Category Archives: Travel & Mobility

Journeyings and Visitations II – Unstable Places

This gallery contains 7 photos.

Over the holiday weekend, I had the opportunity to reflect upon time, upon travel, and on my journeying this past year. What I discovered was that I am often struck by places of instability and ambiguity, in which the past … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On Time-travelling

This gallery contains 1 photo.

I’ve always been anxious about time.  I can’t sit still without hearing it whirring past me inexorably. And I stress myself out with thoughts like: Am I spending my time right? Should I be doing something else more useful with … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

A Note about Food and Service: London vs New York

This gallery contains 1 photo.

OK, so here’s the thing. I’m tired of New Yorkers, Londoners, and just about everybody else telling me that New York has better food, better service and cheaper prices than London.  Because that is just nonsense.  London has much better … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Why and How of Travel

This gallery contains 1 photo.

Over the weekend, I finished reading celebrity philosopher, Alain de Botton’s (2002) excellent book, The Art of Travel. In it, he very humorously and counter-intuitively examines why and how we travel, using his own experience, and excerpts from travel narratives … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Home is a Non-place

This gallery contains 7 photos.

Marc Augé (1995), in his seminal book Non-places: introduction to an anthropology of supermodernity, sheds light on the concept of “non-places,” noting that: “[i]f a place can be defined as relational, historical and concerned with identity, then a space which … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Middle East… and Dubai الشرق الاوسط … و دبي

This gallery contains 3 photos.

Since my late teens, I have had an enduring fascination with the Middle East, particularly its art, architecture and urban landscape. Every year, I make a pilgrimage, of sorts, to Dubai. The intent is to see how it’s changed, while … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

错综复杂 Out of Place

This gallery contains 1 photo.

I recently finished reading Edward Said’s memoir, Out of Place (he wrote the seminal book, Orientalism, on Western conceptions of the Middle East). His main theme – how being out of place can be a defining factor in one’s life … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

饮水思源 A Love Affair with Water (and Cities…)

This gallery contains 7 photos.

Following on from my previous post, I thought I’d extend my musings on the theme of water and the city, and accompany these with photography on the subject. Having grown up in an island city that is also one of … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

梦游苏州 Dreaming of Suzhou

This gallery contains 7 photos.

As the saying goes:上有天堂,下有苏杭 –  Suzhou and Hangzhou are Heaven on Earth. I had been wanting to visit Suzhou for years, after my first attempt to do so 5 years ago was scuppered by a very bad cold.  Hangzhou had lived … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Curious Thing about Starbucks

This gallery contains 1 photo.

Alright, I’ll admit it. I spend a significant amount of my time at Starbucks. Every morning in London, I would get up, rain or shine, shuffle two blocks down to the nearest Starbucks in my flip-flops, PJs and a pullover, … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment