A Little More About Us (And Oh Wander)

Before we get into the thick of things, we thought it would be good to answer some of the questions frequently asked by our family and friends.

How did both of us met?

Darren: We met through a mutual friend and naturally found out that we had a lot in common such as our love for music and a certain disdain for others... We hit it off but did not get together right away. It was only months after and we reconnected on Tumblr. It is an odd story because we were messaging each other without knowing each other's identities online. The realization soon came along soon enough and I asked Leanne out for a music festival held at the derelict grounds which used to belong to a Methodist girls' school. The first date went reasonably well (even though Leanne had to pay for dinner: it was Japanese) and the rest came naturally. We have been together for close to 6 years now.

How and why did we decide to start on Oh Wander?

Leanne: We had to go through a two years long distance relationship and throughout this period, we had to compromise to meet at destinations in between Singapore and Melbourne. As Darren was going through his army stint at that time, it was expensive and tough to have him over frequently in Melbourne. I think that sparked the first chemical reaction of our love for travelling. Initially, we had each other to look forward to, then the travelling started getting to us.

What are we both doing and how do we find the time to travel?

Darren: I am currently a writer in a magazine but prior to my first job, I was a student of English and Literature and (still am) a freelance writer for a music site.

Leanne: I am currently working as a neuroscience research scientist and I guess, being a researcher grants me the flexibility to plan my own experiments and to pursue my other interests such as photography and travelling when I am not too swamped with work.

What are both of our favourite countries and fondest memory of travelling?

Darren: Even though, it is hitting a little too close to home, my favourite country would have to be Bali in Indonesia. On some of our travels, the stress of trying to take everything in gets to me. While in Bali, I truly enjoyed the experience of taking it slow and having all the time in the world to do what I enjoy (which is to snooze).

Leanne: I really enjoyed Morocco. While we were there, Darren and I decided to have a little jaunt into the Sahara desert where we met like-minded friends from all across the world on the tour. We rode the camels deep into the desert where all of us stayed for a night. During the night, we danced around the woodsy smoke of the campfire while the nomads played the drums and slept in berber's' tent under a canopy of stars and the occasional meteorite. It was a very meditative experience for me.

What can we expect from Oh Wander in the near future?

In the upcoming months, we would continue to put out edgy travel contents from our excursions out of 'ere. Understanding the need to stay grounded to our roots, there would also be a focus on localised content (that is Singapore for our international readers), a city guide to Singapore that unearths many hotspots of our town that are either too recent for the latest guidebooks to feature or too hip for the average local on the street to recognise. Adding to that, a transition from digital to reality is in the works, what that means is: us taking and showing you guys our side of town as a guide.