If there is one thing that this Upside-Down-tragedy gave than took, it is my new found energy to peruse recipes I learned over the years and kick my hindside back to the stove. True, YouTube helped. So did Jamie Oliver’s army of mignons that dominate search rankings for any food item you google. But itContinue reading “On eating wholesome – sattvic diet (plus recipe)”
Author Archives: Purposeful Traveller
Watching In the mood for love on New Year’s eve
It is level 3 in Seoul which means restaurants are only open for take-out and entertainment is all but nil. So when I found out that movie theaters were open (with capacity limits) on New Year’s eve, that’s how I was going to spend the evening in this oddest of the odd years. I wasContinue reading “Watching In the mood for love on New Year’s eve”
Year of the Covid holiday gift ideas
Holiday season 2020 It’s that time of the year when everyone including editors and contributors of magazines and newspapers dispense their seasonal wish-lists. Normal’s proprietor is shamelessly no exception so I’m having a go at my own rendition but hopefully of a conscious kind appropriate in this time of anguish. Frankly I wasn’t expecting toContinue reading “Year of the Covid holiday gift ideas “
Cities, profit from this
As I write this story I glance down from my perch in Seoul. On this particularly crisp October morning I was enjoying a cup of Fall Blend on the terrace of a coworking café. Groups of young men dressed in the sharp, telltale style of consultants in their first year on the job (navy suit,Continue reading “Cities, profit from this”
Loving (Kim Hwan-gi) in the time of pandemic
The Pandemic reduced my mobility to a radius of inches, not hrs in flight time. Greatest challenge I had to endure is the oppression of the mundane. Groundhog Day in this uninspiring Punxsutawney urban living in Seoul (since lockdown in Singapore I left to Seoul, first to maternal comforts of three hot meals during 2-weekContinue reading “Loving (Kim Hwan-gi) in the time of pandemic “
K House
Way beyond Galle and past Ahangama and Matara in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka is K House, a secluded beach front property surrounded by lush Indian Ocean flora and open ocean views. It is where minimalist architecture of two villas effortlessly blend into nature and stand in comfortable distance to provide intimate privacy within.Continue reading “K House”
Yakumo Saryo – in cloud eight
My taxi ride is getting longer, going deeper into nondescript residential neighbourhood. I pass by some oppressive modernist gymnasiums of 1960 Tokyo Olympics era … and then it keeps going again. Finally I’m dropped off curb side in front of a gated residence (again nondescript) and I wonder “is this going to be another sit andContinue reading “Yakumo Saryo – in cloud eight”
Belitung EcoBeach and surrounding islands
When Davide (pseudonym) first made an appearance in my office with an hour notice and announced he owned one-tenth of Belitung Island and that he’s wanting advice for developing that area as socially and environmentally responsible project, I only had two questions – first, where in the heck is Belitung (I’ve been in hospitality forContinue reading “Belitung EcoBeach and surrounding islands”
Hotel KOO – collection of seven rehabilitated machiya’s in Ootsu
KOO is a collection of seven rehabilitated machiya’s (traditional Japanese townhouses) refurbished with modern furnishings, some as private villas and others with two or three separate guest bedrooms creating 13 units in total. Japanese machiya’s are small – typically around 1,000 sq. ft – and split into two levels. Insisting on key features such as […]
Human scale of Sydney Opera House
The first time I saw Sydney Opera House was in 2000 during my first visit to Sydney and the obligatory walk down to the rocks. I still remember my first reaction at the time – ‘it’s not as a big as I imagined…’ but no less awe inspiring’. Many times had I seen the imagesContinue reading “Human scale of Sydney Opera House”
Normal . 