The Green Palace of Mysore

When in Mysore we stay at the Green Palace Hotel. The GP is a stately pile, evidently built by the Maharaja for one of his sisters. We think it may have been a less-favoured sister as the place, glorious though it is, is, (in Mysore Maharaja terms) more of a hunting lodge, albeit a grand […]

Délices d’Architecture – Palolem

Palolem – still the bright colours of India but with a solid Portuguese-Catholic structure. Madgoan

Uma and Us

We had just finished our spicy Goan fish curry and were sipping a particularly inoffensive post prandial Sula Sauv Blanc when…a statuesque blonde came into the Dropadi restaurant. We attempted nonchalance but it’s not everyday that a sparkling-eyed celebrity sits next to you and starts chatting. For the sake of remaining incognito we respected that […]

Délices d’Architecture – Maheshwar

Magnificent, Magical Maheshwar. A tiny village with a big, impressive Fort/Palace and extraordinary, brightly-coloured retro-mod appartment blocks and houses.

Délices d’Architecture – Mandawa and the Shekhawati district

Mandawa – SO Many Havelis, so much to see. We’ll not bore you with too many words.

The Stairs of Death

One of the many delightful inevitabilities of aging are the nocturnal peregrinations. On this trip my bladder has been in a constant state of horrified disbelief. Our hotel in Bangkok is groovy and retro in a street lined with hidden cafés and hip bars. A thin building, with a normal staircase that gently winds to […]

Pad Thai-riffic

You look out for the long winding queue… (the restaurants next door have few diners and, inevitably, long faced restauranters who no doubt dream of slipping arsenic into the bubbling vats or releasing rats and cockroaches into the kitchen) but you can’t miss Thipsamai – and as you can see from the photo above very […]

Koh Rong: A Beachy Idyll

Koh Rong ! Don’t walk here, run ! The Chinese already have their sights set on it. The Russians are Coming and Angelina’s already stopped by. We hear the complaint all over SE Asia …”this place used to be so unspoilt”…so we give Koh Rong say 5 years. But at the moment it’s Goldilocks right. […]

Dislocated Recipes for Success: Cambodian Fish Amok

Fish Amok is the national dish of Cambodia ~ an aromatic fish curry that is steamed in banana leaf baskets, leaving the fish falling-apart-tender. Cambodian cooking is less spicy than Vietnamese or Thai. Because of this I add more chillies than traditionally so. Timing: 50 minutes Serves:2 Ingredients: 250g firm white River fish (like barramundi, […]

The Dogs (& some chooks & cats) of Koh Rong

Dogs, cats and chooks are everywhere in Koh Rong ~ gamboling on the beach, begging for food in the cafés, snoozing on the chairs and tables, frolicking with the children. They are an integral part of society on the island and unusually dogs, cats and chickens seem to co-exist playfully and peacefully. It must be […]