Aga Khan Museum

Opened ten days ago, the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto is one magnificent building designed by Japan’s Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Fumihiko Maki. Utilizing light as inspiration, light animates the building in myriad ways depending on the time of day or season. Maki incorporates historical elements from Islamic cultures into contemporary design. The $300 million Aga Khan Museum is the first museum in North America dedicated to showcasing Islamic Art. It offers visitors into the world of Islamic civilization across the centuries from the Iberian Peninsula to China. Across the museum is the also newly-built Ismaili Centre Toronto designed by Indian architect Charles Correa. The…

New York Weekend

August 24, 2014May 15, 2015 Categories: Food · New York · Travel · USATags: New York

A weekend in New York. Lucked out as the weather was quite comfortable for the season. Two good restaurants I tried out are Ignacio Mattos’ easy and fun place Estela and Wylie Dufresne’s neighbourhood spot Alder, which served excellent casual dishes and well-crafted cocktails. A friend of mine invited me to dinner at BLT Steak New York, the flagship location of this restaurant that operates in other cities, including one in Hong Kong. Billed as a modern American steakhouse, they also served a selection of seafood and blackboard specials. For coffee lovers, Birch Coffee is a must-try. They have several locations in the city. And for…

Good Eats

July 19, 2014July 19, 2014 Categories: Food · New York · USATags: Blue Bottle Coffee · Blue Hill · Bouchon Bakery · Eataly · Felidia · Food · Morgenstern's · New York · Pok Pok

No visit to New York is complete without eating your way around the city. I was able to try new food places during my last visit, but also got to return to some of my favourites. The first one I checked out was Andy RIcker’s Pok Pok Phat Thai. After watching Andy Ricker play host to Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown in Northern Thailand, it got me more than curious. The Lower East Side Rivington Street location is a simple “hole in the wall” with only stools and counters that serves a limited menu of Phat Thai and Kuaytiaw dishes – worth a visit nonetheless. …

New York

July 11, 2014 Categories: Accommodations · New York · Travel · USATags: Hyatt 48 Lex · New York · Travel2 Comments

I’m in New York for three days. For this trip, I stayed at Hyatt 48 Lex and was pleasantly surprised. This 3-year old hotel is not like the other standard flagged hotels. It is more of a boutique-hotel set up with only six rooms per floor and several original artwork throughout. There is a compact lobby on the ground level and a more comfortable lounge on the second floor. One cannot complain much for a decently-priced hotel room located in midtown Manhattan.

Shukran

June 21, 2014June 16, 2014 Categories: Accommodations · Marrakech · Morocco · TravelTags: Four Seasons Hotel · Jemaa el Fna · La Mamounia · Marrakech · Morocco · Musee de Marrakech · Souks · Travel

To this day, I still say “Shukran” or Thank you to Morocco for an unforgettable experience three years ago. I hold fond memories of my journey through Marrakech and Central Morocco and here are some of the other sights to take in. For centuries, the unique and extraordinary square of Jemaa el Fna has been the centre of Marrakech. Meaning “Assembly of the Dead“, the name refers to when the square was a place of execution until the 19th century and severed heads were placed on display. Today, the open square is the heart of Marrakech. Every night, it fills with musicians, dancers, storytellers,…

Sahara

June 18, 2014June 16, 2014 Categories: Central Morocco · Morocco · TravelTags: Desert · Erg Chebbi · Merzouga · Morocco · Travel2 Comments

It must have been a movie that I saw more than ten years ago that had me dreaming of traveling to the Sahara one day. Three years ago, I headed to Central Morocco to fulfill this dream — to the desert in Erg Chebbi, where the dunes can reach up to 150 m or 492 ft high. Starting off in the late afternoon (to avoid the heat) at the town of Merzouga, I rode a camel for an hour and a half to arrive at a campground that has been set up in the middle of the desert. Mint tea was served and a delectable tagine dinner was prepared. This was followed by after-dinner…

Central Morocco

June 15, 2014June 15, 2014 Categories: Central Morocco · Morocco · TravelTags: Atlas Mountains · Central Morocco · Dra Valley · Gorge · Kasbah · Morocco · Todra Palmeraie · Travel

The other side of the Atlas Mountains lies the Morocco that was reason I journeyed here three years ago — the desert! However, I first have to traverse through the High Atlas mountain pass of Tizi n’Tichka, through Dra Valley, Dades Gorge, and Todra Palmeraie. Along the way, I was greeted by fortress-like mud-walled kasbahs, palm-fringed oases, changing landscapes, and friendly turbaned nomads astride on their one-humped camels (dromedaries). Welcome to Central Morocco – a region of spectacular gorges, valleys and desert! Taourirt Kasbah in Ouarzazate is the former Glaoui Palace built in the 19th century and has 300 rooms and within…

Recoleta

June 1, 2014May 29, 2014 Categories: Accommodations · Argentina · Art · Buenos Aires · TravelTags: Argentina · Art Gallery · Buenos Aires · Cemetery · Four Seasons Hotel · MALBA · Palermo · Recoleta · Travel

Adopted by upper-class porteños (or locals) after yellow fever broke out in San Telmo in 1871, the barrio of Recoleta has grown into a model of bourgeois refinement as one of the most affluent neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires. Recoleta has a distinctly European feel with its French and Italian architecture, tree-lined streets, big-name international brand stores, restaurants and galleries and of course, the barrio’s famous cemetery — the Cemeterio de la Recoleta. Cemeterio de la Recoleta has earned its reputation as one of the world’s great necropolis. Occupying an area of 14 acres, the Recoleta Cemetery is a labyrinth of more than 6,400 tombs and mausoleums…

Buenos Aires

May 29, 2014May 29, 2014 Categories: Argentina · Buenos Aires · TravelTags: Argentina · Buenos Aires · El Caminito · La Boca · Puerto Madero · San Telmo · Travel

I have another friend asking for a travel recommendation and this time I suggested heading to Argentina. A few years ago, I traveled to South America for the very first time and I opted for Buenos Aires — this vibrant city leaves little room for disappointment. Buenos Aires’ neoclassical architecture, cafe culture, and international vibe give the city a strikingly European feel — as it is often referred to as “the Paris of South America“. But Buenos Aires is undeniably Argentine, with its tango salons called milongas, hip clothing and leather goods boutiques, and culinary focus on local staples such as Pampas grass-fed steak in many excellent parrillas (Argentine steakhouses),…

Cappadocia

May 17, 2014August 24, 2024 Categories: Accommodations · Cappadocia · Türkiye · TravelTags: Cappadocia · Caravansaries · Elkep Evi Cave Hotel · Türkiye · Travel2 Comments

A short one hour flight from Istanbul to central Turkey will bring you to the breathtaking region of Cappadocia. There are many other interesting cities to visit in Turkey, but during my trip a few years back, I decided to visit here instead. Often described as a lunar landscape or an open air sculpture, the erosion caused by wind and water that started 60 million years ago, carved out the topography in this area. It was also in this region that early Christians following the footsteps of St. Paul took refuge and established colonies in the area. The Caravansaries (or “Caravan Palace“) were used as military bases during the wartime and…