Tirta Empul: A Holy Spring and Temple in Central Bali
Pura Tirta Empul dates from around CE 960, when a temple was built on the site of the spring. According to legend, the ancient ruler Mayadanawa angered the gods by suppressing Hinduism and the freedom of his subjects to worship freely. An army, led by the god Indra, pursued Mayadanawa, who poisoned a nearby river making the troops […]
Rabat, Morocco: A Brief Selective Tour. Part III East of the Centre
The kasbah and the medina represent one side of old Rabat. A more classical aspect is to be found to the east of the centre. The main sights of Rabat are within half an hour's walking distance of each other but for those who so choose, taxis are inexpensive. The Tour Hassan was design as […]
Rabat, Morocco: A Brief Selective Tour. Part II The Medina
The best way to begin a tour of the medina is from the top of the Rue des Consuls, so named as, a century ago, it was home to diplomats. It was a pleasant surprise to find that in this whole area of small shops and stalls, weaving through a ancient residential quarter, there was absolutely […]
Rabat, Morocco: A Brief Selective Tour. Part I The Kasbah
Rabat was a surprise. Just a three-hour direct flight from London Stansted, a modern city with cosmopolitan hotels, restaurants, art galleries (closed the day I intended to visit) and efficient transport including trams. Most importantly and interestingly for a visit, it has a rich heritage of vernacular and formal architecture, an exotic and mysterious kasbah and […]
Vanuatu Cyclone Disaster March 2015
Eighteen months ago I enjoyed the privilege of visiting Day Spring School on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu with my partner, who works in international development, together with her colleagues and local education officials. The school is located in a remote part of Tanna; the journey took three hours by 4x4, including over an […]
Back to Bali: Pura Geger Temple at Nusa Dua
This cliff top temple, Pura Geger, at Nusa Dua is a short walk from the Balé hotel, where we were staying. The beach on which I am standing is in front of another hotel, one of the largest in Bali yet, when I walked up to the temple, mid-morning, the only person I saw was […]
Zen? Minimalism? Mondrian?
It is wonderful when by chance you come across an image such as this house entrance in a back street in Seminyak, Bali. I am not normally a fan of minimalism, or harsh modernist concrete architecture, but here the bright daylight presents several shades of flat grey and white surfaces, beautifully offset by the detail […]
Bali: Sign Language
As a lover of Bali who has now enjoyed four visits and is looking forward to the next, it would be only too easy to keep posting images of temples, rice fields and colourful umbrellas (though umbrellas are likely to comprise a future post).For a change, here are some images of signs photographed on my […]