As we wander, we wonder
Budapest was very much a work trip interspersed with sightseeing in the evening and over the weekend. I wouldn’t say this is particularly a recommendation post, it just happens to be what we did given the circumstances. The Parliament This is, architecturally, the crowning glory of Budapest. It’s neo-Gothic majesty sits by the Danube river […]
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Tales of Aid Workers This year I was ready to embrace the risk of reading again, minus the heartache. So I avoided books about genocide survivors and instead reached for books about aid workers dealing with genocide survivors. Chasing Chaos byJessica Alexander is the first book I have read in a long long time that captivated […]
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Heritage facade Colonial charm in this beautiful island. It’s easy to understand why Galle is such a hit with tourists. A beach, a historical old town with old European accents where you can stroll through the whole weekend from one cafe to another, browsing through curio shops as you devour a vanilla ice cream, dipping […]
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Keralan dining Kayra just opened their new branch in Bangsar Village and it is pretty phenomenal. While I confess that so much of my adoration for Kayra is personal, look no further than these stellar reviews on food blogs here, here, here and Tripadvisor reviews to know that there is a unanimous love for Kayra’s […]
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Initially, when I revealed to friends about the existence of this blog, the common reaction involves two questions – What are you planning to do with it? and Why are you doing it for?. And quite honestly, my response to these questions is ‘Nothing’ and ‘For fun’. Now, after one year of updating this blog, […]
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Old World Charm in Geneva Despite constantly trying different accommodations in Geneva, I’ve never been impressed with any of its apartments offerings on Airbnb until I managed to book this old world charm. I was incredibly lucky, this apartment is usually always booked. But I was determined this time to keep searching until I found […]
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Retreat in Sigirya I recently visited Sigirya with my husband and mother in law and we stayed for 3 nights 4 days in the Aliya Resort and Spa. My main search criteria was for a local brand resort that had an option for 2 bedrooms in one accommodation, and Aliya Resort and Spa hit the […]
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Within the past two years, I’ve lost two important women in my life through sudden death and terminal illness respectively. Both of my losses are very much a loss of sisterhood. The kind of bond that will stay on my skin till the day I die, a love that redefines. As they say, love is the […]
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I initially knew Sri Lanka only in terms of its conflict since 2007. My first exposure to the concept of displacement, war and persecution was through the testimonies of those who fled this island. Their resilience, intelligence and desire for a better beginning always impressed me. I also wrote a 30,000 word thesis on a […]
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Exotic Luxury Recently, I was in Dubai and didn’t feel like spending my time in shopping malls. I wondered what would be a quintessentially Dubai experience that I couldn’t get anywhere else that would be pleasurable and relaxing. It didn’t take much consideration before I decided on the One and Only Spa in The Palm. […]
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What Connects and Disconnects Us Nurturing the inner journey I often reflect on the different qualities of friendships because these channels of connection have played such an evolutionary role in my life. In many ways I feel I have been profoundly lucky – I’ve always had the good fortune to lock lives with incredible souls. […]
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Malacca Melange Often touted as one of the most historical city in Malaysia, Malacca (Melaka) certainly reflects its past in its architecture. No trip to this city situated about 1 1/2 hours away from KL can be considered complete without a stroll down Jonkers Street. We went here close to the Chinese New Year season […]
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Luxury Boutique We’ve now explored 3 YTL resorts in Malaysia, and even by the first experience at Cameron Highlands Resort, we pretty much knew that this was a brand that is unlikely to let us down. There are only 4 YTL resorts in Malaysia and the most famous one is Pangkor Laut Resort, which is […]
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The Past Century Every generation will carry with it the best and the worst of times and it is comforting to feel nostalgic about a certain period of the past which we undoubtedly now hail as glorious and innocent. I was an adolescent of the 90’s and while the conversation then was very much about […]
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We took this trip back in 2012. I had some vague recollection of a childhood family holiday here but as an adult with a fresh lens of the country, it all seemed so much more meaningful and special of course. Izmir in general had a wonderful Mediterranean coastal town vibe – laid back, easy, simple, […]
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This is less a travel anecdote but more of a memory lane type of rumination. As I’ve been repeating ad nauseam, my best years were my Ankara years. I lived in the Gaziosmanpasa part of Cankaya and life revolved mainly around 2 roads – Arjantin Cadessi and Filistine Cadessi and all of its accompanying sokak. […]
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A re-orientation I’m a tad cynical about annual resolutions. Quite a few goals set out in previous years haven’t been achieved in the shape I longed for so I arrived into this new year with more questions than answers. Do I repeat previous years goals that have been unfulfilled in an undying never-give-up-spirit and give […]
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Oh so modern Concrete jungles oppress me. Physically it feels like an assault – the first time I stepped out onto the streets of Hong Kong and came face to face with her collection of sky scraping towers (after having just left the magical dream that was Shanghai) I actually felt like something was pushing […]
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Magic of Montreal As I discussed in my snapshot of Ottawa, I am a big fan of Canada. Out of all the trips in 2018, my Canadian experience was my favourite. It was probably the first time I landed on North American territory since more than two decades ago, so it was very much like […]
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How, When and What When first experiencing a big loss, such as the death of a loved one, a few questions about the unbearable weight of the pain emerges. How will I ‘get over it’? When will I get over it? What do I do with this pain? Here’s my take on these concerns based […]
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Old and New The old and the new is what the Montreal facade seems to be about. The exit staircases outside the buildings are also one of her idiosyncrasies. I wish I spent more time observing and photographing the different styles of Montreal’s properties but this is all I’ve got so far. Enjoy!
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Fancy Sunday Brunch at the Ritz Carlton It was one of my best friend’s birthday and when we knew we would coincide in Geneva this winter during her birthday week, there was no other choice but to indulge ourselves a little bit. To be fair, I had done a little bit of research on what […]
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Resolving existential crisis’ through Pinterest This is ultimately, not a reflection piece but a rudimentary post on Pinterest quotes that sounds wise and poetic though I’ve never read or studied the full works of Gibran and Rumi to have any true insight of their passions. Pinterest is my short-cut to anxiety. When pre-occupied with all that […]
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Windows of Geneve I never truly paid much attention to Geneva’s architecture and to be honest I still don’t know how to describe it. My German comrade defines it as ‘Southern’ but I can’t be sure what that truly means. Wikipedia indicates that it is a confluence of Romanesque, Classicism and Gothic but my crude […]
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Damansara City, Damansara Heights Technically this is not a ‘Travel Anecdote’ but rather more of a local anecdote. I am proud to say that my neck of the woods has made it to Lonely Planet’s World’s Top 10 Neighbourhoods (though we share the same list with Tooting of South London so am not sure how glamorous […]
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A Deeper Shade of Love In my youth, the concept of love was strongly linked with joy and happiness. When it came in the shape of romantic love the idea was finding someone you had a strong connection with and attraction for. When it came to platonic love the idea was sustaining friendships with those […]
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Introduction I’ve attached a year to this post because the fact is, this enigmatic country will continue to be an aesthetic feature in this blog going forward, hence the need to confine this update as discoveries of 2014. By this time I had already experienced India to some extent, having lived in Delhi for almost […]
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Looking for The Higher Self 