The view from the bottom… is never the same as from the top
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The view from the plane (©MRandin)
Category Archives: Asia
Top 10 things to do on a Maldivian island
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1. Pretend you’re Tattoo from Fantasy Island and yell, “Da plane! Da Plane!” everytime you see one
The plane that flew us from Male to Reethi Beach Island (©MRandin)
Italy & India: Why there’s more than meets the ‘I’
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In the town of Barolo in the Piedmont region of Italy (©MRandin)
In his novel Shantaram, Gregory David Roberts wrote that “The Indians are the Italians of Asia”.
At first I thought that Roberts’ words were a liberal stretch of the imagination. But after various visits to Italy, I’ve come to realise that the two countries have more in common than just the enigmatic Mrs Sonia Gandhi. Continue reading
5 things I learnt in South Korea
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1. Ginseng cures everything (including impotence…)
Ginseng: The bigger, the older, the more effective. (© MRandin)
Namsen Tower: Where you can get the best view of Seoul
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©MRandin
Yes, this is a picture of the men’s urinal, taken by M. (I must stress…) at the top of the Namsen Tower in Seoul.
As you can see the men are treated to a magnificent view of the city. The women are that not lucky.
Photo of the week
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The Pavilion at Anapji Pond in Gyeongju province, South Korea (©MRandin)
A day out in Jejudo
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The little men of Jejudo! (©MRandin)
Jejudo. M. and I had visions of a small, sun kissed ‘island’ where we could relax, kick back and enjoy – after all it’s South Korea’s number one honeymoon spot.
After reading about the various marvels of nature on this volcanic island, I romanticised about exploring them on foot during the day while spending the evening on a beach (Margarita in hand…) listening to the waves lapping up against Jejudo’s shores. If Jejudo was like Fogo – the Cape Verdian volcanic island whose wild beauty will draw in even the most cynical of tourists – then we were in for a treat. Continue reading
The Mysterious Road of Jejudo: Welcome to the twilight zone…
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The driver on the left wanted to see if his car would be pulled to the top of the road, in reverse, with the engine turned off. It worked. Welcome to The Mysterious Road! (©MRandin)
Just outside ’Love Land‘ on Jeju Island is ‘The Mysterious Road’.
On this stretch of road, a car with its engine turned off, will slowly be pulled uphill. Likewise, if you pour a bucket of water on the ground here, the liquid will trickle up, instead of down. Continue reading
Why I don’t feel so bad about missing Buddha’s birthday
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We arrived in South Korea just a few weeks before Buddha’s birthday. At the time I did chide myself for not having timed our visit better. But every cloud has a silver lining and ours came in the form of an impromptu bus trip to the mountain temple town of Heinsa. Continue reading
I’d use the ‘S’ word… but my mother might be reading
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(©MRandin)
So instead let me tell you about the Museum called “Love Land” that M. and I visited on the island of Jeju, in South Korea. Continue reading