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Tucked away in their own haven, are communities with their own unique culture. They have their own language, art, music and practice a different religion. The tribes of India residing in the various pockets of the nation have heritage that can be traced back to centuries. Discover some of these interesting tribal communities and the culture they showcase.
Warli tribe in Maharashtra
With a heritage that can be traced back to the Neolithic age, this tribal community of Maharashtra is well-known for its art comprising of basic shapes – lines, triangles and circles. Warli art can still be found outside their red coloured homes made of cow dung, mud and wood. The tribe speaks an Indo-Aryan dialect termed as Warli language and have unique dances like the harvest dance called Tarpa, performed on the tunes of musical instruments made from dried vegetables like gourd.
Bishnoi tribe of Rajasthan
Devotees of Lord Jhambheshwar, the Bishnoi tribe is known for their fierce protectiveness of nature. This tribe was an inspiration for the famous Chipko movement with their own tree hugging activity in the 1700s. Over 300 tribals were executed as they hugged the Khejri trees to protect them from felling on the orders of the then Maharaja of Jodhpur. To date, the tribe buries their dead instead of cremating them to avoid wasting wood. Not only do they refrain from hurting animals but nurture them by keeping bird feed and water around their dwellings.
Second-city travel is set to be a major trend this year. A 2019 survey by Booking.com found that 51% of global travellers would swap their original destination for a similar alternative to reduce their environmental impact.
“Second-city travel relieves the effects of overtourism, such as pollution and stresses on public infrastructure, in popular destinations,” explains Angel Llull, the company’s APAC VP. “It also enables smaller communities to gain from tourism.”
Travellers benefit, too. “You’ll get to contend with fewer crowds and enjoy cheaper prices,” Llull says, “and gain new experiences from going off the beaten track.” Luckily, this part of the world is packed with exciting second cities, from Cambodia to India. Here are some top picks.
Penataran temple in Blitar is a must-visit. Photo credit: Aleksandar Todorovic/Shutterstock.com
1. Blitar
Three hours from Surabaya, this small city in East Java is surrounded by numerous ancient temples.
Where to play
Penataran Temple is the largest Hindu temple in East Java. Located on the slope of an active volcano, Mt Kelud, it was built in the late 12th century, during the Kediri Kingdom. The restoration work is impeccable – showing off detailed stone carvings of scenes from the Sanskrit epic poem, Ramayana.
Where to stay
A restored colonial mansion with tasteful antique furnishings and old photographs, Hotel Tugu has spacious suites that carefully blend Javanese design with contemporary fittings. Its largest, Sang Fajar, comes with a hand-carved Javanese bed.
How to get there
You can drive from Surabaya or take the longer but more picturesque five-hour train ride through lush forests and rural Javanese villages.
A Buddha statue in the middle of Hussain Sagar Lake. Photo credit: Joe Ravi/Shutterstock.com
2. Secunderabad
Founded in 1806 as a cantonment for the British forces, Hyderabad’s twin city offers bustling bazaars and fascinating historic buildings.
Where to play
Hussain Sagar Lake is a heart-shaped lake built in 1563. In the middle of the lake is a 16m-high Buddha statue, which can be reached by boat.
Where to stay Minerva Grand Secunderabad is a centrally located boutique stay with spacious rooms that offer picturesque city views.
How to get there
Secunderabad is 20 minutes by train from Hyderabad.
The lush rainforest of Lenggong Valley. Photo credit: Takashi Images/Shutterstock.com
3. Lenggong
Lenggong Valley is Malaysia’s fourth Unesco World Heritage site, and the town is where archaeologists found the 11,000-year-old Perak Man, the oldest and most complete skeleton unearthed in Southeast Asia.
Where to stay
Rumah Tiang 16 is a traditional Malay kampung house transformed into a boutique homestay. It offers an immersive programme that includes preparing local dishes and visiting a village of kite-makers.
How to get there
From Penang, it’s a two-hour drive to Lenggong.
Stay at Greenhouse for splendid views of the river. Photo credit: Nicolas Honore
4. Kampot
Despite its go-slow vibe, this sleepy riverside town in Cambodia has plenty to offer, from architecture to nature.
Where to play
Kampot is famed for its namesake pepper, so consider a visit to La Plantation, an organic farm that conducts free guided walks. Or simply wander the streets to admire the faded grandeur of its colonial-era buildings, perhaps picking up a num pang (pork baguette) from a roadside stall.
Where to stay GreenHouse, on the banks of Kampot River, offers rustic bungalows replete with swinging hammocks.
How to get there
A mini-bus ride from Phnom Penh takes about three hours.
Words by Rusmailia Lenggogeni (Blitar), Lakshmi Prabhala (Secunderabad), Marco Ferrarese (Lenggong) and Delle Chan (Kampot)
Watch as elderly villagers from Busan’s Geumjeongsan carry out a set of timeless rituals to prepare nuruk, a fermentation agent necessary for the brewing of makgeolli
Trundling up the forest path afire in the morning light, breathing in the crisp air, I feel as if I’ve left civilisation far behind. Looking over my shoulder confirms this: It’s nothing but endless hills. Aside from the soft crunch of my boots, all I hear is the rustling of fallen leaves pinwheeling lazily in puffs of wind.
It’s 10.30am when I heave myself up Godangbong peak. Standing at 801.5m, it’s the highest point in all of Busan, South Korea, and part of the sprawling Geumjeongsan massif. From a natural castle of lichen-encrusted granite, the slope falls sharply to the glossy, meandering Nakdonggang river.
Beomeosa Temple
Due south, skyscrapers and a gossamer bridge meet a gold-leaf sea that stretches to a hazy horizon. My gaze shifts to a saddle below the peak, where I can make out a stone gate and a wall that resemble a long, undulating tube of dough. The circular 18km wall was erected following invasions in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
Toiling away as a corvée labourer on a project of this scale must have been a thankless task, except perhaps for the inducement of makgeolli – a milky-white, undistilled rice wine of around 6% to 8% alcohol by volume (ABV) – brewed in Sanseong Maeul, or Fortress Village, a small settlement in the mountain’s inner valley. So tasty was the creamy, sour-sweet euphoriant that the builders continued to pine for it after the fortress was finished and they’d returned home.
The lofty and picturesque Geumjeongsan mountain
While the wall’s steadfastness was never tested in the centuries that followed, its survival is a victory in itself. It fell into disrepair before being partly demolished by Japanese colonisers in the early 20th century. Today, the intact sections stretch for only 4km or so. The serpentine sentinel also stands as a symbolic protector of the living history in the valley below, where authentic makgeolli continues to flow, unimpinged by the ever-modernising port city of 3.5 million people that lies just beyond the ridgeline.
My mountain trek is taking me to this village, where I hope to learn the craft behind traditional makgeolli production through an educational programme that started in 2018 and expanded last November. Along the way, I pass several exuberant hikers using poles to pick their way over stones and tree roots. Were it a bit warmer, I reckon I would have come across groups enjoying boisterous forest picnics accompanied by a few bottles of rice wine.
A lone hiker surveys the view from the mountain peak
Makgeolli is not only a hiker’s drink, though. Dating at least as far back as the Goryeo dynasty (918 to 1392), the lightly carbonated brew has long been the tipple of choice of farmers. Even today, workers in the fields take breaks during harvest time to quaff the beverage. As South Korea went from being 95% rural to 80% urban throughout the 20th century, makgeolli gained a place in city culture as a cheap, wholesome drink.
Yet, by the turn of the 21st century, it had become the uncool choice, stereotyped as a drink for lower-class, countrified oldsters. That was until the start of the 2010s when sentiments began to shift again. Perhaps inspired by historical TV dramas and South Korea’s global success, a new generation began to latch on to fading cultural artefacts like hanok (traditional houses), hanbok (traditional dress) and makgeolli.
“So tasty was the creamy, sour-sweet euphoriant that the builders continued to pine for it”
As makgeolli caught on with a younger crowd looking for a richer, slower-paced drinking experience than that of potent soju (one of the world’s most popular spirits), a market opened up for carefully crafted versions together with flavoured varieties. Soon enough, makgeolli infiltrated the Koreatowns of cities like Los Angeles and began to appear on the menus of global Michelin-starred restaurants.
This whole phenomenon grew from developments taking place in Fortress Village, which has continuously produced some of the peninsula’s finest makgeolli for over 500 years. But before the brew’s renewed popularity, the villagers faced adversity in the form of a nationwide ban on nuruk – the drink’s fermentation agent – through the Liquor Tax Act of 1960. Then, in 1965, came a prohibition on brewing with rice due to chronic food shortages. While other brewers switched to wheat or corn, Fortress Village turned to bootlegging to maintain the traditional methods.
Part of the defensive wall
Speaking about this period, a villager later tells me, “There’s never been enough land to grow many crops here in the village. So, we had no choice but to carry on making makgeolli for a living. Even though there were some police crackdowns, we kept doing it secretly.”
In the end, it was former South Korean president and makgeolli connoisseur Park Jeong-hee who saved the village’s brewing industry after being overcome by drinker’s nostalgia. Park had visited Fortress Village on military business during his days as a general and drunk deeply of the local makgeolli. After sampling it again as president, he was moved to find that it tasted just as he’d remembered. For its sip-worthiness, and to ensure that it remained part of Korean culture, he designated it Folk Alcohol No 1.
View of Busan from the cable car that takes hikers up the mountain
Thus, villagers were able to open their own legitimate rice makgeolli brewery in 1979, well ahead of the general countrywide lifting of the rice-brewing ban in 1990. One of the villagers, Yu Cheong-gil, who’d learnt brewing from his mother, became the representative of the local makgeolli trade. In 1998, through intensive study of traditional brewing methods, he became the only Busanite recognised as a Korean Food Grand Master, and the only one of the 78 Grand Masters recognised for making makgeolli.
After three hours of hiking, I descend into a valley filled with peak-roofed houses, each one fitting higgledy-piggledy into the lay of the land. I pass two of Geumjeongsanseong Makgeolli’s brewery buildings on my way to its nuruk workshop, which could be mistaken for a prefab warehouse if not for the giant, paunch-shaped hangari (clay pots) lined up outside.
Early for my brewing lesson, I’m seated in a sunny spot just within a doorway next to Park Su-jeong, a sprightly 57-year-old woman. Looking into the clay-walled space filled with natural light and conspicuously lacking a radio or TV, I see a squad of elderly women with black-dyed perms stacking beige circles and rectangles of nuruk then carrying them to the smaller “nuruk room”. The nuruk is left to sit for 15 days where it will grow fuzzy blotches of mould.
Workers use their feet to shape the discs of nuruk (fermentation starter)
Transported back to my mother’s kitchen by the smell of the dough, I watch the women carry out a set of timeless rituals: unloading a mound of clay-like nuruk from a steel tub, kneading it into half-spheres, wrapping these in cheesecloth and pressing the clumps with their rubber slip-on shoes known as gomusin. Hands behind backs, the grannies turn counterclockwise in time while making pretty little steps with their feet, a sort of folk dance that results in perfect circles of nuruk.
After wrapping up some urgent tasks in the workshop, Park is ready for our lesson. She starts by telling me to take off my shoes and socks. After making sure that I heard correctly, I sidle up barefoot to a lump of nuruk dough and follow her instructions, first using a heel to spread out the dough, then pressing the curve of my smallest toes to define the “crust” along the edge. The squishy dampness feels pleasant, and I gain confidence as I see the discus starting to take shape. My creation will go with the others into the nuruk room. After attracting plenty of bacteria, mould and yeast from the mountain air, it will be crumbled and added to steamed rice and water for fermentation. And around a week after that, traces of the nuruk I stepped on will end up in some of the brewery’s white plastic bottles, ready to taste.
Pouring a cup of makgeolli
From the nuruk-shaping space, we move to a classroom next door with rows of sinks and countertops, a whiteboard with detailed brewing instructions written on it and framed pictures of Grand Master Yu. Here, Park expounds on how to brew makgeolli at home, before fetching a small batch in a plastic jar and pouring it through a strainer above a bowl. “Rinse your hands, please, and squeeze the mush,” she says. “But no soap! Hand flavour is important.”
I dip my hands into the glacier-cold sediment. It feels like soggy oatmeal, but the aroma wafting out is floral-sweet and delicate. When most of the liquid has been squeezed out, Park pours me a cup of pure, unadulterated makgeolli. I take a sip. First comes a silky, slow-breaking wave of tartness. Then a subtle carbonic sizzle. And last, a ticklish afterglow warms my stomach. I can see how this drink managed to melt the heart of an iron-willed president.
A dish of jeon (a type of fried pancake) in Fortress Village
By the time I hike back up to the ridge, the stone blocks of the fortress’s North Gate are glowing orange in the setting sun. Historic banners on flagpoles unfurl to reveal cryptic symbols: a three-headed bird on one, a winged tiger on another. Tall stands of silver grass bob and sway in the breeze, stalwart and untroubled. In the fading light, I half expect to see an approaching horse cart, a soldier looking down from the guard post.
For a while, I delay passing through the gate’s dark archway and commencing my trek back down the mountain. But I gain comfort from the weight in my backpack. There, carefully secured in a screw-top container, are steamed rice and crumbled nuruk from the brewery. “When nuruk is well-aged, it’s like flowers in bloom,” Park has told me. To relive this day, all I’ll need to do is add water.
This should be the first stop on a makgeolli bar crawl of Busan, a minimalist space located between Haeundae Beach and Gwangalli Beach. The servers are happy to help patrons chose from the catalogue-thick menu of different makgeolli options.
Located along a quiet street in the lively neighbourhood around Kyungsung University and Pukyong National University station, this unassuming bar charms with soft lighting and a nationwide selection of makgeolli.
Part of a makgeolli-making school situated in the cosmopolitan Seomyeon area, the classy Anjung & Hansandoga offers artisanal makgeolli alongside some lesser known traditional liquors.
Video by Julie Mayfeng/Syahirah Mazlan
Singapore Airlines flies to Busan four times a week. To book a flight, visit singaporeair.com
I love so many bridges in Paris, but the Pont des Arts remains my favorite. When I first visited Paris years ago, I found the few "love locks" charming. As time passed, they took over this bridge and most others and were destroying them with their weight, not to mention their hideousness. Thankfully the city of Paris stepped in, finally, and cut them off, and now have restored them to their former beauty.
One thing world cultures have in common is an appreciation of dance. Although it may fill a few of us with sheer terror, learning how to dance is also a way to explore different cultures around the world. Here are five dances from around the world to try at home.
Bhangra
Bhangra is a high-intensity dance that traces its origins back to late 19th-century Punjab, India. The traditional folk dance was done to celebrate the harvest. Over the years, the dance has grown in popularity and has been featured in countless Bollywood a few Hollywood movies. Nowadays, Bhangra is usually grooved to over loud upbeat tunes, some featuring traditional instruments like the dhol drum and tumbi. Get a serious workout while learning the most basic steps. For those looking to really delve into the dance, Learn Bhangra offers a host of online classes.
It goes without saying that gin is one of the trendiest drinks around. For evidence of that, you only need to look at one of the world’s best bars: Atlas, at Parkview Square in Singapore. When it was ranked eighth on the 2019 World’s 50 Best Bars list, the first reason given for its lofty position was the 1,300 different gins it has in its collection, many displayed prominently in a three-storey tower that serves as the gilded bar’s focal point.
But what has taken the once-forgotten spirit to its current heights in just a few years? For starters, it’s the craftsmanship and attention to detail that go into creating today’s best gins.
Various stations at Brass Lion Distillery’s Gin School
SPIRIT OF PRECISION
Take Singapore’s own Brass Lion Distillery, the first micro-distillery of its kind in the country, which opened in 2018. They make their gin in small batches with a custom-built hybrid copper still from Germany, known affectionately as Nala (yes, that’s the name of the lioness in The Lion King).
In addition to the essential juniper berries, which are hand-pressed, Brass Lion uses a variety of local botanicals that give their flagship Singapore dry gin the zest of Singaporean flavours: from torch ginger flower and pomelo peel to chrysanthemum and lemongrass. This approach can be seen in their other products too – their butterfly pea gin contains lavender in addition to its eponymous botanical, while their Pahit Pink features cinnamon, mandarin orange peel, red dates and ginger.
STRONG LEGACY
Transporting you from one exotic locale to another is a hallmark of good gin, but some of them can also take you back in time. And here we arrive at another reason for gin’s renewed popularity – the recognition of its history.
Through the years, gin has found a place in the hands of famous literary figures, such as F Scott Fitzgerald and Ian Fleming – and the characters they created (Jay Gatsby and James Bond were fans of the gin rickey and martini respectively). But beyond the rich and famous, the everyday gin drinkers of centuries past capture the imagination too: We can picture them partying long ago in gin palaces and speakeasies, or fending off malaria with a gin and tonic on a verandah in the tropics.
One distillery which made some significant history of its own when it opened in 2009 is Sipsmith. They became the first traditional copper pot distillery to set up shop in London in almost two centuries, placing them at a key moment in the rise of craft gin. Sipsmith’s stills have names too – Prudence, Patience and Constance – and they produce a London dry gin, made according to an 18th-century recipe; the hefty VJOP (Very Junipery Over Proof) gin, which weighs in at 57.7% alcohol by volume; and a sloe gin, alongside an orange and cacao gin and a lemon drizzle gin.
An interesting bit of history also links Sipsmith with Singapore. One of Sipsmith’s co-founders, Sam Galsworthy, is a distant relative of Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore. He is Raffles’ great-great-great nephew, and while he goes by the name Sam, his actual first name is Stamford. This connection bloomed in 2015 when Sipsmith collaborated with the Raffles Singapore to produce an exclusive gin for the hotel, in celebration of the 100th birthday of the Singapore Sling.
