Category: Culture
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Vietnam & Singapore take the cake
It’s time to talk about cake again. Classic high tea doesn’t have to be taken in an English country garden. These two teas enjoyed in Asia take the cake! When I’m travelling I always plan an afternoon tea experience into the itinerary mix. I think it is the most civilised and friendly ritual anyone could…
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Morocco gets on my goat!
This is not fake news or fake photos. There we were, driving along a flat, dry part of the western Moroccan landscape dotted with small farm houses and solitary argan trees (agania spinosa), endemic to Morocco. I squinted at the tree in the distance, with its limbs spread out in the sun and great clumps…
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Drumming up light and love
Something happened to me in my mid 30s (a few years ago now) I stopped doing any regular exercise. I had dabbled in yoga and even had personal trainer for a short while. And as a teenager, had played competitive squash and tennis. But time and work and the party life offered little useful movement…
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Coffee clutch or . . . get some caffeine into you.
Lockdown over and time to do the cafe shuffle and grab a cup of Java with friends and let the world go by. Coffee snob? Think that cafe latte is the one and only? When you take a sip of this beautiful beverage it’s about the shot, the kick, the blend, so take a chance…
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Street wise: Hanoi, Vietnam
www.sofitel-legend-metropole-hanoi.comA quick fix blog this week as I am away on a yoga retreat in the Blue Mountains, a couple of hours west of Sydney (I knoooow, what was I thinking) and am short on blogging time this week. A post on the yoga experience might even make its way here if I survive bending,…
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Singapore: Shophouses shine…
There was a time in Singapore when everything old is old again and must be torn down. After the devastation of Singapore during WWII, the region struggled to rebuild and restore pride for the locals. Well, Singapore quickly became an economic gateway for the Asian region and a powerhouse for modernity, architectural innovation and post-war…
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TIPS for taking better food shots
Want your meal to be envied? Your risotto remembered? Your cake catalogued? So, as an amateur, make sure you follow these suggestions. Food and travel! Seems that everyone wants to photograph what they had for breakfast, lunch and dinner . . . and in between. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Food and travel…
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USA: how to indulge in Waikiki
At a recent visit to Hawaii, staying a the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort, I had time to seek out a couple more experiences at Waikiki. I decided to sleep, swim, read and eat – three necessary holiday activities that I have not practiced for many years. I was a bit rusty, but I made an…
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Greece: Back to Basics
SLOW TRAVEL #2 The first Greek island I visited more than 35 years ago was Poros. I had spent some time in Athens and jumped on a ferry that was a kind of hop on hop off boat for the times. We passed Aegina and then Poros came into view. It had only taken about…
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Budget flight: get your Scoot on!
Taxi at the door and I’m about to depart from Greece. Arrive at Athens airport early, tick. Now where was my ticket? I’m on a budget airline to Sydney via Singapore so my check in will be a shabby, tucked away make-do. No. It’s in with the big kids. There’s one long terminal – just…