Rise And Rise Again

Until lambs become lions, that is the journey Ayden Sng is on. It is a long, winding road, but greatness never comes easy.

- FARHAN SHAH

I HAD SPENT TWO DAYS with Singapore actor Ayden Sng in the heart of Siem Reap. He was in town as a guest at Bvlgari's annual high jewellery gala, where scores of men donned black and blue tuxedos to complement women dripping from neck to waist in glimmering, shiny baubles. Everyone was there to admire Bvlgari's latest high jewellery creations, while I was there to photograph Sng for the pictures you see in these pages, and to chat with the man behind the smoulder. Yes, he has quite the smoulder.

However, I digress. It was on that second day, during lunch at a local restaurant when a meat of mysterious origin descended onto the table. As is customary with Khmer hospitality, there were no metal plates, only a large rattan tray with a banana leaf cut for the meat.

On top of it, vegetables and sauces jostled for space with that mystery meat. It was charred black and shaped into round balls and skewered on wooden sticks. "What's that?" asks Sng, genuine curiosity in his voice. Around the long table, everyone's shoulders shrug. At this point, most people would approach with trepidation. Sng, however, took a skewer with gusto and bit unhesitatingly into the meat.

The 32-year-old approaches life with the same unflinching approach.