Turkey's Aegean Coast and the Greek Isles

I visited Turkey in the spring of 2014 and absolutely loved the country and its beautiful and hospitable people. I could easily blend in with the locals in Istanbul and enjoyed the sights, sounds and cuisine of the city.

My favourite part of the country is the Aegean Coast. The villages around Izmir and Kushadashi are breathtakingly beautiful, and the people, the most liberal and secular in all of Turkey. This is the land of delicious olives, ancient historic sites like Ephesus and natural wonders like Pamukkale.

During my trip, I actually crossed the Aegean and spent a few hours in Samos in Greece. The island seemed economically depressed and the faces were far more glum than the smiles I saw on the Turkish mainland.

I would have never imagined that a year later, this beautiful coast would become a den of human smuggling. It breaks my heart to read about people dying in the Aegean while undertaking the dangerous crossing to Greece, in search of a better life in Europe.

The influx of migrants (yes they lose the right to be called refugees when they leave Turkey) has destroyed the tourism industry of the Greek islands. I doubt that this influx will stop as long as human smugglers make fortunes out of desperate immigrants.

The Russian artist who put Bali on the world map

Walter Spies, a primitivist painter, who was born and raised in Moscow, is a celebrated figure in the artists’ haven of Ubud and is credited with attracting Western cultural figures to Balinese art and culture in the 1930s.

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5 offbeat winter destinations in Russia for Indians

Of late, I have been hearing from a lot of intrepid Indian travellers that they’ve had their fair share of Moscow and St. Petersburg.The two cities are no longer considered exotic enough for those with wanderlust, but this is not a problem.  Russia is by far the largest country in the world and there is so much more to the country than its most famous cities.

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Interesting Buddhist sites in Moscow

Whether you're a practitioner of Theravada, Zen, Mahayana or even "European" Buddhism, Moscow has a place for you. Read my article on Buddhist sites in Moscow here.

An article about my first winter in Russia

Before moving to the Russian Far East in 2003, I had experienced snow, both in the United States as a child and as an adult when I trekked in the Himalayas in India and Nepal. However those experiences could not possibly prepare me for my first winter in Sakhalin.

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Political correctness is not a forte in Indonesia

While having lunch at my favourite vegan cafe in Ubud, a group of three tourists walked in. Two of them were from the UK and the third was from the US.

The American looked like she was of Chinese heritage, but she seemed to have some stereotypical American behavioural issues. At the next table, she was either (loudly) slamming the local Balinese or talking about them in a patronising manner. She kept using the word "like" ever so often. This was an American girl who wanted to be accepted as one, and with a superiority complex when it came to others with Mongoloid features. I could make this out by her comments and tone of voice.

The friendly and innocent waiter at the cafe asked the group where they were from and when the American can said she's from California, he replied that she looked Asian. The girl, visibly upset, said that her parents were from Asia.  She grew a lot quieter after that incident. I am sure the waiter would not have passed that comment if he knew how he would be striking a nerve.

A humble request from the Balinese to India

Yesterday, at a small cafe, I had a conversation with a man who owns several properties in Ubud.  The man has visited India on many occasions, and his main purpose is to collect water from the Ganga, which is considered holy for the Balinese as well.

He said the filth of the Ganga in Varanasi is heart-breaking. "You need to remember that the Ganga is the holy river for Hindus around the world, and not just Indians," he said. "Please do something to protect our mother."

Almost every Balinese person dreams of visiting the "motherland." I guess they take the rigours of India in their stride, the way Buddhists do when they visit their religious sites in Bihar and UP.