Candi Prambanan, also known as Loro Jonggrang/Rara Jonggrang, is a 9th century Hindu temple complex dedicated to the Trimurti near Yogyakarta, the cultural capital of Java, Indonesia. Trimurti, a Sanskrit word meaning three forms, conveys the concept of creation, maintenance and destruction personified by the Hindu trinity of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer.
A memorable day trip to see the prehistoric stones on the eve of the summer solstice last month. Believed to be built somewhere between 3000 and 2000 BC, Stonehenge was enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.
I travel. I hate hotels. I personally find them stuffy, small and irrespective of what the stars say, inherently characterless. I chose to experience someones home instead, a room or the entire space.
I’ve used Airbnb to host travellers in Singapore for over 2 years [read all about it here] and consequently have been using this service to find homes to stay at over the holidays for even longer.
Quirky, thought provoking and colourful street art between Shoreditch High Street and Brick Lane.
After our first day in Provence, driving to the idyllic village of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie through the Gorges du Verdon from Aix [read here]; we decided to go west on the second day to the City of Popes, Avignon
In 2011 my sister and I spent the summer in France that included 5 glorious days in the South. We split out time between the Côte d’Azur and Provence with 3 nights in Nice with 2 in Aix en Provence (Read: Indulge in the quiet side of the Côte d”Azur).
We rented a car in Nice from Budget, which turned out to be the most harrowing car rental procedure ever thanks to the lady they had manning the desk that day. Rude and a tad scary with her pencil outlined eyebrows, she was by far the most unprofessional person we had encountered on our trip. She asked us to see her at noon, then made us wait for 2 hours while she had lunch only to ask us to return the next day to pick the car up! Needless to say, our day was wasted waiting and we had to swap itineraries around.
Anyway, we woke up bright and early the next morning and drove to Aix en Provence, which we used as a base for the next 2 days to drive to the Gorges du Verdon and Avignon.
I was obsessed with lomography on a trip to Tokyo with friends 2 years ago, and decided to indulge this fixation by visiting the city’s electronic mecca, Akihabara, in search of the Diana.
We got out at the Akihabara Station from the clearly marked Akihabara Electric Town exit on a cold, rainy evening to bright flashy lights that blinded us instantly. We made our way to one of the multi-storey malls selling electronic ware floor on floor, jam-packed with people and machines alike. My friends bought a Fuji Polaroid camera that they would end up using in the States a few days later. I, on the other hand felt far too claustrophobic and rushed to kick-start the loom camera analysis.
Ah Petra, gobsmackingly magnificent, architecturally alluring, haunting and pink! Described by UNESCO as ‘one of the most precious cultural properties of man’s cultural heritage‘, as it features in their Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Additionally, the ancient Nabataean city has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985.
On holiday in Northern California this February, a friend and I decided to drive up to Sonoma Valley one afternoon with the intention of perhaps spending a day or 2 in the area. We drove from Fremont straight to Ram’s Gate Winery on Arnold Drive Sonoma (got there just in time for the last tasting service) and onwards to the quaint MacAurther’s Place for the night.
My sister and I had endeavoured to spend a 4-day extended weekend in Lisbon, December of 2012. We were traveling from Grenoble, where it had snowed all day and all night. In spite of the snow, the bus taking us to Lyon International Airport left on time. However 20 minutes into the journey, it took a U-turn and dropped us right back where we started. No explanations were given, the bus driver and conductor brought the bus back to the depot, exited and left all the passengers wondering if they should wait, stay or go! Apparently, they expect us to all process inherent mind reading skills.
Not so off-the-beaten-path, but far from the commercial beaches of Seminyak, Sanur, Nusa Dua, Jimabran, about 2 hours drive from Ubud (Read: Rustic green. Winging it in Ubud with Airbnb. 50/50) is the black sand beach of Amed. Still, clear blue waters make it great for snorkelling, free diving and standup paddle-boating. Continue reading
I just got back late last night from another exhilarating trip to Bali. 3 days in Ubud (Read: Rustic Green. Winging it with Airbnb in Ubud. 50/50) with a day spent on a group of 3 islands south-east of Nusa Dua, Bali that form part of the Lesser Sunda Islands – Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Penida and tiny Nusa Ceningan sandwiched in between. Nusa Lembongan is a 30 minute speed boat ride from Sanur, Bali and is well worth the visit for its untouched beaches, gorgeous rugged landscape and clear blue waters.
A friend and I landed in Amman at the fag-end of May in 2009, bursting with excitement and a jam-packed itinerary with very little time to accomplish (4 days!). Travellers predominantly come to Jordan for Petra and/or the Dead Sea, using the modern desert highway to get to Petra from Amman. It’s faster, cuts right through the desert and doesn’t waste any time. We used the King’s Highway instead, starting at Amman, crossing Madaba, Mount Nebo, the Dead Sea, Wadi Mujib, Castle of Kerak and Lot’s Cave, relishing location specific stories and fables along the way. It’s longer, winding, and oh so much of fun as it skirts along the Dead Sea and dallies around the Jordanian countryside. Continue reading
Gorgeous Capri while on holiday with the family in Italy over the summer of 2009 (Ref: Beyond Picasso. Venice Art Biennale 2013). A few of our favourite things..
Views from Monte Solaro; not to forget the hair-raising, constantly squeaking, single chair lift ride to the top!
Art, is the creative act of exposing the tender inner flesh of the unknown hidden behind expressionless reality, presenting itself at the threshold between reality and imagination
I enjoy art; in all its fluid forms and thought challenging seductive glory. I may not, however, understand all of it or pretend to. So, spending an entire week in Venice with the sole purpose of attending the Venice Art Biennale with my sister, to an amateur art enthusiast like me, was a mix of daunting and exciting. Continue reading
why is a raven like a writing desk? 