Cambodia has been on my mind for the last six months, pretty much all the time, but it’s hard to say why. This interest-turned-passion developed within a few hours and has stayed on since. It started with a book called “Survival in the Killing Fields”, written by a Khmer Rouge Survivor, Dr Haing Ngor. Dr … Continued
The Lost World of Arkwright The stillness is unnerving in this dark, dank, virile valley. Nature is out of control here: Ivy, moss and lichen are choking stone and tree, swallowing the stream even. This place was once very different. I catch glimpses of the past through snaking roots and shrubbery: a gable here, an … Continued
Some people would say that I live in vacationland. Sunny Spain…where the climate rarely disappoints you with a rainy day. History and culture, sun and sand or wine and tapas are your short list of free-time activities. Europe awaits out the back door. If I had unlimited “me” time and equally endless funds, I’d be … Continued
It was May 17, 2012 when my five best girlfriends and I would embark to the far reaches of South Africa as bridesmaids and bride, to rejoice in the celebration of something beautiful. The excitement that filled our hearts was beyond anything I’d ever felt. Three plane rides, twenty two hours of travel time and … Continued
“Did you ever hear that proverb about Mt Fuji?” my friend Yuko asked me over a green tea latte one morning. “It goes something like: He who doesn’t climb Mt Fuji is a fool, but he who climbs it twice is a bigger fool…” “What’s that supposed to mean?” I laughed. “Well, maybe we should … Continued
We drove past a typhoon-torn fish farm, an oyster-embedded island and a highway lined with betel nut kiosks to reach the southernmost tip of Taiwan, Kenting National Park. By the time our car was skirting the coastline, it was midday and the sun kissed every cantle of the earth. As the car pressed onwards, my … Continued
The Northwest Passage is located in the High Arctic that which spans across the entire North American Continent from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. The passage itself comprises of an intricate string of water channels that are mostly frozen solid allowing only the largest icebreakers possible access. However, during the brief Summer, the ice … Continued
My first glimpse of Egypt is from a dewy ship balcony at dawn. Sunlight peeks through lavender clouds and drizzles onto the blurry coast; a peaceful entrance into what is supposed to be a country suffering social upheaval. We dock in Port Said, which hosts what is by far the eeriest silence I’ve experienced in … Continued
JIPMER, my alma mater, is one of 3 Premier Institutes in India for Medicine. It is located in the quaint former French Colony of Pondicherry on the East coast of India. The acronym stands for Jawarhalal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research. I graduated from here in 1999 and throughout those five long years … Continued
Suddenly I am there. My end destination lies less than a mile ahead, but this is the piece that will take me there, the piece that has gotten me this far. Without anxiety I move forward. Each movement welling a memory within me. Each passed feature cherished as an old friend. It is here that … Continued