The combined product of artistry and heritage, gin is a spirit that tells stories like few others, and all you have to do to become part of that story is open a bottle.
Start your craft gin adventure on KrisShop.com, where you can purchase Brass Lion’s Singapore dry gin and Sipsmith’s London dry gin. You can order them pre-flight or for home delivery.
The word ‘khichdi’ is usually met with sighs and pangs considering its boring tag. However chefs are on a mission to change that. Unofficially designated as the national dish of the country, the humble Khiccā (in Sanskrit) has come a long way.
Experiments & More
Born with the aim of creating a differentiator in a rather cluttered market and curating consistent food experiences for everyday India, Khichdi Experiment has given a flavourful twist to India’s original comfort food. With 20 different varieties that incorporate local elements, ingredients and flavours, Khichdi Experiment caters to both vegetarian and non-vegetarian eaters. “As a truly Indian brand, we believe there is no other better dish to start our food journey with than Khichdi. In an endeavour to offer holistic experiences with food, we launched our first restaurant in Bengaluru and are also experimenting with different retail models, including a corporate kiosk, presence in malls, food trucks and on multiple delivery platforms,” says Pranay Jivrajka, CEO – Ola Foods.
The team at Khichdi Experiment incidentally has spent much time understanding the Indian palate, while playing around with popular and evolving taste preferences. From the classic Plain Dal Khichdi to the Palak variant and even Bengali PanchPhoran Khichdi and Hyderabadi Khatte Dal ki Khichdi, each flavour is a play on the classic dish from states across the country, with an added twist.
Meat Matters
Khichda is a variation of the Arabic dish Harees or Harissa. Khichda is very popular with Muslims of the North Indian subcontinent. It is made up of lamb meat, lentils and spices, slowly cooked; but the chunks of meat remain intact and not absolutely dissolved with lentils. Khichda is cooked all year around and particularly during Muharram and Ramadan. “Khichda has been one of my all-time favourite dish, always looked forward to it whenever I used to travel to Lucknow and Kanpur or prepare it myself at home during Ramadan month. It is a beautiful and classic dish which never got its due recognition and the dish is still trapped within the walled cities of Lucknow, Kanpur & Agra, hence I decided to introduce the legend of ‘Khichda’ to the world,” says Ahsan Ali Qureshi, Co-Founder, Cross Border Kitchens. While khichdi is always vegetarian, khichda is always made with meat.
Imagine you are cooking a new dish for the first time. It’s a type of exotic cuisine that you have never attempted to make before. You are trying to follow a recipe…
I was never the sort of kid to put cockroaches, snails, soil or even ants in my mouth in a fit of curiosity. My parents did not have to be on constant vigil to stop me from eating chalk, or licking at toothpaste, and yet people say I have a weird taste in food items. Let me put it this way: I am an adventurous foodie, and will not shy away from eating most stuff unless it’s raw or, well, just plain icky. And to this end, I went to Thailand and Cambodia, seemingly on a fun and heritage trip, but actually on a mad food adventure. We had already decided to consume at least one adventurous meal a day, but as it turned out we tried out some of the weirdest items on the menu throughout the trip and lived to tell the tale.
Go on, read ahead and decide, if you would like to taste any of these on your trip to Thailand and Cambodia as soon as travel restores:
Blood Sausage: The mere mention of blood sausage would have sent me into a tizzy before I visited Cambodia, but now I am pretty okay with it all. I had a blood sausage broth one night in Bangkok, and although I couldn’t bring myself to bite into the curdled blood, mixed with spices and cut into pieces, the broth was pretty tasty. Maybe a 3 or a 4 on a scale of 1-10.
Alligator: Tasted like lamb, and unless someone told me I would not have been able to identify the meat as that of a swamp dweller. It tasted clean and fresh, and since it was barbecued it was pretty juicy as well. This is something I would love to try again. A 5 on the scale.
Snails: A plateful of steaming hot snails can really hit the spot on a rainy evening in Siem Reap. Tossed with a few vegetables and some spices, this dish was a big hit among locals as far as we could see, and so we decided to order one. It was pretty good; you have to dislodge the snail from the shell with a toothpick and then suck on it to get to all the juices inside. Ummmm, yummy! Wasn’t much weird, though, a 6 on the scale.
For now, staying home is the best thing to do. But this is also the time to be prepared for your travels in the near future, when travel restrictions will be lifted. Don’t leave home without getting the essentials in check!
Your passport
OK, you’ve probably thought of this one already, but check the expiry date. Some countries require at least six months’ validity. And if you have to renew, make sure you leave plenty of time, especially during peak vacation periods. Visa requirements can also change over time so don’t assume it’s the same arrangement as before if returning somewhere familiar.
Pre-book and save
Book in advance before getting to the airport for parking and holiday money. Even if you do so on the morning of your trip you’ll save. If picking up pre-booked currency, take the card you booked with and take note if you have to go to a particular pickup point to get your cash.
Safety
Read up on your destination for up-to-the-minute issues that might affect your plans. Check the authorised government websites of the country which you are planning to visit.
Travel insurance is mostly health insurance, which is why the cost increases hugely when you get to retirement age. For it to be effective, every pre-existing condition must be declared, otherwise your policy could be worthless and you could end up with a very large bill. Also check that any activity you’re planning on undertaking will be included in the price.
Medical matters
Start with a check-up at your doctor’s and dentist – it’s far easier to deal with any potential issues before you hit the road. Try to go as far in advance as you can in case you need to take full courses of immunisations before you travel. You can usually get any necessary vaccinations at your local health clinic, though specialist travel health clinics can also be found in major cities around the world.
Discount and membership cards
If you’re eligible, obtaining an International Student Identity Card (ISIC) or International Youth Travel Card (IYTC) before you go will save you money all over the place – see the website for details of both. Travellers of any age will benefit from Hostelling International membership. Senior travellers also qualify for travel discounts with some airlines and for ground transport in many countries. Sometimes flashing an ID is enough, sometimes you need to use a local scheme.
