Category Archives: Countries & Travel

Ljubljana, Slovenia

It was an impromptu trip, an escape hatch, the first flight out that didn’t cancel on me from Dubai. After half a dozen flight cancellations and more than a week of delays and witnessing a war breakout, I decided to make a holiday out of the adventure rather than merely transiting.

About twenty years ago, I picked up a book by Paulo Coelho – Veronica Never Dies, set in Ljubljana. I had never been out of India, found the name hard to pronounce, and simply assumed it was a fictional town. It’s been on my mind ever since I discovered otherwise. It’s amusing how life converges.

The sight of snow-capped mountains was the welcome party. Sweeping views of the town and beyond from the nearby fort on a hill were the buffet.

Pastel colored, weather-faded buildings brought back blended memories of Roman facades and the Venetian colors from the islands I saw ages ago.

For 3 weeks I was mostly indoors at cafes, restaurants and offices. But watching people lounge out on terraces created a welcome dissonance. Airplanes are curious teleportation devices.

And of course, had to stop for a moment to indulge in the local real-estate situation. I’d call it a passing hobby, but others may [correctly] diagnose it as a mild obsession.

A proper beer quenched the thirst that built over weeks of enforced sobriety. I could have used one when explosions were ringing.

The next day, I helped myself to a good cup of coffee while lounging on the many terraces.

Unexpectedly discovered a bridge over a quaint canal that filled me with a fusion of deja-vu’s – oriental feel on one side, a semi-brutalist design on the other.

My mind screamed “Paris” at first glimpse of the locks chained to the bridge.

It was the last hour before I had to leave and spent that time strolling around

and headed back to Amsterdam

Spring bike ride

On a sunny Sunday morning some friends and I set out on a long bike ride through the country side, soaking in sun on a chilly spring day. The contrast of putting on sun-screen with weather being 8 degrees out was amusing.

We biked for around 45km cruising on our e-bikes at a leisurely pace. I found myself feeling lucky that I call this place home. The trip took us via Muiden with a stop at a self-service farm shop, via Ankeveen, Weesp, Nightvecht, Diemerbos and back.

I love finding cherry blossom trees. I love how they pop against the quintessential dutch landscape. And a passing conversation with someone put it on my mind to spot them and perhaps share with them.

We then biked through Dimerbos for a stopover for a snack and a beer and headed home.

Chasing Shadows in Dubai

A convenience store on every street corner, open 24×7, I must be in Shanghai. Skyline full of spiky buildings afar, that’s Hong Kong? Skyscraper jutting from behind the shadows of small buildings, I must surely be in New York! A flood of people pouring across the wide crossings, am I in Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo? All of that and more was my first impression of Dubai.

This city feels like a work in progress; everything is in a state of being built. It evoked the feeling of moving ahead, orthogonal to my expectation of annoyance. Reflecting, I suspect the place I call home now has turned its back on progress and towards stagnation – it is in that light that I see this contrast.

Still, there is no permanence here. Everyone is a visitor. There are homes being built, yet it feels there is no home to be built here. It’s entirely unsaid and in the air that there is no identity for you here.

Dubai is a duality – rich and the ordinary; tall builds and large roads; hot weather and even more hot weather.

Pockets of enclaves, strewn around places amidst tall structures

The beach is one place, where you could see those otherwise invisible, come to unwind. I felt the most normal here – it goes without saying, it was for a very different definition of it

Mega structures towering over beaches, under construction, glowing in the haze – seemed alive yet dormant as if hibernating in a dystopian future.

There was an air of quietness, in an otherwise busy and bustling world.

cafe break

Finding a spot where I can become a “regular” has been delightful. I see the same people, we might nod or just silently acknowledge. What I order varies little, yet they do not assume, which I appreciate. The floor is slightly unkempt, flecks of croissant strewn around. Patrons drift in for bread and cheese and occasionally lounge around with coffee and newspaper; I didn’t know people still read them.

I sit for an hour or two if I can peel away that long from work and leave a minute or two before they close at 2pm.

I look forward to being there, again.

Glimpses of Singapore

Hot, humid, sultry, and sweaty; Noisy, crowded, busy, and bustling; And yet, efficient, modern, convenient, and comfortable. A 180-degree change from -2 C to 32 C was a shock, to say the very least. And to think I’ve spent the first half of my life in temperatures hotter than this, and yet unable to tolerate it anymore, was amusing.

The contrast of colors shook my soul awake. The juxtaposition of tradition ebbing in the architecture against the backdrop of the modern system and skyscrapers was exciting to see.

The sharp sun, coming in at an angle different from the northern hemisphere (i.e., none at this time of year), cast crisp, beautiful shadows on the streets and buildings.

Colors popped everywhere

Unlike what I remember from my visits to Tokyo, Shanghai, and New York, the abundance of greenery was a welcome departure. It caused a strange sense of deja vu that I just couldn’t pin down

A few days later, I was blessed with a welcome respite of rain. To say it rained is an understatement; it poured, nonstop, ironically bringing the humidity down.