Chapter 5, Part 6 Several years ago, the headlines of Indonesian media suddenly flared up with nationalistic fervor against Malaysia following their claims (both official and not) over some cultural items that Indonesians are so dearly and emotionally attached to. Like sibling rivalry, netizens in […]
Chapter 5, Part 4 Long after being considered merely as medicine, in the 15th century the Europeans’ perception toward spices began to shift as they were used more in local cuisines. Spices added an exotic taste to the continent’s traditional dishes, and demand from royal […]
Chapter 5, Part 3 At a heritage house in Kumarakom on the bank of Vembanad Lake, a part of Kerala’s iconic backwaters, I discovered one of the biggest surprises during the Spice Odyssey. On the day James and I arrived, we were served several dishes […]
Chapter 5, Part 2 Known as the “Middle Kingdom” in Mandarin, China has always projected its image as the center of the world even long before the modern People’s Republic of China was formed. Prior to the creation of the Communist state as well as […]
Chapter 4, Part 25 “As soon as I stepped out of the hotel, beggars swarmed around me,” my aunt recalled. “You think the buses in Indonesia are full, you should see the ones in Kolkata!” my cousin added. They were in India’s third largest city […]
Chapter 4, Part 24 We are in a small two-story restaurant right at the heart of a constantly busy district where our Australian-run homestay is located. Inside, the Italian owner is busy behind the counter while a local staff member attends the cashier. Others dash from […]
Chapter 4, Part 23 On the day we left the southwest Sri Lankan port of Galle for Kandy, I was still recuperating from a persistent cough. It was a result of the fast boat journey we took from the Bandas to Ambon, then the flights from […]
Chapter 4, Part 16 Once South and Southeast Asia were lands where Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms and empires, and later Islamic sultanates, conquered one another not only to exert their dominance, but also to control the lucrative spice trade in the region. Then the Europeans […]
Chapter 4, Part 15 In 2006 I was in my second year learning French, and like many others who learned the language, I became a Francophile. I spent a considerable amount of time turning the pages of various French magazines and tuning into TV5Monde whenever possible, […]
Chapter 4, Part 14 A string of light emerged on the horizon – scattered yellow speckles suggestive of an incoherent network of offices, houses, temples and roads – forming a boundary against the darkness beyond. The plane made a turn, and more were presented to […]
Chapter 4, Part 12 For thousands of years the island of Sri Lanka – known to the ancient Greeks as Taprobana, to the Persians and Arabs as Sarandib, to the Portuguese as Ceilão, to the British as Ceylon, and mentioned in the Hindu epics of […]
Chapter 4, Part 11 Last year, James and I explored six countries in Southeast and South Asia for six months to retrace parts of the spice route which had connected nations across both regions as well as attracted merchants from Europe to get their share […]
What an Amazing World! 