Please note that currently travel is not allowed nationally or globally. Keep these tips handy for a future travel plan when the situation permits.
This excerpt has been taken from Lonely Planet’s Best Ever Travel Tips.
Taking inspiration from the world of cinema and entertainment has always been the case for a movie buff like me. So while watching a series called “Tales from the Loop” on Amazon Prime, one of the characters explained “They are a window into a world that’s right next to ours. The way they look, their unique calls. They are perfect”. The character was referring to birds and this is when we realized that we had been shutting out that window and complaining about a world filled with darkness, speaking metaphorically.
Spring chronicles: The Crow
Everyday a crow-couple worked tirelessly to build a nest outside our bedroom window. I had only read about the intelligence of this species until now, the kind of scrap and material it brings from around and the steps it takes to make its nest is like an engineering marvel. I took pictures at various stages from building the nest, laying the eggs to the hatching. I loved capturing each moment, as it involved a lot of guise and patience to avoid disturbing the crow and its young ones. I did realize that the crow was just like me, making sure it only went out for food and essentials and made sure the loved ones stayed home.
During the 15th century, Rome saw the rising journey of the Borghese family. Thanks to smart political and economic choices, this dynasty was able to establish its importance in a very short…
World Book Day and World Book Night takes place on 23 April. With the libraries, bookshops and schools around the world experiencing lockdown measures and social-distancing, events and celebrations have been moved online. Here are some interesting activities that are sure to thrill bookworms of all ages!
Immerse yourself in another universe
UK charity The Reading Agency is encouraging the world to participate in #ReadingHour from 7pm – 8pm GMT (12:30am-1:30am IST). You could pick your own hour as per convenience, and sit to read something of interest.
If you’re wishing to be whisked away to another destination, why not pick up a book set in a foreign country?
Stream an online reading session
The SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Storyline Online is a free educational resource where children can follow video readings of new and classic books done by special guests. Receiving over 100 million views from all over the world annually, this year, to celebrate World Book Day, Storyline Online will be releasing its first-ever bilingual video, with actor Jaime Camil reading Zombies Don’t Eat Veggies, in both English and Spanish. The website also has a back catalogue of fantastic books.
Get a free Kindle book
To celebrate World Book Day, companies around the world have announced some free offerings. For a limited period, Amazon is offering nine free Kindle books from around the world available for download.
Take part in online activities
Penguin books currently have online resources for children through their Puffin brand website, with activities that include drawing tutorials and ultimate Puffin book quizzes. There is also an online Puffin Storytime series with special guest readers.
Airbnb recently announced online experiences where users can connect with experts and creatives in different fields. Book-centric offerings include reading with a rom-com author, memoir writing, and storytime with a children’s author.
This article was first published on www.lonelyplanet.com.
Mercury levels soar high with each passing minute, making days hotter and unbearable. Let the heat not tire you down this summer. These exotic and refreshing drinks can be easily made at home for the family to enjoy a good time together.
The heritage arts and crafts of any nation are a perfect reflection of its culture. When it comes to India, these spell diversity and vibrancy. Every corner of the country has its own special craftsmanship. Some of these heritage arts are home grown while others have been a result of the various foreign infusions that the nation has seen. Irrespective of their origin, these arts have been practiced over generations and are the icons of the rich Indian heritage.
Here are 10 of these traditional arts and crafts from various corners of India to showcase its potpourri of cultures.
Also known as the Garden City, Singapore is famous the world over for its spectacular skyline of iconic buildings and landmarks. Featuring Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay and the Supertree Grove, as well as the Marina Reservoir, this distinctive landscape is wonderfully captured in this illustration; a beautiful representation of how Singapore is the perfect blend of natural beauty and modern architecture.
Show us how you would bring this unique cityscape to colourful life. Download the printable colouring page here and share your wonderful creations on social media in the comments section of our Facebook post!
What we eat to build our immunity has taken centre-stage especially at a time when a raging pandemic has spread across the world. Does Ayurvedic cuisine have all the answers?
Many years ago, when health farms ruled the roost and the word “spa” had yet to slip into the average Indian’s lexicon, we checked into an Ayurvedic spa in south India. There, neither tea, coffee, salt nor spices were allowed and, at the end of seven days, we emerged caffeine and sodium-deprived, and ready to go on a binge – sip umpteen cups of coffee and tea and dump vats-full of salt in everything we ate.
Gone are the days when building immunity meant you had to walk down a torturous road of deprivation… surviving on lack-lustre salads and pallid dals. Today, Ayurvedic hospitals that employ the wisdom of Ayurveda, a 5000-year-old holistic Indian regimen, come in luxurious resort settings and the fare served incorporates the principles of Ayurvedic cuisine that is both wholesome and appetizing.
India has the sixth largest number of Unesco heritage sites in the world, with a total of 38 sites. Take a look at them, region-wise.
SOUTH
Group of Monuments at Hampi, Karnataka
Declared a Unesco World Heritage Site, the ruins of over 20 elaborate temples, and many other smaller structures bear testimony of a flourishing empire in the medieval era.
India has the sixth largest number of Unesco heritage sites in the world, with a total of 38 sites. Take a look at them, region-wise.
NORTH
Agra Fort, Uttar Pradesh
The Red Fort of Agra is the former imperial residence of the Mughal Dynasty. It was inscribed in the Unesco World Heritage List in 1982, as a cultural monument.
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Travel may soon reopen globally and it’s good to utilise this time to prepare well.
As part of the research we asked a host of experts to recommend their essential bits of kit they couldn’t travel without. Some things came up again and again…
-Tablet + USB keyboard = a computer that can be carried lightly and used anywhere.
-World plug adaptor with multiple USB ports – the power junkie’s dream come true. In seconds, every drained gizmo can be recharged.
-A portable hard drive to back up your photos and videos will take up next to no space and offer an alternative to uploading to the cloud if you’re low on memory or away from a fast wifi connection.
