Arts...Travels...Writing

Inspired by the black and white challenge on Facebook, I thought I'd put together some of my favourite black and white photos and share them here: Looking out into the Indian Ocean - Bali From inside a temple in Chail, a hill station near the Indian Himalayas Truly a great wonder - Taj Mahal, Agra in India This could be anywhere...but it is actually in front of the Jim Thompson House, Bangkok It mentions the Philippines? The facade of a hotel near La Rambla, Barcelona The serrated mountains of Montserrat, Spain Barcelona Winter Somewhere in Shanghai...why am I not surprised ;-) A man passing by a church (?)  in Shanghai Sun-salute in Maldives On the shores of Maldives...I could spend the rest of my days here...with a good book of course Windows along Madison Avenue -out here they seem to close shop early -it was not that late in the afternoon when I took this photo..or maybe I'm just used to the loooong hours in Asia ...

The Indian Ocean glistened at mid-day, as it reflected an azure sky that was unencumbered by any cloud on this early May weekend. The tide was not yet too low, and the wind pressure was just ideal. It was a good day for parasailing. As the instructor below shouted through his megaphone ‘let go, let go of your grip!’(read: relax, forget about work for a few minutes!) I floated gently upwards and slowly got a bird’s eye view of the island – stretches of white sand, taller varieties of palm trees swaying gently and shading the nipa huts and low-lying resort bungalows below, and rows of jetskis and motorboats near the shore. From this vantage point, I could see a beautiful tropical island, albeit might not be too distinct from the others around Asia. But as I learned earlier, the beauty of this one, was not so much its shores and beaches, but rather its people and their distinct crafts and culture inland. I grew up in a sleepy town with nary a public library, much ...