Compassionate medicine. Cheerful fortitude. Love, oodles of love and care. Native wisdom. And leaps of faith. This, I find, is what works when you reach what seems like the end of the road. In the strangest and most stressful of times, there is wonder, discovery and learning … as when freshly-made virgin coconut oil and betel leaves combine to heal, as they do in the … Continue reading Native Wisdom
Baristas and cafes of Singapore came together for a weekend in August, in the expanse of the Marina Bay Cruise Center; two levels of artisanal coffee, tea and bites. It was about conscious consumption, choices, grounded pleasures, wildlife friendly beans, a barter market and an aeropress championship among other things … with balmy winds off both decks and a deep sunset slanting colour through the … Continue reading The Singapore Coffee Festival 2017
Simply put, this is vertical farming. Where all environmental factors (air temperature, humidity, water, nutrients and light) are controlled through computer automation and optimally customised to suit particular plant varieties. Also known as CEA or Controlled Environment Agriculture. Remember Ridley Scott’s 2015 film The Martian ? You recall the plot line. To survive, botanist Mark Watney, stranded on Mars, has to grow his own … Continue reading A fine balance of space, air, light and water
You see them in their fading days and years, in a state of grace that seems impossible to approach. They are frail, yet stronger than ever in spirit. They stumble, yet are resolute; unsure but trusting; in pain but serene; silent, mostly, yet smiling; enduring, patient, resting, sleeping, taking a few steps, a few spoonfuls. Mum sleeps, but reads mostly. Her prayer books are … Continue reading When Parents Age
It was a rare convergence : a beautiful morning, clear skies, sunshine chased by a rippling wind into ‘shadow and seek’, the beginning of a weekend and an hour to spare. Carpe diem is my resolution for 2014. And so, when I find myself traveling alongside a lengthy, glinting stretch of silver fringed by green and framed by rain trees – an unexpected vista between … Continue reading A beautiful Friday morning …
A ‘mega’ hotel that recently opened in Chennai, India, the ITC Grand Chola (the third largest hotel in India), is an architectural paean to the Chola Dynasty, one of the longest ruling empires of southern India. The hotel is contemporary Dravidian temple design a la Chola : four entrances (as found in temples in south India), soaring spaces, tall pillars (462), grand columns, sweeping staircases, … Continue reading Five Star dining with your Fingers
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. (Roger A Caras) Losing two family members within a month and a half of each other is one of the hardest things to survive; it takes time to come to the realisation that gratitude is in order because you were blessed, and blessed twice. Cadbury : 2001 – 2014 We never thought it … Continue reading A Double Whammy
The new, professional Singapore is more than a sum of its people who are increasingly beginning to look and talk different; it is seamless efficiency in heterogeneity. The necessity for a minor surgical procedure was a revelation of sorts; a face-to-face with the new Singapore of ‘foreign’ and ‘local’ talent (that has been the subject of much press and debate); Chinese-Indian-Malay Singaporean, China Chinese, India … Continue reading When well-being is more than mere medicine
Designer fitness in Boat Quay ? Explore fitness education, sport specific training, consultancy, weight management and/or nutritional guidance with some of the nicest people in town. Asian body building champions, fitness aficionados and personal trainers, the Fitness Factory duo tread like mountain cats, a feral containment of muscle and energy, lightly, almost weightless. They are at it again, training for a competition, for the championship … Continue reading Mind over Matter
2013 sounds promising, especially as the end of the world did not happen, and as always, a fresh start prompts introspection and reflection. End of another year and it is stock-taking time everywhere. The media is awash with articles, opinions, columns and blogs offering much pause for thought. A couple of years ago, I came across a stream of commentaries, almost in succession, that … Continue reading Thoughts for a new Year
Early mornings are special … and tropical Singapore mornings bring a ‘fresh’ perspective to urban living. (A summer morning remembered, in the midst of this ‘wet’ winter). Tropical summers linger in the memory as alliterative summer days: lazy, languid, lucid … sweltering, sultry, scorching. This morning, a breeze tosses the leaves of the rain trees. The air is thick and heavy but a daybreak zephyr … Continue reading Urban Tropical : Golden Orioles, Parrots and a Cockatoo
Does current education suffer from the ‘tyranny of common sense’ ? Will the perspectives and templates that defined our generation sufficiently equip our children for their tomorrows ? Let’s face it, things have changed. We’ve lived the trajectory – agriculture to industry to information – and have entered an age of ideas and abstractions distinguished by blips, beeps, tweets and twitters, digitization, instant information … Continue reading ‘A Whole new Mind’
The ideal location for short (and long) getaways, Singapore must probably offer the widest choice of holiday destinations in the region. A visit to Kuala Lumpur should extend beyond urban, retail and downtown preoccupations; and according to the travel brochure, cool ‘Highland Resorts’, a few hours drive away from KL include Genting Highlands, Cameron Highlands, Fraser’s Hill, Bukit Larut, Penang Hill, Bukit Tinggi – variously … Continue reading Highland and Island : Malaysia Getaways
Where bargains mingle with new ideas, products and unusual folk … and people with the interest and the time can browse and cherry pick. The bazaar, the flea market, the fair, indoors and out … … are often the quirks and caprice of people who see the odd, the whimsical, the uncommon (or the unexpected) and who bring it all together at a single venue … Continue reading Singapore Fairs, Bazaars & Markets
The Art of the Heart … slice and dice state-of-the-art technology paired with the symphony of natural stone at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. When the ticker needs some help and you need a clear, detailed picture of your heart, your doctor will probably suggest a Computer Tomography (CT) Scan, which is basically x-raying in slices, the machine rotating around the body as it scans and … Continue reading Art of the Heart
The Katrinas, El Niños and La Niñas do not significantly impact life in Singapore (yet), hurricanes, floods and droughts remain distant, disquieting images on flat screens and websites. We, in Singapore, only know a world of plenty – plenty of water, when and how we need it. In an unvisited part of our subconscious we know our survival depends on water but for many of … Continue reading Water is Life, Water for Life
Pick a neighbourhood and explore its casual-gourmet dining options – the smaller eateries located either just round or at a corner, near a thoroughfare, down a lane, or in an enclave; staffed with (mostly) charming young men and women, the chef perhaps from Normandy, or Tuscany; pleasingly done up, with handwritten or chalkboard menus detailing sophisticated ingredients and avant-garde, region-specific or cosmopolitan fare. Take the … Continue reading Corsican candied clementines, anyone ?
Wakeboarding for the beginner and the pro … and a dolphin, otter or manatee, if you are lucky ! In the strip of water between Malaysia and Singapore, beside the Immigration checkpoint in Tuas, beneath the arc of the bridge that connects the two countries (the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link), alongside what is possibly the last of Singapore’s ‘green’ coastline unmarred by buildings (the land belongs … Continue reading Discovering the Wake
Mahesh Mahadevan succumbed to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in October 2002. Many – especially the many who never knew him – have reason to remember 29 October 2002. In his will, Mahesh expressed a desire that his friends do something in the area of pediatric cancer, specifically for children whose families could not afford the treatment. Cancers in children are different from those that affect adults and … Continue reading Living Beyond Cancer : Remembering a Friend
Mr. Chong ministers to the well being of an assorted clientele from the Modern Foot Reflexology Centre (fourth floor, Far East Shopping Centre, Orchard Road, tel: 6836 2640; 10.00 a.m. to 9.00 p.m. everyday) promising a health boost through ‘improved blood circulation and the alleviation, prevention and treatment of pain and illnesses.’ Healing through massage. The ancient science of reflexology believes that parts of the … Continue reading Magic Hands
Sayang Singapore 