Tag Archives: environmental portrait

One of the pleasures of ground travel is the access you get to those places outside city centres. Ancient treasures and glimpses into the old ways of doing things can often be found just “off” the usual paths. The ancient Rajasthani village of Abhaneri is only a fifteen minute detour off the main Jaipur – Agra highway. Abhaneri is home to a ruined tenth-century temple […]

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Music festivals are a great opportunity to try new sounds on for size, but they are also a great place in which to give oneself up to the comfort of old favourites. We did both at the recent Byron Bay Bluesfest; because we had indulged ourselves and pre-purchased five-day tickets for this year’s annual Easter Weekend music […]

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Bagan, in Central Myanmar, is known for its temples. Not all its temples, however, are ruined relics of the Pagan Empire (9th to 13th Century). Others – like the beautiful Shwezigon Pagoda – are still living, breathing places. Shwezigon was Pagan’s first Buddhist temple. It was started by King Anawrahta after he took the throne by force in 1044, unified the country, and […]

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“Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passion of an emperor’s love wrought in living stones.” – Sir Edwin Arnold We all know the story: the Taj Mahal, considered the epitome of Mughal art and architecture, was built by emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Prince […]

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(Double click for: Whiskey Cambodia, from the album of the same name by The Cambodian Space Project) A female chanteuse in long hair and short skirt is dwarfed by the stage until she opens her mouth. Her vocals wail across Asian half-notes – off the scale and back again – to a back-beat of pounding music ranging from Khmer […]

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