A Life Less Ordinary

Nicolas Foo has had a successful career with the Singapore Tourism Board, is a photographer whose experiences living in India inspired an exhibition, 'For Your Approval, Please', and has also been the head of business development for South-East Asia's largest tech startup and ride-hailing platform, Grab. Vanessa and Udhara met Nic at The Analog Vault, a vinyl record store hand selected by Nic. They chatted to him about:

• his diverse career
• how his time living in India shaped him
• Singapore's evolving narrative
• his sharp insights on the country's future

If you loved this episode, check out our other episodes on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our show and please leave us a review. A Life Less Ordinary is produced by Nomads Bazaar and sponsored by Audio-Technica, who create high quality content creation tools.

Adrian Sim is a volunteer with Singapore's Workers' Party, the only opposition party to have elected members in parliament in a political system led since 1959 by the People's Action Party. Vanessa and Udhara sat down with Adrian at an 'HDB' apartment complex in Lorong Ah Soo, a Workers' Party constituency, who shared:

• His story growing up in a low income household in Singapore
• Why he chose to join the opposition rather than achieve results through the ruling party
• Why he believes government needs to become more compassionate

Thanks for listening to A Life Less Ordinary. If you loved this episode, check out our other episodes on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our show and please leave us a review.

Ben and Saranta Gattie built The Working Capitol, a co-working space set up in a renovated former biscuit factory on Keong Saik Road. Since opening in 2015, it has become one of Asia's leading co-working spaces. Hosts Vanessa & Udhara spoke to them at The Working Capitol about:

• Growing up as third culture kids
• Real estate in Singapore
• How they developed their business
• What 'culture' means at a place like The Working Capitol
• How the government and business work closely together to innovate

Thanks for listening to A Life Less Ordinary. If you loved this episode, check out our other episodes on Apple Podcasts, including those recorded in Sri Lanka in Season 1! Subscribe to our show and please leave us a review. It'd mean the world to us! Special thanks to our Superfans who support A Life Less Ordinary Season 2 with significant donations : Dee Moorhead, Hyder Albar, Lalith De Silva, Peter Rosewarne, Robert Thompson, and Stephanie Ko.

Dr. Vanessa Von Auer is one of Asia's leading child experts and founded Singapore's one-of-a-kind Integrated International School, where students get the complete opposite of a "one-size-fits-all" education. Dr. Von Auer invited Udhara and Vanessa to her school to talk about psychology and parenting in Asia, the challenges of building your own business, and education in Singapore. Thanks for listening to A Life Less Ordinary. If you loved this episode, check out our other episodes on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our show and please leave us a review. It'd mean the world to us!

Jonathan Bonsey and John Palmer have called Singapore home for the last 3 decades. Jonathan Bonsey runs Bonsey Design, a design agency which has built iconic Asian brands in entertainment, media, retail, and much more. John Palmer is a serial entrepreneur who's built e-commerce, social media and aviation companies. Hosts Vanessa and Udhara had a chat in their office about:

• building companies from scratch and with millions of dollars
• design thinking and how design agencies work
• how Singapore has evolved over the last 30 years

Thanks for listening to A Life Less Ordinary. If you loved this episode, check out our other episodes on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our show and please leave us a review. It'd mean the world to us! A Life Less Ordinary is produced by Nomads Bazaar.

Tan Kheng Hua is an award-winning actress and producer who has worked on projects in theatre, TV and film since the early 90s. She was the Empress Dowager on Netflix's Marco Polo, has produced a critically acclaimed cabaret act, The Dim Sum Dollies, and most recently, played the role of Kerry Chu in the record-breaking, much loved Hollywood film, Crazy Rich Asians. Hosts Udhara and Vanessa chatted with Kheng about her career beginnings, the art of acting, and her views on everything from entertainment to ageing.

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Nomads Bazaar produces A Life Less Ordinary, which involves a lot of travel, time, and resources. By donating even a dollar or two on Patreon, you help us create meaningful and impactful entertainment.

Show creator Udhara de Silva chats with co-host Vanessa Fernandez, who's been plugged into Singapore's culture for the past 20 years. In this episode Vanessa gives us an overview on Singapore, enlightens us on its music history, talks about her career in radio, and gives us a sneak peak of our guests this season! Vanessa's performed at music festivals such as the Gilles Peterson Worldwide Festival in France, Laneway Festival in Singapore, BIGSOUND in Australia, V-ROX in Russia, and the Concrete and Grass Festival in China. She's released music with major record labels as well as indie labels. Besides making music, she was a radio DJ on commercial radio station 987FM and ran Lush 99.5 FM, which was Singapore's only indie/electronic format dedicated to art. And for the past 3 years she's mentored creatives with the National Arts Council's Noise Music Mentorship program. Season 2 is sponsored by Audio Technica who create high quality content creation tools. This season would not have been possible without the help of our incredible Indiegogo donors. Thank you for every single contribution, social media share, and message of support! We hope you enjoy the show!

Outspoken. Irreverent. No bullshit. These are rare qualities in Sri Lankan society, and even rarer for Sri Lankan influencers who run their own companies. Indi Samarajiva started YAMU, the digital guide to Colombo and Sri Lanka 5 years ago, and the way the company operates says a lot about its founder.

Tanya & Udhara talked to him about moving back to Sri Lanka after growing up in North America, building a content company in a country whose startup culture is in its infancy, and his views on everything from Sri Lankan education to Buddhism.

Visit www.alifelessordinary.asia for more information and show notes.

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Colombo is a city with many personalities – you have personalities and then you have Personalities with a capital P. The first lot are people that everybody knows because Sri Lanka is a small island, and Colombo is somewhat of a tiny bubble within the small island. These people are related to this person or that, who know so-and-so, and who live in the most exclusive parts of the city. But then there are the second group of people. The people known for what they do and who they've become.

Danu Innasithamby is one of those people. A young media personality larger than life who flits effortlessly between radio, TV, newspapers and magazines. Originally from Jaffna, Danu moved to Colombo – by boat, bus, and bicycle – at a very young age to escape the ravages of war.

What we love about Danu is the relentless pursuit of his dreams. He started working at just 16 on two of Colombo's most popular radio stations. Having conquered radio, he went on to host TV shows and has since built up a personal brand in English, Sinhala and Tamil. With a unbeatable work ethic, Danu wakes up at the crack of dawn to host a morning radio show on LiteFM, and then proceeds to fill his day with one of the most colorful and diverse work days in Sri Lanka: producing his web series 'Jaffna Boy', writing his newspaper column "Buzz With Danu", and working on various stage, TV and film productions.

This episode's guest has a life deeply rooted in music. His grandfather was a pioneering Sri Lankan pop music entrepreneur. And today, at just 25 years old, our guest is turning the Sri Lankan music industry on its head through the creative haven he founded, The Sooriya Village.

The Sooriya Village gives musicians and creatives a space to compose, record, and perform their work. All the while, the Village initiates international collaborations so that local musicians can get the global audience that they deserve.

During the recording of this episode, our guest revealed his preference to remain as anonymous as possible. He wants people to know his work, and not its creator. You'll see through the course of our conversation that his inspiration comes from his love of creating, his love of music, and his desire to help others, and not the inevitable recognition and attention that his projects attract.