Not that diary

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...

Yin and Yang. Black and white. Uplifting and depressing. Eye-popping and macabre. If this is beginning to sound like a lesson in antonyms, then I assure you its not. However, I do mean to talk about opposites.  First the ‘Yang'. Up in northern Thailand, in the town of Chiang Rai, a Buddhist temple lay in ruins. A few decades ago, visual artist Chalermchai Kositpipat decided to re-build it privately at his own cost. The result is the wondrous and whacky White Temple or Wat Rong Khun.   In the overpowering heat and humidity of August, it appears like a mirage, the sun reflecting off its white plaster exterior studded with pieces of glass.  We jostled with groups of largely Asian tourists and a number of European backpackers to get the best selfies from a distance.   I decided to gingerly test the somewhat-alien looking sculpture for its glassy muscular strength. At the entrance we got properly spooked. Placed in a small arc th...

It's always amusing how the English language gets localised in various parts of the world. Over the years I've seen the Indian version, or specifically the north Indian 'Hinglish' version. On my trip to Thailand and Cambodia there was a South east Asian angle to shop names, slogans and signs. First the well-meaning but slightly cheesy ones. This was a home furnishings shop at Paseo mall, not far from Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok. If you are concerned about your health, fruit always helps. The first cart below has some 'fruit for healthy'. In Cambodia, wandering down the temples of Angkor Wat, the signs often forewarned us of an impending activity:   And in some places they told us how to visit: To cater to Japanese tourists, restaurants in Siem Reap tell them who's the boss: But this is what we loved the most- rumoured to be one of the oldest pubs in the Old Market area of Siem Reap city. Have not been able to confirm, but ...

Over the last few days, my travels in Cambodia and Thailand revealed how much the London Underground is loved. In Siem Reap , Cambodia I spotted a map titled 'Angkorground' showing the location of the ancient temples along with Siem Reap' s International airport and the city centre. The poor picture quality is completely my fault as I was worried the saleslady would protest at me being camera-trigger happy around her shop. This along with other interesting maps, t-shirts, bags and mugs with witty one-liners are for sale at a shop on Alley West (near the Old Market) in Siem Reap's town centre . Yesterday I was back in Bangkok to catch my flight to London. With several hours to spare, we hit a local shopping area near Suvarnabhumi Airport (Lat Krabang). I spotted this pink shirt at the evening bazaar outside Paseo Mall. Indeed, why not visit London!                      ...