-Noise-cancelling headphones – perfect for those noisy bus journeys and for any on-the-road video editing or writing undisturbed. A headphone splitter offers you and a friend the chance to watch the same films together on long journeys.
-A smart or sports watch can track your distance, location and even provide weather and other alerts, which can be fantastic if you’re trekking or cycling long distances.
-A portable power source, to make your equipment batteries go further. The technology driving these chargers continues to develop quickly. Solar-powered models offer an obvious benefit if going to more remote locations.
-Unlocked smartphone. Having a local SIM card can make your life on the road a lot easier, while providing an extra degree of connectivity and safety. But you can’t use one, or do much with it, unless you have an unlocked smartphone.
-Similarly, if you use your phone a lot – and, really, who doesn’t – a phone case that contains an additional charging unit will give you some peace of mind that you won’t be left drained of power.
-Travel hair-dryer and iron – small, folding, light, and the best ones offer a variety of voltage. Fewer and fewer hotels and even fewer homestays offer an iron as standard, so if you need to be crease-free, bringing your own is the only fool proof option.
-Compact travel binoculars. Not sure if you need them? Try them on your next trip, and see how popular you become as well as how much interesting stuff you spot.
-Rechargeable head torch. An unbeatable camping accessory that will make life better on any expedition, or even in a pitch-black hostel dorm.
-Something to stand your camera or phone up while you take a steadier shot, like the Gorilla Pod
-Travel scales- Avoid airport repacking scrambles and excess baggage charges by knowing exactly how much your bag weighs before you check it in.
TOP TIP: Make sure your travel insurance contains dedicated gadget cover if you’re going on the road with any serious hardware – and check the excess on any claims for loss or theft. It also goes without saying that you should use hotel room safes to secure valuables.
This excerpt has been taken from Lonely Planet’s Best Ever Travel Tips.
Today’s new reality of travel bans and social distancing has had a crushing impact on the hospitality industry. And while many hotels remain shuttered, a handful of properties across the US and around the world are staying open for essential
In a world where spontaneity in travel is almost fetishised, meticulous planners tend to get a bad rep. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Regardless, in these unprecedented times of closed borders and travel restrictions, where last-minute flights and impromptu weekend breaks are strictly off the cards, we must all become long term planners until the world opens up again (which of course it will); and there are some very good reasons to embrace it. Here are some of the benefits of planning a trip a (very) long way in advance.
Save money
Extra legroom. An extra night’s stay. Heck, who wouldn’t want a hotel upgrade? And the more time you have before you go, the more money you can save for those “treat yo’self” moments.
Staunch budget traveller? You do you. Traversing the globe on a few bucks a day can be an enlightening, life-affirming, addictive experience – but it never hurts to add a bit of slack to the shoestring, so to speak, and planning in advance provides a chance to squirrel away more funds, which can be handy in emergencies.
With all this time on your hands you can also afford to shop around, wait for flash sales and – where it makes sense to do so – book well in advance. Paying for transport, accommodation and activities over the course of a few months helps spread the cost too.
Craft the perfect itinerary
Paid leave is precious. Travel is a privilege. If you want to squeeze every last drop out of your next adventure, you could consider preparing a spreadsheet. When time away is limited, plotting out your ideal itinerary, day-by-day, can help you make the most of it.
There are numerous benefits to taking the Excel approach. You can sense-check the pace at which you plan on moving between destinations, factoring in days for travelling from A to B; plan backup options for rainy days; and juggle things around where necessary.
Pro tip: You may find too many things to squeeze onto your itinerary. Bookmark them all on your chosen mapping app (the Lonely Planet Guides app is a good place to start) and if you find yourself at a loss on the road, open it up to see what’s nearby.
Ever stumbled across the dreamiest of digs on Instagram, immediately pinned all of your hopes and future happiness on staying there, only to find they’re booked out solidly for the foreseeable? We feel your pain.
Planning your travels well ahead not only gives you the widest choice of accommodation – including those quirky-cool home rentals – it also offers the best chance of snagging sell-out gig and theatre tickets, elusive restaurant reservations and a table for drinks in the trendiest spot in town.
The only way to harness this travel superpower is to know what you’re looking for, which means doing plenty of research early on.
Get to know the destination before you arrive
Some people prefer to know very little about their chosen destination before they go – and the logic is understood, to a degree. With the world increasingly at our fingertips, the joy of experiencing the unknown is almost unattainable.
Browsing Google Street View might not be your favourite way to pass the time pre-trip, but understanding the history, geography and culture of a place you’ll soon be immersed in is never a bad thing. Being aware of local customs, taboos and current affairs can only make you a more engaged, respectful and responsible traveller. So get reading in the run up to your departure!
Achieve packing perfection
Packing. Love it or hate it, it’s hard to get right. But for once, you have the gift of time. Take this opportunity to craft the ultimate capsule wardrobe; stock up on (or locate those pesky) adaptors, spare chargers and all the other paraphernalia you usually have to panic buy at the airport; and get your digital life in order – we are talking a suite of essential apps, curated playlists, movie downloads and a clean digital camera roll to fill with your prize-winning travel snaps. You might even like to practise packing and unpacking your luggage to optimise your on-the-road technique.
Enjoy the anticipation
The instant gratification of last-minute getaways can be thrilling. But slowing down and mindfully planning a future trip can help us appreciate the true value of travel, instilling a sense of gratitude and wellbeing. Practise patience, relish the anticipation, and research, research, research – while remembering to enjoy the here and now. Plus, with travel temporarily off the cards, it’s an interesting thing to do.
This article was first published on www.lonelyplanet.com.
This month, we debate the merits of town or country for a vacation, only to find that the answer to the riddle – as with most things in life – is really a little bit of both.
In our cover story, we showcase the growing number of quirky luxury tents and historic homesteads tucked away in the striking Australian landscapes, yet just a short drive away from Canberra.
