Long Haul

I get some of my best work done on a plane. There’s nothing like a long-haul flight to get some great thinking and writing done. I used to feel emotional on planes (perhaps related to the amount of wine I drank) but now I’m more emotional on land and when flying up above the clouds, I’m clear-headed. I’m writing this on the 12 hour flight from Colombo to London. I’ve just worked on a few work-related items that I’d been meaning to for ages. And that feels so good. Perhaps part of it is the fact that there’s no Internet connection or phone signal, as I am so distracted by that damn Google…

After the work stuff is done, crossing the world is a great place to take stock of your life (not to mention rediscover your iTunes). For me it usually marks a re-exposure to a significant change in a way of thinking as I’ve usually been in one part of the world which I find so different to the other part (East and West). And though they somewhat fit seamlessly together, in many ways they also don’t…  

Sri Lanka is a-changin'

New eating & retail development in Colombo's Old Dutch Hospital

I've recently been lucky enough to spend a month in Sri Lanka. I do love it there- well it is kind of home. So what are the changes that the end of the war have brought about?

Very interesting to see a so-called dictator in action! One the one hand there are the human rights abuses  that the UNHRC and Channel 4 (amongst others) are battling to put right. On the other hand Mr Rajapaksa's regime seems to be improving the country.


Very clever tactic- distract people's attention by giving them what they want.
So what's he giving them?

• All roads lead to Hambantota (which is, oh guess what, his home town and never been that important) Till now. Now it's got an world-class sports stadium, though we didn't get the Commonwealth Games and soon an airport and a highway reaching it from Colombo. Well a similar thing happened in Spain with the President Aznar building an AVE (high speed train) route from Madrid to his hometown of Seville.

• Colombo's getting healthier: Cleaner and greener, it's also got more health-focused.The beach access at Galleface has been opened up which is lovely. No need to trek to Mount Lavinia to walk on the beach, now you can in the city centre. Around Independence Square is a great fitness and walking area where Colombo 7 residents can burn off their excess wattalapans and pastry-laden, deep fried short-eats. 
• The Colombo- Galle highway: this new toll-road means it's now just one instead of three hours to get down to the South coast, to the amazing Lankan beaches.

• Large visible new Performing Arts Centre: The Chinese, as well as lending the government arms to end the war, have paid for a huge performing arts centre in the city. In the shape of a giant lotus, no less.  
• Large visible Buddhist cultural institutions: there's a large Buddhist TV station, a Buddhist Cultural Centre (promoting yoga which is great to see) and many more. I also heard this Buddhist building push continues in Tamil majority areas. Could be dangerous given the origins of the war? 
• East coast development: tourism in  the county is on the up and the majority-Tamil areas are the next new tourist attractions. It was very hard, even in Feb, to get a seat on a flight from Colombo to London or a hotel room in the country! We used all our contacts to book a room at Malu Malu, a hotel in Pasikudah, a little known fishing village on the East Coast, near Batticoloa. This had been off tourists' radars ever since the war started in 1983. Next door to this hotel the building work had started- all night and day, even on Poya holidays it continued, as a government deadline to develop this area with tourism has been set. 

Malu Malu hotel, Pasikudah

The creative scene is going strong. I was suitably impressed by:

Colombo Fashion Week: been running for a number of years now by Ajai Vir Singh (an Indian who's based in Sri Lanka whose beach label Arugam Bay is going strong). Although it's called 'week' seemed to be more of a weekend. Loved seeing Acushla and Buddhi push batik silk printing on saris further.

Acushla

Buddhi Batiks 

Buddhi Batiks

(Source all images: Ishara S. Kodikara/STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Good to see a mix of international and local designers. Incredible that a country who produce a sizable chunk of the world's garments has yet to really form a fashion design industry. But it seems to be in the making.

Colombo Art Biennale: strictly should  be called a triennale as the first one was 3 years ago, but who's counting? Organised this time by an Anoushka Hempel who's been living on the island for many years, the Biennale had an interesting mix of local and international artists across visual and video mediums. The new JD Perera gallery next to the Art College is impressive as  was the exhibition in Maradana Warehouse, I've never seen art for community done so well. The ethos being: anyone can borrow any of the exhibits for free as long as they get seen and interacted with by the public.

Pradeep Thalawatte

Digital projection onto underwear
(Artist unknown by me)
at Maradana Warehouse Project

Pradeep Thalawatte (detail)

Video art at Park St Mews

Galle Lit Fest: I missed this but heard of course that some writers boycotted due to the regime. Again. This is truly sad. Apart from that, the festival seemed to be a success and is growing year on year.

Perhaps a post-conflict, rebuilding nation needs a dictator? If I go missing soon, you'll know this post was the reason why....

