I’m back. In Cambodia, where I’ve been for a bit over a month, before that in Thailand, and still before that in Indonesia where I felt terribly guilty about not blogging as I spent most of my time either in the Banda islands, or trying to get to the Banda islands, or trying to leave […]
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Four weddings and a waterfall
On New Year’s Day we went for a pleasant walk up a hill to a waterfall where the water runs over stones carved with scenes from Hindu myths. I had completely forgotten that we’d been there before, but I think I had removed it from my memory as it had been horribly crowded and filled […]
Christmas in Bangkok
In Bangkok the cafes and shops are in full Christmas mode, with carols playing over speakers, plastic Christmas trees with piles of wrapped presents, tinsel, and giant electric snow globes showering styrofoam snow which looks very out of place in semi-tropical heat. In Ambon, where we were only last week, they went in for far […]
Stroll
How to walk from Karachi to Mumbai using Google Maps. Karachi Karachi City, Sindh, Pakistan Walk south-west on Siddiq Wahab Rd towards Napier Rd 3 m Turn left at SHAMEER RAJA onto Napier Rd Pass by Thata Bus Stand (on the left) 1.1 km Turn left at DEERLOGISTICS onto Frere Rd/Shahrah-e-Liaquat Pass by Frontier Autos […]
Centenary
My father reminded me today that this year marks the centenary of my great-grandfather’s death. He was in the British Indian Army, fought in Burma, and once killed a lion with his sword. He died when my grandfather was two years old and there were no photographs of him, so all my grandfather had of […]
People
I met a rather curious person, not very likable. A shut in who sees no one and never leaves home, but very insistent about how cosmopolitan they are, and how well travelled and widely experienced and knew what was what about the world. All that travelling was while study abroad during their A’levels, over two […]
Other worlds
Sometimes, at dusk, Lahore gets this strange otherworldly glow. It’s like that right now: quite dark in this neighbourhood where there are many trees and lush greenery, but overhead the sky is like an inverted copper bowl. Dusk is a distinctive time for Punjab anyway – if you’re in the countryside there is a quietness […]
Small things
A day of small things yesterday. Well, one big thing, which is a book I have been struggling to edit and is going very slowly and I would very much like to finish it and never think about it again. Then, an approach from an organization I’d worked for in the past for a small […]
Grumbling
The Guardian has a moderately interesting/useful article about sports bras but titled it ‘Secret support: did prescription bras help Lionesses to Euro 2022 glory?’. Made me very irritated indeed. Now shall we talk about how the men’s teams owe their success to scientific jock straps? No I suppose not.
Faltering attempt
Made a faltering attempt to introduce a vegetable to my father’s diet today. Since I arrived he has eaten only parathas, roti, naan, rice, daal and red meat, plus a seemingly endless supply of crisps and nimko between meals. Today I ordered one of the few vegetables he will eat, i.e. peas, and he didn’t […]