Tag Archives: Global

DESIGN, TRAVEL

A self portrait of a seventeen year globe trotter

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By Sathya:

This visual, The world is my oyster, captures how my travels have shaped my personality and bring to the surface a story which is uniquely me.  Throughout my seventeen blessed years of life, I’ve been fortunate to see more than many are in the position to do in their entire life.  From the pristine crafting of the artifacts in the Emperor’s Palace in Beijing to the geometric perfection of the Great Pyramids of Giza, my travels were a lesson in art’s role in shaping our society and world over generations.  Travel was the seed that sparked my passion for art, and then became my opportunity to curate and critique my own creations. My travels have, most importantly, given me the ability to explore myself and my place in this world.   This project was created entirely in Photoshop.  With a multi-year trove of pictures, it was not only difficult to pick the perfect photos, but also a painstaking task to have these images come together to create the final portrait of me!

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TECH AND TOOLS, TRAVEL

The AFAR Mobile Travel App – Take 1

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By Lakshmi:

AFAR is just everything a travel company/magazine should aspire to be.  Their content breathes and lives every travel adage you’ve ever heard.

“Get off the beaten track.” 

“Live the moment.”

“Experience life like a local.”

So, when AFAR announced an app, I couldn’t rush any quicker to download it.  Here are some initial reactions from a sample of 1.

The Awesomeness! 

Just like its print publication, the AFAR app opens with beautiful, inviting pictures that beckon you to explore a variety of locations through their local expert curated guides.  For the first option that I clicked, “Big Day Out In Singapore”, it gave me 9 options.  Each of the choices was brief, telling me what to do quickly, so I’ll have more time to enjoy the experience rather than spend time reading.  I’m not sure how the guides are picked, but there is an assortment of locales that you can explore for totally enticing eye candy!

Moving to the Highlights section brings you to another pictorially engaging area populated with interesting architecture (Zaha Hadid), delicious dining (Kupu Maui) and more.  All displayed in the brief prose, stunning photos style that permeates the entire site.

A Nearby feature uses location technology to pinpoint interesting locales that you might want to explore close to you.  A Warning!  Don’t sit in a suburban area and wait to get excited…it yields nothing making you almost doubt your choice of living venue.  But when you are in a more “happening” or popular area, it comes up with choices.

On the Awesomeness factor, the app rocks for being both practical and a handy way to daydream your way out of long queues, waits and more.

The Eensy Weensy Frustrations:

On the opening screen, the app asks you to Sign In using an account, Facebook or Twitter.  The option to skip this step to explore the content is displayed not too prominently on the top right hand corner of the screen.

Using the search feature to do research for a recently concluded trip to Angkor Wat, produced options in Europe, Africa, Asia and more!  It looks like the app uses a key word search rather than relevancy and the search for Angkor produces a result to visit Baron’s place in Cairo.  So, if you are not sure of where exactly a destination is on the map, you’ll go through some frustration navigating this way.

When I tried to join AFAR, the screen was pretty faded with text not standing out.  Now that I have joined, I have the ability to create my own highlights and travel guides, something I will do before our next trip and report back in a Take 2.  That’s where this app could really rock.  Imagine taking trips with AFAR recommendations to guide you along…..kind of like an AFAR trip without the big price tag:)

If you have used the AFAR app, we’d love to hear what your experience has been.  Do drop us a line.

FOOD

A Global Food Lover’s Fantasy – The Rocking World of Red Hot World Buffet

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By Lakshmi:

Have you ever had disagreements in your family in terms of where to go out to eat?  Ever get each person saying they want to eat a particular type of cuisine or want to go somewhere specific which no one else is in a mood for?  It certainly happens to us.  So, on a recent trip to Cardiff, when friends recommended we MUST (it was pretty emphatic) eat at Red Hot World Buffet, we made a point of seeking it out.

Located smack in the city center, the restaurant’s claim to fame is that for one price (9.99 pounds per person on a Saturday for lunch), you can eat a buffet filled to your heart’s content.  Now a lot of restaurants advertise that, but what is promised here is a buffet encompassing Indian, Thai, Mexican, Japanese, Chinese, Italian and Mediterranean food.

As soon as we entered, we noticed the restaurant was packed and bustling with activity.  We got seated within a few minutes and then came a journey that I have to say has not been commonplace.  Walking slowly towards the appetizers area, I knew their claim of serving an assortment of cuisine was absolutely spot on.  This was not some token, obligatory check the box with one dish dedicated to each cuisine but dishes upon dishes and stations dedicated to each specialty.

For a foodie, this was a fantasy come true….but it was also tremendously stress inducing.  “Oh I wish I had not eaten breakfast” , “Wait, how can I try everything here?” “I’ve always wanted to try this…” my mind was a smorgasbord of questions.

Each dish we ate tasted fresh and authentic.  From the freshly piped hummus served in dainty cups with an olive slice at the top to the fiery hot Thai green curry, from the potatoes with mustard to the pizza with jalapenos, from the mango souffle to the chocolate cake, the list of dishes was totally satiating.  We ate our way through multiple rounds and left incredibly content and happy.  Our only complaint on a cold day was that there was no place close by that we could retire for a nap!

If you think we are exaggerating about the choices, simply take a look at their menu in Cardiff that we partook.

http://www.redhot-worldbuffet.com/restaurants/cardiff/buffet-menu/

We have subsequently discovered that the restaurant has multiple locations throughout the UK.  To get more information on their locations, click here:

http://www.redhot-worldbuffet.com/

If you’ve had a similar dining experience, we’d absolutely love to hear from you.

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