These posts will cover experiential travel and our attempts to learn things.
“How many East Villagers does it take to screw in a light bulb?” Rob Hollander, an East Village resident of some 31 years, asks us as we settle onto a bench in Tompkins Square Park. “Two,” he tells us. “One to screw it in, and one to tell you how it used to be better!” … Read more
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
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
“Hello! Hello!” two skinny little kids call out as they peek from behind a dilapidated brick wall, a short distance down the lane from our villa in the tiny village of Tumbak Bayuh, Bali. “Hello!!!” we shout back and the kids smile shyly and scurry away. Opposite, at the entrance to another home, a young woman … Read more