Her World Singapore – September 2019

well as K-pop star

G-Dragon, and Dutch

DJ Armin van Buuren.

Hanli, a fan of

Charlize Theron, also

got the opportunity

to interview the

famed Hollywood

actress. “She has such

presence, and she’s

the embodiment of

elegance!” she raves.

Hanli’s favourite

band and book: Red

Hot Chili Peppers,

and Scar Tissue, an

autobiography of the

band’s lead singer/

musician, Anthony

Kiedis.

Born to a

German father and

Peranakan mother,

Hanli is the younger

of two siblings. Her

older brother, Hans-

Sen, is a freelance

photographer. Home

for her is a place where

she practises yoga and

lives with her British

partner of fi ve years,

along with her two

dogs.

Hanli’s father,

Hans, who is retired,

ran a publishing

business producing

travel guides. He

moved to Singapore

nearly 50 years ago,

and Hanli’s mother,

Cynthia Wee-Hoefer,

now in her 60s, was a

fashion and lifestyle

writer at Her World

from 1978 to 1981.

Her parents,

who are based in

Singapore, own and

run a boutique hotel

called Apa Villa

Illuketia in South Sri

Lanka. They also own

Organic Himalaya, a

company that brings

high-quality organic

vegetables, spices,

herbs and fruits from

Nepal to Singapore to

sell once a month at

farmers’ markets.

Hanli travels to

Sri Lanka twice a year,

staying for two weeks

each time.

Her adventurous

streak has taken her

across the globe to

many exotic locations

like Ladakh, Busan,

Cappadocia, Barcelona

and Bilbao.

As a youngster, she

often travelled with

her parents to China

and India. Her most

vivid memories are

from a trip to Pakistan

when she was 14.

Then, Hanli and

her parents traversed

the perilous terrain

from Karachi to

Hunza, situated in the

northernmost parts

of Gilgit-Baltistan,

which is in the greater

Kashmir region.

It was a journey

that changed her

perspective on life.

BEING KIND

“I was pained to

discover how limited

the position of women

was in a world so

vastly diff erent from

my own,” she recalls

empathetically. “My

father told me to wait

in the car. As I looked

out of the car window,

I was surprised to see

that there were no

women outside.”

On her trip to

Nepal a few months

ago, she was moved by

the resilience of the

people there, living

with political troubles,

a struggling economy,

and poverty.

“Despite the

adversity, people still

found joy in some

ways,” says Hanli.

“When you see all

these things, you can’t

unsee them, and it

changes you inside.”

Hanli, who is a

Buddhist, has seven

tattoos depicting a

common theme of

karma. They are an

extension of her belief

and reminders to stay

grounded. She points

out her favourite

tattoo: 11 rings

encircling her right

wrist.

She adds: “I hope

for our society to have

more compassion and

empathy. We never

know the real reason

why someone is doing

what he or she is

doing. We need to be

kinder to one another

and know that we are

going through this life

together.”

As the shoot wraps

up, the girl in the

mirror declares to the

wide-eyed ingenue on

the other side of the

looking glass: “I can’t

wait to go for dinner

at Blu Kouzina in

Dempsey Road. It’s

my belated birthday

celebration!”

One of her greatest

attributes is perhaps

her unfailing modesty

and sensibility in

this impersonal,

impatient age. Her

awe has a sweetness

to it, speaking to each

moment and, on some

level, to the universal.

Her life and the

stories she has to share

are as eclectic as the

gallery on her popular

Instagram account,

which has 42,000

followers, and Hanli

is excited about her

plan to start her own

podcast where people

can share their views

on their life’s pursuits.

“I want to look

back one day and know

that I have lived a whole

authentic expression

of myself,” she says.

I HOPE FOR OUR SOCIETY

TO HAVE MORE COMPASSION

AND EMPATHY... WE NEED TO

BE KINDER TO ONE ANOTHER

AND KNOW THAT WE ARE

GOING THROUGH THIS

LIFE TOGETHER.

50 HERWORLD SEPT 2019