Sep 19
Segovia Cathedral
When night falls and the day-trippers return to Madrid, Segovia takes on a quiet magic befitting its dramatic location. My mother and I are here for several nights, and from our room on the top floor of a small hotel, we can see the sky turning darker shades of violet. Read more
Sep 18
San Lorenzo de El Escorial
It’s been more than a year since I left Spain, but every now and again certain details resurface, catching me at quiet moments and leaving me with a pervasive sense of longing. Among them I recall the sound of Salamanca’s cathedral bells, the intense, woody smell emanating from a jamón shop, and the taste and vivid crimson of a tinto de verano. Read more
Aug 24
It emerges from the arid, dusty landscape like a desert mirage, a medley of tan-coloured buildings and soaring spires amidst an iridescent ribbon of green. We are on the approaches to Zaragoza, a historic city that sits roughly halfway between Bilbao and Barcelona. Read more
Jun 13
Mr Vongsip is the unassuming owner of our small hotel. In a dark blue button-up shirt he greets us with a wave from the shade of the reception area, a steaming heap of noodles waiting for him on the sunlit terrace. “Any time you want to go outside the city, let me know.” We nod, say our kup jai’s and head out the gate, into a wild profusion of greenery. Read more
Jun 4
It is an unmistakable silence that ushers us into the grounds of Wat Xieng Thong. Weaving between the trees and a few modestly-sized pavilions, we stop in our tracks, awed by the light glancing off the glass mosaics and stencilled patterns on the ordination hall, the Sim. 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
Mar 21
Headlights on and engine roaring, the bus devours the morning silence. “Is this going to Jinshanling?” Nodding, the driver waves me aboard and I take my place, sleepy-eyed, in the second row. Our tour guide looks like he could use a strong cup of coffee.
Not many things merit a 5:00 a.m. start and an uncomfortable four-hour bus ride with terrible leg room. But it is my last day in Beijing and I have booked myself a trip to see the final item on my checklist: the Great Wall of China. Read more
Mar 13
Winter scene at the Summer Palace
Even in the smog, the lake is undeniably beautiful. Nearby the vendors offer bags of freshly grilled corn on the cob and skewers of candied Chinese hawthorns. I am observing the frozen waters from the Pavilion of Heralding Spring, where the weeping willows are the first to bud and the ice already broken. Read more
Feb 25
A Beijing icon
On a frigid Saturday morning, Niki is waiting on the main road outside my hotel. She has hailed a taxi, and as we climb in I can hear her utter the name of our destination. “Tiantan nan-mer.” We are heading to the Temple of Heaven. “If you don’t speak with a Beijing accent,” Niki says, referring to the pirate-like ‘r’s, “the taxi drivers won’t understand you.” It’s been barely two days since my arrival, but I can already feel the city’s tones creeping gently into my Mandarin. Read more
Feb 20
Unlocked – inside the palace garden
When a Chinese dynasty is overthrown, tradition dictates that the old palace must be razed to make way for a new one in its place. But in the summer of 1644 the Manchus broke with the age-old habit, sparing the already fire-damaged residence of their predecessors a similar fate. Instead the new rulers would set about restoring the 15th-century marvel to its former glory. Read more
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