Tag: Asia

  • Singapore

    Singapore

    Singapore had been on my wish list for some time. I applied for a job there once but didn’t get it. Some friends were working in the country once but I didn’t manage to visit. All in all, a regrettable omission, which required rectifying. I am met at Changi airport by a mighty waterfall. Known…

  • India, Part 3: Kerala

    India, Part 3: Kerala

    I am on a journey across southern India with my driver, Nishad, in a white Toyota. We have driven from Chennai on the east coast viewing the astounding temples of Tamil Nadu. The last of these was the holy temple of Meenakshi Sundareswarar in Madurai. Time now to take the long weary road westwards towards…

  • India, Part 2: Temples of Tamil Nadu and Land of the Chettiyars

    India, Part 2: Temples of Tamil Nadu and Land of the Chettiyars

    Accompanied by my imperturbable driver, I am heading away from the Coromandel Coast now through unremarkable villages and busy roadsides. Hanging on branches of trees on strings are bunches of bananas or coconuts touted by roadside hawkers. An old man sits in front of his tiny hovel, and sleek black goats pick through the rubbish.…

  • India, Part 1: Coromandel Coast, Tamil Nadu

    India, Part 1: Coromandel Coast, Tamil Nadu

    India had not been on my radar particularly. But once rooted in my head, nothing could stop me from planning a trip there. You know how it is sometimes when the name of a country keeps popping up: a friend mentions she had a cracking time there, a documentary about said country appears on the…

  • Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Part 1: Ancient Sites of Amman, Jerash and Petra

    Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Part 1: Ancient Sites of Amman, Jerash and Petra

    Jordan. The name has connotations. To some it means the Holy sites, for example, the River Jordan where Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist, and Mount Nebo from where Moses saw the Promised Land. To others it conjures up images of the rock cut tombs of the Rose City of Petra, built by the…