Colombo City Tour Bus

Soy Cuba: life in a time warp

Revisiting a place after 12 years made me realise how much I had changed in that time, how much the world had changed and how life for most Cubans had not really changed. My Cuban friend Manuel who I met again is doing the same job, living in the same falling-down, flaking-paint family house in Habana Centro, eating the same diet of beans, rice and the occasional pork on a good day. His big change was that aged 40 he had a 2-year old granddaughter! Which says a lot. But I think it says less about a promise of a great future and more about swaying rhythms, hips, an oversupply of rum and lack of birth control.

Cuba is still absolutely charming. And stunning to look at. The people deserve many medals for their patience and resilient spirit. Some changes are: more entrepreneurship, notably private taxis; many more new imported cars not just the old American 50s ones, which are still there in swarms. Habana Vieja  is much more developed and commercial than before, there's even a beautiful video/media art space called La Fabrica. There are a lot more tourists now, from all over, and so many more upmarket hotels and imported European food for them. That's a huge change.

And yes the stereo types are still very much there - the cigars, the rum, the salsa and the way every single Cuban can dance like a pro. It used to make me laugh when I went there in 2000 that I was always stopped by the Police and asked what I was doing, mistaking me for a Cuban. Asking me why I was hanging out with a tourist, who was actually my co-traveller British friend. Pero soy turista, I would protest and prove that my hips could not circulate, they were by no means Cuban hips. No soy Cubana...

Life is hard everywhere. Capitalism does bring about growth and change at heightened levels. But it doesn't mean life is easier. Or does it? But freedom, as Cubans kept reminding me, is something they don't have. They can't leave the country easily, not just because of money, but because they need an invitation.  Nor can many nationals of developing countries.  And of course Cubans have limited freedom of expression and limited freedom to work and make more money than their allocated salary.

There did seem to be more money around however, of course a lot more tourists are going there now and enjoying Havana with its glorious Spanish architecture and the gorgeous beaches. The dual monetary system is clever for the government as it means a Cuban Peso is worth 24 Convertible Pesos (CUCs) and thus creates scarcity in the economy. So there's a local currency which means some goods are cheaper for locals but if they want to buy other goods, their currency is 24 times weaker.

So it really becomes super expensive. In Havana to get into see one of the best Reggaeton performances at la Casa de la Musica we paid 10 CUCs for Cubans (240 Cuban Pesos) and 15 CUCs for tourists. Here I was glad to be able to look Cuban. Soy Cubana ahora...when it pleases me.

La Musica- one of the most beautiful things about Cuba

Here is a gorgeous song from the film, Soy Cuba, about pre-revolutionary Cuba, a film billed as Soviet propaganda against the Americans. Loco Por Tu Amor. 

And for a more contemporary picture see Charanga Habanera's Reggaeton song:
Tu llorando en Miami y yo gozando en La Habana (You're crying in Miami and I'm having fun in Havana).

What do I miss most about coming back to London? Why does nobody flirt in this city (at least when sober)? They seem to have forgotten how. They have moved from being in their bodies into being in their heads. Flirting is an important human interaction, that makes you feel alive!
I miss you, Cuba...hasta pronto!

And the whole Cuban-American story, well that's enough to make you cry (in Miami or in London).

Beach at Varadero 

Madrid- a city in crisis?

Arriving in Madrid I felt I could immediately feel 'la crisis'- people selling lottery tickets in Plaza del Sol, more buskers and beggars on the metro and our favourite (and usually very busy) restaurant, Cervantes, actually had empty tables!

But it's much more complex than that. A friend of mine told me the 22 Dec is the big lottery day, and linked to Christmas, so that's why thy're selling more tickets. Not out of pure desperation, it's just something that happens every year!

The city looks glorious. They have spent millions on ensuring that, with the latest Madrid Rio, the river project, topping it all. But perhaps that's the problem.

I went to the Moet Chandon 250th birthday party and here there was absolutely no whiff of any recession. The vintage champagne poured all night long at the celebrity-studded sit down dinner and party that reminded us of past European glory. It was held in the French Ambassador's place, everyone dressed to the hilt and having a great time. Is the European party really over,  I ask myself?

London - It's Back On!

Wandering around London on an early summer's day reminded me of what I love about this city. It's been almost 4 years since I lived here and I appreciate it now that I've been away.

I'd simply taken it all for granted before.

1. The parks have got to be the distinguisher between here and other 'major' global cities. There are about 10 parks in Central(ish) London. My favourites include: Hampstead, Haggerston, Primrose Hill, Regents Park (anyone know why the amazing rose garden looks so wilted this year?) Some parks have Lidos in them, for swimming too!

