Aman is the Indonesian word for safe or secure, and that’s exactly what I felt throughout our stay in the kingdom. In Amman, I constantly felt aman;…
Jordan and A Travel Resolution Fulfilled
Laos was the first country where I began to embrace a slower pace of travel, thanks to James’ suggestion to stay in the country longer…
Going Southeast to Reach the West
One of the perks of living in Asia is having all those beautiful, magnificent and intriguing cultures right at my doorstep. From the gilded stupa…
A Look at Hong Kong’s Hybridism
Despite its well-connectedness to many parts of the world, its society is still largely bound by traditional values. And although capitalism is very much the…
A Short Escape to Ambarawa
Ambarawa was an easy choice since James and I had never been and it’s supposed to have a beautiful landscape, something my mother needed. Also,…
The Temple of the Wine God
Day two in Baalbek, and we are awakened after a night-long power cut. It turns out that in this part of Lebanon this disruption in…
Tasting Jakarta
This coming June 22nd, Jakarta will be five years shy from turning half-a-millennium old. This megacity has come a long way from its humble beginnings…
Into Lebanon’s Snowy Realms
On our final day in Beirut, it was drizzling, just like how the Lebanese capital was throughout most of our stay. While the city had been all…
Killing Time in Semarang
However, on a trip to Semarang toward the end of Ramadan last year, I came to a point where I got a little bored. Not…
Beirut’s Scars and Hope
However, in 1975 conflict broke out in Beirut, and soon afterward it escalated into a prolonged civil war that took 120,000 lives, displaced tens of…