“Hello! Hello! Old Camera!”. We usually bolt in a different direction when a street-side tout starts shouting at us, but upon seeing Mr. Chand and his vintage camera just outside Jaipur’s Hawa Mahal, we knew we’d be in for something good. The camera is a piece of history. Manufactured in Germany in the 1860s, the…
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India’s best souvenirs aren’t found in gift shops and craft markets, but in places where the locals do their everyday shopping. From household items to kitchen utensils, we selected some of our favorite finds. Where to find it Most of these items are some common, you’re bound to find them before you even start looking.…
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Organised tours, early get-ups, and cold weather all rank very low on our list of favorite things about travel, yet somehow they fused into a wonderful day away from the frenetic streets of Hanoi. Joined by a small group of other travelers (five in total), we set off on a dreary January morning to explore…
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Finding a charming boutique stay in Mumbai can be a challenge. Sure, you have the Taj, the Oberoi and a plethora of international luxury chains, but small-scale, design-driven boutique hotels are few and far between. A standout is Abode Bombay in the heart of South Mumbai’s bustling Colaba district. Set in a beautiful historical building…
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Call us superficial, but we’d be lying if we’d deny that we put Rajasthan on our ‘to-go’ list mainly because we wanted to shoot a single picture: the blue Queen’s Chambers at the City Palace in Udaipur (header image) – it did not disappoint. Built over the course of 400 years, the Udaipur City Palace…
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What is it with the French and their ways of making any space look effortlessly chic? Staying at Scarlette, a small-scale boutique hotel in New Delhi, feels like entering the set of an ELLE Decor or AD shoot, complete with carefully arranged magazine stacks and precisely positioned picture frames, but peppered with a heavy je…
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Judging from the pompous palace hotels dotted around Jaipur and its surroundings, the Rajasthani’s know a thing or two about luxury stays. However, the over-the-top combinations of velvet drapes and gilded pillars are not everyone’s cup of chai (it’s certainly not ours), so stumbling upon the newly-opened 28 Kothi brought a huge relief. Set inside…
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The days of Bangkok’s Chinatown merely being a street-food heaven are long gone. Attracted by low rents and a slower pace of urban life, Bangkok’s hipsters have flocked to this area and have started snatching up dilapidated shophouses to turn them into something cool. Nowadays, Chinatown’s nightlife scene rivals that of Thonglor and Sukhumvit. The…
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Finding good coffee in Bangkok’s Chinatown area has always been a challenge. Sure, you have the classic coffee shops serving kaffe boran and roadside carts pouring a cup of overly sweet instant coffee, but a perfect latte seemed hard to come by. That was until the lovely folks at Ba Hao recommended Happy Espresso at…
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When you combine the techniques of traditional artisans with the direction of some of Bangkok’s most creative minds, magic is bound to happen. Last month, we had the honour of joining SACICT (The Support Arts and Crafts International Centre of Thailand) and 56thStudio on a visit to local craftsmen and communities in and around Chiang…
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