The not-so-secret diary

Some time ago I found myself in Kingston upon Thames (a town in Greater London, south of Richmond). The high street is known for its wide range of shops and there are a few indoor malls too. I come here occasionally to browse through the usual high street brands in a more relaxed atmosphere than the mad rush that is witnessed on Oxford Street on weekends. On one such visit I wandered down to a well-known department store (Bentalls). I soon found myself gravitating towards the 'kitchen' section. This was much to my dismay as I remember not long ago (or so it feels!) I was being dragged by my mum through household goods shops when all I wanted to look at was dolls or books. Most of us grow up to be our parents they say, but in this case, I bet even my mum doesn't know what she's missing in her kitchen. So for the avid homemaker, or rather someone with a big kitchen in London (who?!)  here is a list of 'essential' items I saw being sold: - Honey spoon - Gra...

While on the subject of tea and my adopted country, as elaborated in my last post ,  I feel like I must write a mini-post to share my confoundedness on meeting folk with a taste for a hot beverage which has turned into a cool drink. Over a decade of meetings in London, some held in glossy glass buildings, some in transport depots and others in no nonsense office blocks, one thing has been consistent. There is almost always a British person (more than one sometimes) who will pour a cup of tea, with or without sugar and milk, take a few sips and then place it on the saucer. Twenty minutes into the meeting, by which time the air-conditioning has frozen that cup of tea into a drink cold enough to be worthy of a native of the Sahara desert, the gentleman (and it is too often the men) will loftily raise the cup again and continue to enjoy the remainder of the cup's contents. To this day I cannot quite fathom why people here do that. Apart from the obvious health disbenefits of cold ...

There is so much to say on this but in this post let me just talk about how it all came to happen. The Cutty Sark is one of the most famous tea clippers that carried tea from China to the UK. It holds the top rank for being one of the fastest and most profitable clipper  in the nineteenth century. Towards the end of its sea-life it carried wool from Australia and was sold to the Portuguese. A few months ago, I joined my SW19 buddies to see the restored Cutty Sark (following the awful arson attack a few years ago). We spent an enjoyable few hours wandering around the ship which is now a fun, interactive museum. This is the  restored clipper.    The Chinese connection This is an artist's image of the bustling Victoria Dock in the early nineteenth century. The tea timeline was fascinating. Confession: I grew up believing that tea came from India and we taught the world how to grow it and brew it. It was a shock to discover that most tea plant...

Hmmm. So what exactly is Cat Hair Design? I never found out really. But this little place does more than feline hair styles. It also offers a hair cut, shampoo, blow-dry, hair colouring, pedicure, manicure and waxing. And it is located right at the entrance of a BTS Skytrain station in central Bangkok. Why hasnt anyone else thought of this idea?! Going out into town for the evening? Just pop in and get a shampoo-blow dry and a nice manicure. Had a difficult day at work- just pop in for a relaxing facial massage on the way home. Or maybe all you wish for is a quick wax and pedicure. And why not, after all Bangkok does have the perfect weather for skirts and shorts, a fact which has not escaped the smartly dressed local women. Okay, so the red painted plastic walls are a tad tacky and there is limited privacy but still the concept is cool. Here's hoping another city picks up on this soon. London Underground- are you listening?

As some of you will know already, the most useful and popular currency for tourists in Cambodia is the US Dollar. The local currency is the Cambodian Riel with approx 4000 Riel equal to 1 USD (as of August 2013 anyway). Our tuk-tuk rides from the hotel to the town centre in Siem Reap were typically 1$ or 2$ per way. American cents are not accepted so when we shopped or paid restaurant bills we would often get  Riel notes back as change. We tried to hold onto a few Riel but they weren't too useful. The tuk-tuk drivers seem to prefer dollars and most shops displayed prices in dollars too. Twice we succeeded in bargaining and offering some Riel over a discounted dollar price. Occasionally we managed to use them in local shop to buy fruit. Bargaining for me was mostly an unsatisfactory experience in Siem Reap. I speak here as someone who has grown up with it and enjoy the kick of getting a few cents/ pence/ anything actually off the marked price. When I'm in Asia I have to re-...

"Have you been out at all today? It's absolutely scorching." "It's simply unbearable, this heat. I haven't been able to sleep for days." "Yes it is rather warm. I hope it cools down soon." These conversations are not uncommon in the sub-tropical and tropical regions of the world. Alas, I am nowhere near the tropic. This is how the locals are finding London this summer. As I try to catch the little bit of warmth in this very  rare 25'C to 30'C fortnight, I see around me suffering Brits who are pining for the 17 centigrade-summer that is rightfully theirs. Oh how much my fellow city-residents moan in this 'heatwave'. Here I am, overjoyed that after several years I'm finally experiencing a summer  where I could keep the central heating off for an entire month. Only to reach work to find the air-conditioning has been put so low that my fingers are almost blue within an hour of being there. A friend told me how her work...

I can't quite recall when I started caring so much about food that I felt the need to write about it. Those who know me well compare my eating habits to that of a bird (sparrow rather than the French fries-addicted overweight pigeons of London). To say I was a picky eater as a child would be an understatement. I doubt if it was anything to do with the food itself- I just found other things around me more exciting than eating. So it is surprising to now find myself waxing lyrical about food- in this case the awesome vegetarian curries and starters at  Chamkar Restaurant in Siem Reap (Angkor Wat). I discovered it first via a web search while planning the trip to Cambodia. After a shaky experience in Ayuthhaya (Thailand) where the only well-rated vegetarian restaurant turned out to be a dilapidated eatery with the displayed food looking like it was a few days old, I prepared myself for the worst. My sister and I decided to do an early reconnaissance of the venue and the menu b...