The simple answer is – yes you can. The convoluted answer is – can you believe you can get delicious vegetarian food in Beijing? I have lived more than 12 years in Hong Kong and had the hardest time explaining vegetarianism in the best of restaurants – there was always pork, or pork bone broth in…
Of the 9,999 1/2 rooms in the Forbidden City spread over 72 hectares, not a single room is available for viewing. Emperor Yongle who directed the construction of the Forbidden City, built the Imperial Palace just 1/2 room short of what is believed to be heaven. In all the images found online, you will only see…
There is so much about Forbidden City you can read up, my version of the experience does not even count. Afterall, some 14m visitors throng to the World Heritage Site each year. The day I visited, I was one among 75, 000 visitors – the max allowed per day is 80,000 – a mere drop in…
There is something very down to earth about the Lamma or Yonghe Temple in Beijing even though the colours of the temple are far from being modest. Probably because it was formerly an imperial residence and later converted into a Tibetan Buddhist monastery. Red – the colour for the commons, according to the Chinese belief, is…
Tourism often involves a ton of planning. You read up and plan and follow your itinerary leaving very little to unexpected surprises, unless of course you are a backpacker. There is so much information available online, it is hard to have much left to chance anyway. But there are those rare occasions when you meet with…
The Dead Sea touches Israel and Jordan. The land-locked body of water is known to be high in minerals and meant to cure ailments. There is very little to be said about the Dead Sea – all you gotta do is jump right in as there is no fear of drowning or a sea monster…
So much has been written about Petra that it would be fruitless attempting to add anything to it. I wish there was more about the Nabeteans in the history books, where they learned their skill for architecture, why they chose to bury their dead inside the gorge, what was inside Al Khazneh and what eventually…
There isn’t much to do in Aqaba except feel connected to the world. The port city feels almost Mediterranean in its weather. Funny how proximity to water can give a country such a different feel. To my surprise, you can see Palestine right across from the beach.
Wadi Rum or the Valley of Moon – just when I thought Petra was dry and arid, I had to find a new definition for Wadi Rum. Here, T. E. Lawrence is said to have led the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans. The red sand burns in the heat of the sun and as night…
Rome away from Rome
Indeed, there is no other word most suited to Oman but the word: exquisite. Oman exudes class over its more crass Middle Eastern neighbours and remains relatively untouched by commercial influences. Its shopping malls are modest, ostentatious sky scrappers completely amiss from its urbanscape; souk is the shopping hub, and cultural centres and religious institutions…
An interesting site I stumbled upon about colour experimentation of a different kind – of smoothies and its ingredients that come together to create delicious Pantone Smoothies. via PANTONE SMOOTHIES