Borobudur – The Last Puzzle Piece

“. . . Candi Borobudur . . . is a prayer in stone.” – Professor Soekmono, the Indonesian archaeologist who directed the Borobudur Restoration Project A short, steep climb in the dark took… Continue reading →

Coffee Architecture: A Place That Feels Like Home

“Coffee has to go through a series of processes and changes to reveal its true identity. If we pay attention, we can taste decisions on species, variety, processing, milling, roasting and brewing. Every… Continue reading →

My Favourite Art Spaces in Abu Dhabi

“Art enables us to find ourselves, and lose ourselves at the same time.”  – Thomas Merton –  Warehouse 421 Located in Mina Zayed near the Dhow Harbour, Warehouse 421 has been my favourite… Continue reading →

Paddling Through Time and Space

“We have come to forget that our minds are shaped by the bodily experiences of being in the world – its spaces, textures, sounds, smells and habits . . .”    – Robert Macfarlane… Continue reading →

A Visit to the Past

Jazirat al-Hamra or Red Island, now part of the mainland, was once a peninsula that, with high tide, became a small island just off the coast of Ras-al-Khaimah. The inhabitants made their living… Continue reading →

Lisbon Hype

“A very particular feeling of nostalgia and melancholy, characteristic of a certain type of Portugueseness, permeates the city and its people, imparting a permanent yearning for an unfulfilled past. It is a city… Continue reading →

Introducing “A Taste of Freedom”

We have always known that, one day, we will have to leave the United Arab Emirates. Visas are tied to jobs and sponsors, and no matter how long one lives here, eventually one… Continue reading →

A Brief Stopover in Bangkok

The people who jostled for space in front of the gates of Bangkok’s Grand Palace, shortly before opening time, were entertained by a rather sturdy Thai woman with short hair, and a no-nonsense attitude.… Continue reading →

Myanmar: The Land of Green Ghosts

“If someone was murdered or died in an accident, this was categorised as a ‘raw death’. The belief was that the deceased would become a ‘green ghost’ – the most feared of all… Continue reading →

A Magical Day in Mandalay

“How dreary it would be if you could go everywhere and do everything. There would be nothing left to dream about, and dreaming, in my view, is often the best part of travel… Continue reading →