India (December, 2016) – We drove the scenic route from Gangtok to the Temi Tea Estate, stopping several times along the way. Each time admiring the varying panoramas of the Kanchenjunga, the tea garden estate was no different. We had a spot of tea and a small snack while gazing out at the gardens with the added Himalayas as the surreal backdrop. 

Belgium (May, 2015) – The intended goal was a short road trip to Bruges with the matriarch and then back to the ancestral homestead for one last hurrah. Upon our return we stopped in Ghent to spin around for the afternoon marvelling at the architecture. Stadshal is a stand alone canopy which while being an open air structure, still has an overwhelming cathedral feel to it. The interior Afrormosia wood panelling and heavy metal beams, a striking contrast to the architectural styles surrounding the city pavilion. 

Iceland (2010) – My flight arrived in Keflavik just as the sky was rising from its summer slumber. In a matter of hours, I was wading in the Blue Lagoon shaking off the mundane stress of life. I spent the day in Iceland, soaking myself in the intense hues of milky blue-turquoise geothermal waters, surrounded by the remnants of ancient lava flows. It was quite the surreal experience for someone living in a concrete jungle. 

Madagascar (March, 2010) – I was definitely not prepared for the odyssey ahead, adventuring in what the locals called ‘zebu 4x4’. We arrived in the middle of nowhere; to find a rather medieval looking wooden cart and two huge zebu being harnessed and hitched to what turned out to be our transportation. We were hauled; tossed and shaken about through marshes and swamps filled with water lilies, under tamarind trees and eventually through rice paddies. The mise-en-scène was rather glorius.