Learning about the Lower East Side immigrant stories at the Tenement Museum in New York City is a must if you’re staying in this multicultural neighbourhood with a long rich history of immigration – or if you’re just strolling past tenement buildings each day on your ambles around Manhattan and are curious as to how … Read more
Although it isn’t our first time in New York City, we’re still finding it overwhelming. It’s a colossal city, with so much on offer that it’s hard to know where to start exploring and what to do. This is why we’ve decided to do as much as possible within walking distance of our apartment, which … Read more
Cooking in Bali with Desak, our villa chef, ended up being one of the highlights of our two-week stay at our Balinese villa, allowing us to tick off a few grand tour goals – learning from locals, learning to cook the local cuisine, and giving back. I taught Desak Western dishes in exchange for her … Read more
Life in Bali is imbued with rituals – religious, spiritual and social; complicated and simple – from consulting the Balinese calendar to the daily offerings of incense and flowers made at Hindu and Buddhist temples. Which is why I learnt the art of making offerings in Ubud Every afternoon here at our home in Tumbak Bayuh, … Read more
Each day Desak and Kuman, the cook and housekeeper at our villa at Tumbak Bayuh, consult the Balinese calendar hanging on the kitchen wall. When Kiki, the villa manager, suggests we try to see a traditional ceremony while we’re on Bali, she heads inside to check the complicated almanac. While we naturally have difficulty deciphering … Read more