2. Bikes are king - even the Barclays ones, you can hop on and hop off freely, and if it rains you can ditch 'em! (but you need to register in advance and get a key, not aimed at tourists yet!) Cycling along the canals is the best!

3. The crazy stuff you see - a double-decker bus that has been converted to a 'Bicycle Library' - where they will fix your bike whilst you relax on disused Tube seats, having a cuppa and reading from their collection of books or leafing through their vintage clothes; an extremely tall transvestite tottering on 4 inch heels, wearing a min skirt and a half-top but looking EXTREMELY insecure.

4. Weird and wonderful street art - from Wills and Kate on and up. Used for corporate branding as much as for indy establishments and self-expression.

5. The food and wine- has improved dramatically over the last few years. When I was a teenager you couldn't buy a pain au chocolate in London. We would bring them back from our frequent trips Geneva. How it's changed! The cafe culture- Broadway Market feels like a very boho Paris, with an East london vibe

6. Brixton Village - indoor market with lively cafes and restaurants, vintage and record shops. Very cool, fun and friendly. And delicious food, the cooks range from Thai grandfathers to sexy Italian pizza-makers.

7. The clothes- London has a completely unique fashion sense, especially in East London. To cool for school (blokes in fitted pants and leather shoes, gals in bright velour, flip flops and extremely square shouldered white synthetic long jackets. Everyone has interesting hair) and takes some getting used to for everyone else, even for West Londoners!

8. The music- the home of Spotify and Last FM, London has always been booming in sound. From Radio 3s incredible eclectic late night sessions to booming hip hop from cars driving by to all the music festivals in every park and town across the UK.

9. The art scene- Theatre- Lord of the Flies in open air at Regent's Park and 'Tender Napalam' - an incredibly powerful fringe theatre play where you could very literally feel the sweat of the two performers (amazingly passionate lovers) on your skin sitting on benches in the arches under London Bridge. And then going for oysters and a glass of rose afterwards. More on the exploding visual art scene in my next post!

I could go on, but will stop myself. London feels good. Right here right now.

Head in the Clouds

Flying long-haul is so conducive somehow to thinking deeply, to a real reflection of one's life, and often, this leads to tears. For me. Perhaps its the fact that we are in such a magical place above the clouds, in between borders and regulations; we are kind of disembodied, with our past, present and future all getting criss-crossed. We are in No-Man's Land where time zones are continually shifting and where, for the only time, you can feel a little, a tiny bit, like God surveying the world below. I have shed so many tears on flights, and this one is no exception. And of course, the inevitable small bottles of wine also help this pondering. Do other people have this? I peer through my tears around my fellow passengers and no one else seems to- they seem quite happy watching Anjaana Anjaani or The King's Speech. Of course the low levels of oxygen could also be responsible.

Golden Buddha Beach- Paradise on Earth

After 11 hours on a plane London-Bangkok (with no movies, DON'T fly Thai), a quick tour of the temples, then a 2hr flight to Phuket, 4 hour cab drive (with 2 taxi drivers) and a 2 hour boat trip ...we finally arrived in Paradise!


We stayed for a week....in a totally wonderous wooden house just for two of us, we skinny-dipped daily, had long sensual massages whilst staring at bowls of lillies, took part in long yoga sessions outdoors with the sea on both sides; took funny excursions and did 'dog' diving; ate lots of delicious Thai food and met incredibly special people, some of whom had had their wives and mothers lost in the tsunami on that very island, but who had the courage to return... we also had a very lovely New Year there, partying and bonfire-ing before swimming with the phosphorescent fish. We read and photographed, and slept and simply relaxed, not knowing where exactly the day had gone, but that another equally gorgeous would dawn the next day...



It was a very special place, where Europeans build incredible houses and the organisation rent them out and add value by providing food, electricity and excursions.
Worth a visit - Koh Pra Thong (but shh, don't tell too many people)

Climbing the highest peak in SE Asia

Yes we did it - all 4,200 m of Mt Kinibalu - on a rainy but hot day in Malaysian Borneo. I was with M. who carried our bag (all 10 kg of it) for which I am truly grateful. It allowed me to skip up and down the mountain in the pouring rain, overtaking [mad/unprepared] people in flip-flops who we later saw with twisted ankles, etc looking remarkably tired at the guest house 3/4 of the way up...did they not know of the Timberland store in KL we wondered, did they not want to walk ever again?


And the summit really was worth it! We set off at 3.30am, with our new found Australian room mates and our Guide. Going up was like a pilgrimage as we joined a line of climbers - all you could see were rows of head torches! The top however, was worth it- it was so peaceful, a bit like reaching an end of the earth - all granite where nothing grows..


Our Guide didn't show us anything about the mountain or really guide us in any way. But he was nice and did give me his springy stick to walk down with-which helped!