From the Aussie countryside, it’s back to the urban jungle. We mark the upcoming launch of Singapore Airlines’ new route to Brussels this October by following in the footsteps of famed medieval painter Jan van Eyck. The tour takes us through the beautiful but often overlooked cities of Ghent and Bruges in the Flanders region.
And from the old, we head to the new, ending this month’s globetrotting with a visit to Manila. The city has seen a recent proliferation of restaurants championing an exciting brand of modern Filipino cuisine that still leans on regional traditions and ingredients.
Whether you crave cutting-edge cuisine, inspirational art and history or a quiet country retreat, we hope this issue offers up the perfect mix of travel ideas.
Browse through a copy of our magazine below for more stories, or download it here to get more inspiration on travels.
In this issue, discover the unexpected and the underrated across SilkAir’s many destinations. Our cover story takes you to the nooks and crannies of Penang’s George Town where we meet the artists and creators who’ve been quietly building the city’s creative scene, long before the famed murals arrived.
From a Unesco World Heritage site, head to a destination that’s poised to get its Unesco stamp of recognition – the Old Town of Semarang. In this historic district, passionate local conservationists and entrepreneurs are moving into formerly decrepit buildings and transforming the area into a buzzing enclave full of interesting cafés and businesses.
Round off your journey of discovery in the idyllic Bangalore countryside (pictured above), where various wineries are drawing visitors in with decadent wine tastings, gourmet feasts and even the opportunity to participate in grape-stomping.
Browse through a copy of our magazine below for more stories, or download it here to get more inspiration on travels.
As well as exciting places for your #traveltomorrow dreams, this month’s issue introduces us to many unique individuals, all finding their very own reasons for being.
In California, that reason is the chance to embrace #vanlife, as our writer climbs aboard an iconic VW Type 2 Bus to take a leisurely drive from Redondo Beach to Joshua Tree National Park. Amid the sun-drenched desert scenery, he learns the value of taking the scenic route to explore this beautiful part of the world.
Meanwhile, in Vietnam, we meet a growing wave of young local architects whose reason for being is to create a new design language for Ho Chi Minh City. Inspired by traditional practices and sustainable techniques, they are forging an exciting architectural movement that’s all about creating soulful buildings that exist in harmony with their surroundings.
Finally, we head to the serene Kunisaki Peninsula near Fukuoka. Here we discover a landscape rich in history and spirituality. It’s something that’s evident not just in its temples and mountains, but also in its people, young and old, who through their various roles – from sake-maker to café-owner – have found meaningful lives in a quiet corner of the country and created a unique community as a result.
Here’s hoping that this edition inspires you to discover new reasons for being across the Singapore Airlines network.
Browse through a copy of our magazine below for more stories, or download it here to get more inspiration on travels.
The March issue of Silkwinds magazine is packed with #traveltomorrow inspiration, from wellness training to eco-conservation and a heavy dose of tradition.
Aspiring athletes, take note. On the Thai island of Phuket, luxury resorts are rolling out exciting new wellness programmes, each more comprehensive than the next. Whether you’re looking to train for your first triathlon or are desperate for a digital detox, there’s something for everyone.
From there, sustainable-travel enthusiasts can start planning an immersive journey around Sri Lanka – one that starts near the coast, moves through the central plains and finally winds up into the hills. This story is a fascinating insight into how local hoteliers are using eco-tourism to preserve the country’s rich bio-diversity and protect vulnerable communities.
Last but not least, transport yourself into the heart of Kolkata with this vivid photo essay depicting the joy and vibrance of Holi, a traditional festival that marks the start of spring in India.
Browse through a copy of our magazine below for more stories, or download it here to get more inspiration on travels.
February’s cover story explores the simple, visceral pleasure of wild swimming in the United Kingdom. Swimming in a wild body of water, particularly a chilly one, gives you an instant, real connection to the landscape, forcing you to slow down and contemplate your surroundings. Our writers embraces that connection with the here and now as she tackles a wintry pond in London’s Hampstead Heath. As well as surviving the cold, she discovers the physical and mental benefits of wild swimming and why it has become an increasingly popular pastime in the UK.
But connections don’t always have to be about the present. Our second story is very much about connecting with the past, through the traditional Korean drink of makgeolli. Follow our writer as he treks through beautiful forest (pictured above) to a mountain village that is inexorably linked to the rice wine. There, he discovers the drink’s evolution from peasant drink to bootleg brew to current tipple of choice in the hipster spots of Busan and beyond.
Finally, we look to the future with a story on the opening of a new modern art museum in Colombo. A first for Sri Lanka, the project has worthy ambitions to break down political stigmas and help connect the public with the work of the country’s exciting collection of contemporary artists.
We hope this issue helps you make a connection, be it with the past, present or the future.
Browse through a copy of our magazine below for more stories, or download it here to get more inspiration on travels.
In this issue of Silkwinds magazine, go on a journey through Southeast Asia, one that takes you through fascinating historical sites and exciting contemporary spaces.
Your first stop is Hue in Central Vietnam, where you’ll discover fascinating new cultural projects in the former imperial capital – from the Lebadang Memory Space (pictured on the cover) to the exquisite Ben Xuan Garden House Theatre.
From there, we take you to Davao, where homegrown designers are putting indigenous fashion on the map with their inventive styles. Davao, home to 11 indigenous groups, is a region rich with creativity, as you’ll see in this stunning fashion story.
Finally, round off your journey with a ramble around Yangon on the iconic Circle Train. Our evocative photo essay offers a glimpse into the daily lives of Yangonites via this time-honoured train journey.
Browse through a copy of our magazine below for more stories, or download it here to get more inspiration on travels.
Moorish charm meets French Colonial spirit at the chic brasserie, Grand Café de la Poste. With its labyrinthine souks, opulent palaces and serene gardens to explore; storytellers and snake charmers to behold, nowhere evokes r
This COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous impact on every business, including the travel industry. Those who can, have been looking for ways to support businesses and their employees.
This is a time which can be well spent reading and telling stories, so here we are sharing one with you. Did you know the Taj is not the only eternal love story of Agra? We tell you the one behind a certain Red Taj.
