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Not that diary

Sometimes I flit between cities and continents. Other times I stay put and look out of the window. In between I pen down my reflections on both the mundane and the mind-bending.

Cool cycle stand

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- May 09, 2013

Among other interesting things on my recent visit to St Alban's, a historical town just north of London, I caught sight of this cool cycle stand.

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Eating (somewhat) like a local in Hong Kong

- June 28, 2025

This is literally a taster. There are two reasons why I cannot do complete justice to food in Hong Kong. The first is because my visit was too short. Some days I was too far, or too hungry, to make my way to the recommended restaurants. The second is of course my quest for vegetarian food in a city that is perhaps best-known for its wide variety of seafood and meat-based street food. I have no regrets on the latter, and I hope to remedy the former by visiting again some day. Till then, here are a few places worth checking out. Some are my own finds while others were recommended by a friend whose turf I has inadvertently stumbled upon. 1. Lan Fong Yuen - tea and more Probably one of the most popular cha chaan teng (tea restaurant) in all of Hong Kong. It has history going back to 1953 when it was a small roadside food stall. It is also supposedly the place where the famous Hong Kong milk tea was created . It is located on Gage Street in SoHo and accessible by Mid-Levels Esc...

Vietnam: A bygone era at the Imperial City of Huế.

- January 10, 2026

Vietnam's Ancient Capital- Huế It was late October 2024. I was coming towards the end of my trip to Da Nang and my online meetings for the week were done. I decided to join a mini-bus tour heading to the ancient capital Huế which is about 2.5 to 3 hours from Da Nang. My co-travellers were Japanese and non-local Vietnamese folk. The outward journey was relaxed, accompanied by some pleasant scenery. Mid-way our mini-bus stopped by the beautiful Lap An Lagoon. We barely had time to admire the view before the tour guide whisked us into a large shop selling pearls. Everyone politely resisted this marketing ploy and we continued on our way. Finally we arrived at the outskirts of the city and spent some time at this impressive seven-storey Thien Mu pagoda. Soon it was time for lunch, which was included in the package. The restaurant had been informed of my dietary preference (vegetarian). Being the only one, I was assigned a separate table with a massive spr...

Bangkok Chronicles: A fruity paradise

- December 27, 2024

One of the unmeasurable joys of being in a tropical country is the variety of fruits and vegetables on offer. Long before national governments began to persuade us to have our ' 5 A Day ', both my grandmothers, several aunties, and of course my parents were already on the case. Thailand is indeed a delight for fruit-lovers. As a vegetarian I live by one simple mantra: to try each and every type of fruit, vegetable and edible plant that is available in my geography. Having spent a significant part of my life in India, I reckoned there would be little to surprise me in Southeast Asia. How mistaken I was! Perhaps it was a consequence of growing up in north India. It is entirely possible that the fruit and veg (F&V) that I consider exotic in Thailand has long existed in some parts of the Indian sub-continent. During my first few months in Bangkok, each visit to the F&V section of a supermarket revealed at least one new thing I had never set my eyes upon before. After exci...