Monday Moment
-
- 9 October 2016
Temples in Asia fascinate me. Unlike our North American churches with their air of solemnity, hushed tones, and calm divinity, Asian temples are often a whirlwind of swirling incense smoke, banging drums, and merchants hawking offerings to the gods for the faithful who didn’t come prepared. I feel uncomfortable entering churches. I don’t know why. […]
It has been unseasonably warm here in southern Ontario. This is obviously good for those of us who enjoy squeaking out the last flip flop days and sneaking one last beer on a sunny patio. It is not so good, however, for those of us who were hoping to revel in the beauty of the […]
They float high on the walls during the day but descend into the street at night as shops and storefronts are shuttered. These yellow fists and bright eyes are all over the Beyoglu district of Istanbul. Created by the street artist Kripoe they lend an eerie element to the downtown core. I like that most of […]
This. This is what is missing here in Canada. City squares with shops, and businesses, and cafes with outdoor seating. A place to gather and relax, meet up with friends, or enjoy a cocktail on the patio. We are a car culture through and through and forget about the value of open space, the aesthetic […]
How hot can you take it? Markets and food stalls abound with hot red and green chilies. They are used in everything from salads to stir fries to curries. Most often the cook would ‘westernize’ the recipe for us and, where they might usually throw a handful (seriously!) in, they would only pick one or two. […]
This was one of those quintessential travel moments. Riding camels over the desert dunes. Watching the sun set in a blaze of red and orange. The absolute stillness of the earth at that moment.
We stopped into this family compound while on a bike tour outside of Ubud on the island of Bali. It was raining dreadfully hard so, instead of learning about the compound and how the family all works together, we all huddled under the eavesas best we could. This old man was sitting looking terribly amused. […]
Much of Kathmandu is a haze of pollution, tangled wires, narrow alleyways, belching cars, aggressive touts, and overwhelming noises and smells. This closed up shop hung with a marigold ‘torana’ offered some visual peace; a sense of calm in a city full of calamity.
While in northern India we hired a car and driver (that’s Laxman with his back to the camera) to take us from site to site, town to town. The first day of the drive he pulled into a tourist restaurant complex on the side of the highway for us to have some lunch. It was […]
The Cameron Highlands of Malaysia are a cool oasis from the hot, humid lowlands below. I was surprised by the modern architecture of the BOH Tea House on the grounds of the plantation. I don’t know what I was expecting but it sure wasn’t this Frank Lloyd Wright reminiscent piece of work that jutted out over […]
1481. That’s more than 500 years ago! The sense of time and history in Turkey was often lost on me as I tried to imagine what the world, and life, must have been like when this hammam was constructed oh-so-long-ago. I wanted to experience a piece of that tradition and history while in Istanbul and […]
