my life so I’m not living in complete disorder and eating from old pizza boxes.
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Continue reading →: Day trip to Kulen Mountain!Just like Tonle Sap, I’ve wanted to check out Kulen Mountain for some time. But it can be expensive, so I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity. And said opportunity finally came a’knockin’ on my front door this month when my friend’s sister was visiting. Gotta love visitors!
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Continue reading →: Celebrating 7 years abroadIt was Facebook that reminded me that the milestone had passed. Otherwise, I’m sure I would have continued to scroll past this moment, drinking my coffee and eating my banana. I posted, “I signed up for Intensive Thai, but based on my photo (with my application) I was enrolled in…
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Continue reading →: Tips for finding an apartment in Siem ReapWe’ve been here for about a year which makes us expert expats in Siem Reap. Now, in Thailand, like Chiang Mai, if you are an expat for less than 3 years you are a fledgling, considered a mere babe in the eyes of wizened and longer-lasting expats who probably will…
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Continue reading →: A visit to Siem Reap’s floating villagesSiem Reap is best known for the ruins of Angkor Wat, but Tonlé Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and a UNESCO biosphere reserve, is another standout feature of the area.
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Continue reading →: How much space do I really need? (moving sucks)Our biggest worry when we moved into this apartment was space. Will we have enough? Where was everything going to go?
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Continue reading →: ✍🏼 Confession: I have bad writing habits.What? But you seem so disciplined, Lani. You’re always writing these lovely posts on how writing has elevated your life – and we all know that you are working on another book. Exactly. My goal of getting it done, came and went like all those other empty goals. I went…
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Continue reading →: Reflecting back on my first crazy year in Siem Reaphttps://soundcloud.com/lifetheuniverseandlani/my-first-crazy-year-in-siem-reap On July 15, 2015 we moved from Chiang Rai, Thailand to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Yippee! Right? Wrong! First of all, there was no honeymoon phase for me. As you might remember, it was looking for a place to live straight away and starting work.
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Continue reading →: What’s up with Asians obsession with white skin?As many expats in Asia and perhaps even some travelers know, being white-skinned is considered beautiful, desirable and essential. This is quite laughable to the Westerner who wants to be tanned. Creams, sprays and salons are dedicated to making us look like we’ve just been to Mexico or the Bahamas.…
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Continue reading →: Expat woes: working out at the gym and swimming poolI wonder how many gym memberships have gone dormant after a New Year’s resolution rush. I remember all too clearly when my trainer showed me how many folks had signed up for trainers + memberships and had NEVER used them – not once.
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Continue reading →: Starting the #365grateful challengehttps://soundcloud.com/lifetheuniverseandlani/365-days-of-gratitude You’ve seen these kinds of things before #365grateful, gratitude journals, how to be more grateful articles, etc. And while I think it’s a good idea, especially if the practice is new to you, I’ve refrained from participating publically. But for my 43rd birthday, I’ve decided that the time is…
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Continue reading →: Why I stopped looking at women’s magazinesThere is a blogger I follow on Instagram (I don’t know why, really, I don’t read her blog, but I find her – a curiosity) and she’s posted recently that she LOVES women’s magazines and how she’s obsessed with them. It reminded me of a time when I felt the…
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Continue reading →: How I dress + pack for SE AsiaWhen I was doing my TEFL training in Bangkok in 2009, I noticed one of my classmates, Kim always wore jeans. “Why do you always wear jeans? Aren’t you burning up?” “No, I’m used to it. When I lived in the Philippines all the teenagers wore jeans. I don’t even…
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Continue reading →: How’s my driving?Cambodian traffic is something to behold. (Is behold the right word?) This is because you pretty much can drive in any direction you please. Now, in Thailand, I thought it was crazy when you saw a renegade motorbike going against traffic, hugging the shoulder and occasionally I did it, too.…
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Continue reading →: A quick visit to Phnom PenhWhenever I asked my colleagues or students what they thought of Phnom Penh, most replied, “I don’t like it.” But I knew I had to go to Cambodia’s capital to get my passport renewed, so I decided, why not make a little holiday of it, and judge for myself. Phnom…
Hello,
I’m Lani
Welcome to Life, the Universe, and Lani. I’ve been blogging about my experiences living abroad since 2009.
At this point, this site serves as an archive as I’m mostly active at No Girl is an Island 👉https://lanivcox.substack.com/ 🏝️where I have been both newslettering and continuing to craft personal essays on finding freedom in the fringes.
Thanks for stopping by, have a look around, and hope to see you over at No Girl is an Island.
Life, the Universe, and Lani 
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