A Journal of Travel Tales Across 72 Countries
I have visited Singapore several times, because of a family connection as well as on account of it being on the cross-roads to many Asian destinations. While the city is neatly-laid out, squeaky clean (even grass does not grow without government permission in this city-state), …
Tbilisi is one of those silent, serene, and graceful cities, picturesque against a backdrop of the gentle Caucuses. Georgian architecture is unique and understated. The city is sprinkled with cathedrals and churches of the Eastern Orthodox faith. Its cobble-stoned old town with its ups and …
Chengdu is also the springboard for a picturesque region called Mt. Emei or Emeishan. It was in Emei that Buddhism was first established in China. The 3,099-metre-high mountain is now home to the surviving 70-odd ancient Buddhist temples and monasteries. The landscape is so beautiful …
On a weekend, we drove from Andretta where I was learning studio pottery, to Kangra Fort and then to two picturesque but deserted villages, both straight out of a period film. Richly embellished, dilapidated, they remind me of Miss.Havisham’s. But they were not always like …
Astana reeks of new money – from oil. Yes, Kazakhstan has recently come into huge oil wealth and what does it do with it? Build a swanky new capital in the middle of the steppe far from everywhere. Its gleaming steel and chrome structures and …
Did you know where algebra (we love it or hate it, there’s nothing in between) got its name? From Al Khorezmi, short for Abū ‘Abdallāh Muḥammad ibn Mūsā Al-Khwārizm, a Persian scholar born around 780. He is credited with popularising the use of the decimal …
How does it feel to step into a sepia portrait? You will find out if you visit Toledo, Iberia’s Rome, Damascus and Cairo, all rolled into one. Just an hour away from Madrid, Toledo’s labyrinthine alleys and cobbled streets may also remind you of Stockholm’s …
Uluru is a unique rock formation, bang in the middle of the outback, almost at the centre of the Australian continent, in the desert province of Northern Territory. Along with Kata Tjuta, a similar rock formation some 30 kilometres away, Uluru is sacred to the …
Where can you see snow-topped mountain ranges straddling two seas, one aquamarine and another, sapphire-blue? Where can you drive through a continuous canopy of russet and golden maple leaves festooning the winding hill roads? Where in the world does one encounter bright sunshine in one …
