May 16
At Wattay International Airport we come face-to-face with a promising vision of happy hour, half a day too soon. On the outstretched banner tall glasses of beer stand in neat formation, each of them furnished with smiley faces drawn flawlessly into the foam. Our eyes follow the bold, curvaceous white lettering splashed across its lower half. “Beerlao,” it proclaims. “Beer of the wholehearted people.” Read more
May 12
“How much? Ten Ringgit?” I fork out a note to the silent man clasping a stack of faded blue tickets. Gruffly, he hands me one with the change. Standing outside Kuala Lumpur’s Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT), I feel as though I have just landed in Indonesia. The lush carpet of greenery from the air, marked with endless rows of oil palms; the equatorial heat piercing through the billowing, crumpled clouds; the gentle maelstrom of organised chaos… all this is reminiscent of a half-forgotten childhood vacation. Read more
May 1
Renaissance Revival, Seville
If I were ever asked to name a favourite country from my travels, it would have to be Spain.
In no other place did I find such a perfect fit in the prevailing rhythm of life. Nine months of passionate living taught me to understand its people, its national love of food, and last but not least, its architecture. Read more
Apr 28
L’Hemisfèric, City of Arts and Sciences
Stepping out of the train at Estació del Nord, I could instantly feel my shoulders relax. In the relative darkness we gazed up at the wrought iron roof, pierced by a long skylight running down its centre. Around us the muffled footsteps lacked all the signs of a preoccupied, obsessive urgency. This city, I knew, was going to be different. Read more
Apr 26
Trencadís mosaic, Casa Batlló
Barcelona taught me the importance of managing my expectations.
At architecture school, it was both the Holy Grail and the magic word. So you want to build something extraordinary? Look at Barcelona. Struggling to find inspiration? Again, Barcelona. Over those four years it came to represent the ideal – a pinnacle of unspeakable beauty and the best in urban design. Read more
Apr 25
Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao
The locals affectionately call it “El Botxo” – The Hole.
Back in 1997 the opening of Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum catapulted the little-known Basque metropolis to international fame. But Bilbao had been planning its dramatic makeover for years. Read more
Apr 20
Summertime in Zürich
As a teenager, I could never have imagined that I would spend more than half a decade living on the other side of the world. But in the summer of 2000 my father would take us on our first-ever trip to Europe, traversing the breadth of Switzerland before heading onto Vienna and Prague. Read more
Apr 13
At the market – gaai sí
Although it can often sound like a constant disagreement to non-speakers, Cantonese is playful, witty, and at times, a poetic language. In Hong Kong the spoken word evolves notoriously quickly, suffused with waves of new expressions that come and go with the seasons. As a result, being away for a few years can have the effect of drawing baffled looks. Read more
Apr 4
Quite a while ago Bama from What an Amazing World! kindly nominated me to join in on HostelBookers’ 7 super shots. I realise I am super late jumping on the bandwagon, but choosing your best photos is like choosing your favourite children – you’re hesitant because you love them all for different reasons! Read more
Apr 3
View from the pier
Many years ago, in the waters of Hong Kong, there lived a notorious pirate by the name of Cheung Po Tsai. At the height of his power it was said that he commanded a fleet of 600 ships and a following of 50,000 men. So great was the threat of piracy that Portuguese mariners named the islands “as Ilhas de Ladrões” – the islands of thieves. Read more
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