Stiff for 3 days or so afterwards, but quickly rushed off to the jungle to see orang-utans and, native only to Borneo, proboscis monkeys (perhaps unfairly called Dutch men!)

Skiing in November!

Well the climate seems to not be so weird this winter as last. This must be due to all the carbon offsetting we are doing when we buy Easy Jet flights (yeah right!)..whatever the cause, I was selfishly happy with the outcome that I could go skiing in November!! And conditions in Verbier (Switzerland) really were perfect last weekend...lashings of sun and powder snow (perhaps some of this was caused by the huge snow-making machines en piste which I was none too impressed as they blew a mini avalanche of "snow" on my person as I came round a corner!)..pensez-vous a l'effet charbon mes cheries.....

Anyway....the weekend was lots of fun and quite romantic too, hair billowing in the wind driving in a racing green cabriolet along the banks of Lake Geneva (with central heating fully on, I assure you!).

I spent some of the time with some MBA-ers from Lausanne. Luckily they were 2 weeks from graduating so were much less emotionally retarded than they might have been at the start of the course! (this is an in-joke shared with them by the way, not me being nasty!)
I, of course, not being emotionally retarded, and rather self-aware, in fact, would prefer to do an Executive MBA to be with more mature and experienced folk. So I am now applying to MIT's Sloan Fellows program....it would be such the stuff of dreams if I was to get accepted!

MBA-er jokes apart, I also did go to a really interesting MBA Marketing of Technology Ventures class in Lausanne. It focused on Apple and litigation from their re-sellers as they set up their global domination strategy in the form of Apple Stores...It is amazing how Apple are the "LoveMark" they seem to be when they bundle hardware and software together and are so proprietary they makes Microsoft look like a sharing caring company..but we still adore them (aren't they so cute and sexy we cry as we rush to buy Apple shares and yet another ipod that is 5mm smaller than the last and queue all night to be the first to own an iphone and just about anything with that opaque logo on it). Does their name stand for the fall of man (as in the Garden of Eden?) I am, by the way, as guilty as the next woman/serpent...well maybe they could redeem themselves by planting an orchard and really living up to their name...

BTW I really like this Fake Steve Jobs Blog

The Sexxxy Supper Club, Amsterdam

THIS is a sensual dining experience if i've ever had one! The concept is that everyone lies on white beds whilst eating 5 courses over a period of 5 hours. There's specially chosen music and visuals to manipulate the mood over this period to make you feel amazing as all your senses are tickled and tantalised. It's the contemporary version of a Greek orgy. Well, maybe, without the group sex part...
Plus there's the very effervescent boys and girls (and mixes of the two) who serve you whilst bending over as often as possible in micro-mini dresses so you can catch a glimpse of their sensual regions...
There was a blond vixen-like viola player who looked like Aimee Mullins in Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle 3 who played beautifully and energetically before trying to shoot us all down. Very Uma Thurman in Kill Bill.

And there are masseuses who flit around.. it certainly is the Garden of Heavenly Delights.
It is a HOT concept and I highly recommend it. Especially recommended is to go with a new gorgeous lover that you have just met, and who is interesting (this is key). The bed idea perhaps in Amsterdam does not work well as people smoke and then get tired and as we all know, being too stoned is not good for feeling and being sexy (red eyes and a dry mouth are not very sensual). Having a table instead means you have to stimulate each other mentally over the 5 hours whilst the physical build-up is left to fester and explode later...perhaps in the bathroom or the after- club downstairs...

small town vs big city living

The pluses of living in Chichester, a city of 60,000 (as opposed to London, a city of 10 million):
1. Life is easy- 5 minutes and you can get anywhere- the gym, the supermarket, the fields, the beach..
2. Life is safe - you can leave your bike, car, house unlocked with little fear of a break-in.
It's a clean, basic suburban lifestyle.
3. Life is quiet - this can be good and bad. Rush hour means 30 cars queuing up to reach a roundabout. And it might take you 15 mins to clear. But no one is on the streets after 9pm during the week!
4. La vita e bella- surounded by green fields (the South Downs) and the sea, it is very, very beautiful.

The negatives of Chichester:
1. Being able to get anywhere in 5 mins does not really mean anywhere, it does not mean unusual shopping, delicious food, an incredible book selection....If you want to eat Asian food out you have to eat Chinese (and British Chinese is so unhealthy). But there is a great little indie cinema.. You cannot buy all that you need but then again you are near enough to London to go weekly/daily if you wish.
2. I have no friends here!! Not one! just my parents' friends.
3. Lack of diversity of people - it certainly is not immigrant friendly- we can't get a cleaner which proves my point! Very White and middle-class (yawn..not again)
More on this later...