Everyone knows the pristine white beauty that stands at the banks of Yamuna defining glory. Its stature and the forever love story have easily dwarfed all the other structures of Agra, bigger or smaller. Yet, in the forgotten lanes of Agra, there is on in Civil Lines, near the popular Bhagwan Talkies, that furthers the city’s claim to being the seat of eternal love. For, on the grounds of Roman Catholic Cemetery stands a symbol vice versa of the Taj: a wife’s love for her husband.
The Dutch mercenary, John William Hessing, was born in the Netherlands’s Utrecht in 1739. He came to the then Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1757 and took part in the fourth Anglo-Dutch war. As the British win resulted in them taking over the Dutch territories, Hessing is said to have returned to his homeland, only to come back to India in 1763 as a professional soldier. After serving the Nizam of Hyderabad for many years, he joined the service of Maratha chieftain Mahadji Scindia and continued to serve even after his death, under his son Daulat Rao. Hessing attained the rank of Colonel in 1798 and assumed the command of Agra Fort till his death in 1803 due to either a prolonged illness or while defending the fort against the British.
His grieving wife, Ann, decided to commission a memorial tomb for him. At a time when it was particularly rare for a woman to go to great lengths to build a memorial, Ann tried to do her best. But unlike an emperor (Shah Jahan) with unlimited resources at his disposal, she had around a lakh of rupees. Hence, marble was not affordable and the reduced-scale version of her very own Taj for her husband was built in red sandstone at the Roman Catholic Cemetery, one of the oldest Christian burial grounds in India and the oldest in north India. The oldest tombstone here is from 1611, making it difficult to ascertain whether the land was granted by Akbar or his son Jahangir. Though it is said that it was the latter who made it rent free in 1609.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), air cargo transports over US$6 trillion worth of goods, accounting for approximately 35% of world trade by value.
Apart from a dedicated cargo fleet of seven Boeing 747-400 freighters, Singapore Airlines Cargo also manages the cargo capacity on passenger flights operated by Singapore Airlines, Scoot and SilkAir. To maintain its role as a key player in the air freight sector, Singapore Airlines Cargo flies to more than 130 destinations and transports a wide variety of goods across many different industries.
But perhaps one of the most important types of cargo they handle, especially during challenging times, are essential food supplies. Temperature is the most important factor in preserving the quality of perishable food items such as eggs, meat and seafood, fruits and vegetables. They need to be kept away from the sun and placed in temperature-controlled and well-ventilated environments. Coolport, a dedicated on-airport facility in Singapore, has cold rooms which can be adjusted to various temperature settings to cater to this need.
Proper care is taken to ensure shipments are packaged, palletized and labelled correctly with “THIS WAY UP” stickers. Prior to departure, the staff also runs an additional check on board to ensure that these shipments are securely stowed.
Besides food supplies, Singapore Airlines Cargo also plays an important role in the biomedical sector supply chain, ensuring critical and temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical and healthcare products are transported with speed and reliability. The airline transports more than 20,000 tonnes of pharma shipments yearly.
Drugs such as insulin can easily lose their potency if a chilled environment is not maintained so THRUCOOL was launched in September 2018. Its purpose was to provide a dedicated cold chain service for transporting life-saving pharmaceuticals and healthcare products such as vaccines.
Via THRUCOOL, pharmaceutical cargo is also given a priority uplift, making it the first to be transferred to dedicated cold rooms. It also receives quick ramp transfers at airports and is transported utilising thermal blankets and temperature-controlled containers. Customers can also choose to place active tracking devices on the shipment to monitor every point of the journey. Singapore Airlines Cargo has also established quality corridors across key trade routes in the network to maintain consistency throughout the journey.
As a result of these efforts, in 2017 Singapore Airlines Cargo became the first airline in the Asia Pacific region to be awarded the IATA CEIV Pharma certification, a globally consistent and recognised pharmaceutical product handling certification. And after an audit in January 2020, a re-certification was awarded.
Singapore Airlines Cargo remains committed to provide transport service with a high level of efficiency and assurance at all times. An extensive network and proficient handling capabilities enable us to move the world.
It goes without saying that gin is one of the trendiest drinks around. For evidence of that, you only need to look at one of the world’s best bars: Atlas, at Parkview Square in Singapore. When it was ranked eighth on the 2019 World’s 50 Best Bars list, the first reason given for its lofty position was the 1,300 different gins it has in its collection, many displayed prominently in a three-storey tower that serves as the gilded bar’s focal point.
STRONG LEGACY
Also known as the Garden City, Singapore is famous the world over for its spectacular skyline of iconic buildings and landmarks. Featuring Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay and the Supertree Grove, as well as the Marina Reservoir, this distinctive landscape is wonderfully captured in this illustration; a beautiful representation of how Singapore is the perfect blend of natural beauty and modern architecture.
This month, we debate the merits of town or country for a vacation, only to find that the answer to the riddle – as with most things in life – is really a little bit of both.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), air cargo transports over US$6 trillion worth of goods, accounting for approximately 35% of world trade by value.
But perhaps one of the most important types of cargo they handle, especially during challenging times, are essential food supplies. Temperature is the most important factor in preserving the quality of perishable food items such as eggs, meat and seafood, fruits and vegetables. They need to be kept away from the sun and placed in temperature-controlled and well-ventilated environments. Coolport, a dedicated on-airport facility in Singapore, has cold rooms which can be adjusted to various temperature settings to cater to this need.
Drugs such as insulin can easily lose their potency if a chilled environment is not maintained so THRUCOOL was launched in September 2018. Its purpose was to provide a dedicated cold chain service for transporting life-saving pharmaceuticals and healthcare products such as vaccines.
As a result of these efforts, in 2017 Singapore Airlines Cargo became the first airline in the Asia Pacific region to be awarded the IATA CEIV Pharma certification, a globally consistent and recognised pharmaceutical product handling certification. And after an audit in January 2020, a re-certification was awarded.