The first stop of my three-week trip in Scotland this summer was Glasgow. Although the city is not as glamourous as Edinburgh, I tend to have a bias towards Glasgow, partly because of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and partly because of its friendly residents.
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of [...]

 
This summer, I spent two weeks staying in Ullapool, a small picturesque port on the shores of Loch Broom with around 1,500 inhabitants up in the Scottish Highlands. Before this trip, I have never travelled anywhere beyond Inverness in the Highlands. Since Ullapool cannot be reached by rail, I had to take [...]

The scenery from Ullapool to Assynt
 
Scotland is one of my favourite places in the world. I love the landscape, wilderness, people and traditions; however, I am not so fond of its weather – a crucial element that has put me off moving up there. I have been traveling up to Scotland annually [...]

Mackintosh architecture exhibition at RIBA London

 
Back in May I visited the Mackintosh architecture exhibition at the RIBA, which coincided with my Glasgow trip a month later. I have long wanted to visit Glasgow and buildings designed by the renowned Scottish architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh (I am gutted that [...]

Scenery from somewhere north of England
 
I am one of those people who would get excited sitting in the front row on the top deck of a double decker bus. And often I would end up sitting next to kids under 10 years of age who are equally excited, though I don't express [...]

Stunning scenery from the train journey between Edinburgh and Newcastle
 
It has been about 5 days since I returned from Scotland, and I am still feeling slightly disorientated ( which seems to always happen after a week-long retreat).
I remember on the day of departure, some retreat friends and I had some spare time [...]

Top left and right: Dhanakosa; Main: Loch voil
 
What is your ideal summer holiday? Sun and beach? Doing eurorail across Europe? Or adventures in South America? After spending three months traveling and working in Asia earlier in the year, I felt the need to give myself some 'me' time and space, and to [...]