Summer outfits throwback: London

Today's post features some of the outfits that I wore during my stay in London and haven't got time to show them on the blog earlier. There will be quite a few of them as weather in the UK at the time of my visit was not that great and didn't give many chances for dressing up. Anyway, here we go...The orange dress from Ted Baker that I wore for afternoon tea...The colour is simply fantastic...a real highlighter...you won't pass by unnoticed...Between us, I call this dress "a scuba dress" because its fabric reminds me of that used for scuba driving costumes, haha...I would baked in such a dress in Nepal but it is ok for London.

Shopping in Hoi An

I guess everybody likes a bit of souvenir shopping while on holidays in a new place. Cute handcrafted things are my weakness and knowing this I always try to restrain myself in order not to go overboard and usually look for figurines of cats for my collection and for some interesting bijouterie or silver jewelry pieces. Have to confess however that seldom my purchases come to nothing more than those only. Same happened to me in Hoi An, too. There is such a big choice of beautiful handmade things for sale and the prices are so attractive that it is really hard not to go nuts with souvenir shopping in this town. Ceramic vases, colourful lanterns, patchwork toys, wooden ships, lacquered boxes, embroidered paintings, coconut jewelry, paper cut cards, pure silk scarfs, marble Buddhas - anyone can find something to one's taste.

Sightseeing around Hoi An

Besides the Ancient Town of Hoi An, there is another UNESCO site just around 40 min drive away from the town, My Son. The place, once used to be the religious centre for the capital of the Champa Kingdom, had been abandoned and partially ruined until French archaeologists stumbled across them in 1898. Between 7th and 13th centuries My Son served as a site for religious ceremonies for kings of the ruling dynasties of Champa, as well as a burial place for Cham royalty and national heroes. Champa culture was influenced by the Hindu religion so no wonder one can find images of Shiva and Parvati on the walls of the ruined temples as well as sculptures of Lingam and Yoni here and there.

Wandering around the Ancient Town of Hoi An

From the hotel we were staying in there was a free everyday shuttle service to Hoi An. So, there was no problem with getting there at any time: in the morning, at the day time or in the evening. The ride takes just around 10 min. And definitely the town is worth visiting. The main attraction of course is the Ancient Town, UNESCO World Heritage site. In past Hoi An served as a major South East Asian trading port and the surviving buildings reflect the influences of different cultures, mostly Chinese and Japanese. No cars or motorbikes are allowed in the area so one can really enjoy wandering around the old streets.

Holidays in Hoi An: Cua Dai beach in October

As I have mentioned in one of my previous posts, our holidays consisted of two parts: the  active one that we spent in Singapore and the lazy one that took place in Vietnamese Hoi An. This small town caught my attention when I was searching for a not-so-far-away getaway from Singapore. It promised a nice beach and some sightseeing too. My only concern was the weather. October is a rainy season month in this part of Vietnam and I didn't want to come there just to face everyday heavy rains, a flood or even worse, a typhoon. And what did I do? I checked weather forecast...for a month ahead. And you won't believe it - just for the period of time that we were planning to stay in Hoi An, it showed "no rain". Cloudy but dry. I am skeptic about forecasts usually but as they say "one believes in what one wants to believe" and so, I decided to try our luck. And, oh miracle!  The whole week that we stayed in Hoi An, there was indeed no rain at all. The weather was even better than they had forecast: cloudy occasionally, but mostly absolutely clear skies. Try not to trust forecasts after that!

Holidays outfits: Singapore

When traveling I prefer to take with me those garments that don't wrinkle easily and that are light and comfy to be in. But shorts-and-t-shirts combinations are out of question for me,  tough this seem to be the most lovable outfit choice for most of the tourists around the globe. I prefer something more interesting and more pretty. For wearing in Singapore I chose dresses. The first one that you see on the photo above is a little black dress with some yellow floral print and lovely chiffon sleeves. The building on the background is The National Museum.

Singapore: Little India, Trick Eye Museum and shopping around

Singaporean rickshaw taking a nap

One of the places I like to visit whenever I come to Singapore is Little India. This part of Singapore city didn't get its name for nothing. This is a charming, beautiful, atmospheric place that brings you straight away to India. There is scent of spices and sound of Bollywood music in the air; there are saris and lehengas on store window displays; there are numerous gold jewelry shops and Indian cuisine restaurants along the streets; there are images of Hindu deities everywhere - be it small figurines, large sculptures or prints on t-shirts. And of course, there is a big and beautiful Indian temple right in the centre.

Singapore: chilling out in the Gardens

As I have mentioned in my previous post this year's visit to Singapore was my fifth one. My very first one took place exactly 20 years ago and lasted for one month. And it was then that I fall in love with this city. I am not sure what charmed me more: its whole-year-round nice weather, or the city's mixture of modern and old ; the cleanness of its streets or the variety of cultural traditions; its beautiful parks or its impressive skyscrapers. Whatever it was, the fact is that I keep coming to this city again and again.

My Asian holidays

Morning shopping in the streets of the Hoi An Ancient town

Hello everybody! I am back from my almost two-weeks long Asian holidays during which I managed to visit not one but two countries, both Asian - super modern Singapore and more traditional Vietnam. And if it was my fifth visit to Singapore, Vietnam on the contrary happened to be my first-time destination. Somehow the idea of visiting this country had not sounded appealing to me before. But while doing my research on possible not-so-far-away get aways from Singapore I stumbled upon a name of a small town in Vietnam that promised nice beach relaxation as well as some interesting historical sight seeings. This town, Hoi An, was on the list along with Thailand's Ko Samui (where I've already been), Malaysian Langawi and Indonesian Bali. And though Bali sounded rather seducing too I chose Vietnam...And no regrets about that whatsoever.

Last days in London: exhibitions and dance show

I am back in Nepal. Really enjoyed my time in London. Besides browsing the city's shops I paid a visit to the Museum of London and two interesting exhibitions - Isabella Blow, Fashion Galore at Somerset House and Pearls at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Dolls and toys at Harrods

My previous post was about Harrods' Christmas windows. I don't go to Harrods for shopping, but whenever I am in London and happen to be in the area I drop in for their cakes and bakery. I find them delicious. This time I was also curious about their Christmas section, thought I would find something interesting and affordable there. I did find many interesting Christmas decorations but they were too pricey for me. Anyway, I enjoyed just looking around. Most of all I was impressed by the Christmas toys and dolls: Santa Clauses, Fairies, Nutcrackers.

Harrods Christmas Express windows

What I like about visiting London at this time of the year is the festive Christmas atmosphere that you can feel everywhere: Christmas songs, Christmas gifts sections, Christmas tree decorations and of course, Christmas shop-windows. Have a look at these amazingly beautiful Christmas windows at Harrods. They were inspired by the iconic British steam train, and the main window starts off with a train "The Harrods Express" that emanates the "choo choo" sound and smoke.

M&M's fun world

We hadn't planned to visit this place but when we came across it accidentally we decided to pop in. The place looks like a theme park for M&M's. They say it is the largest candy store in the world with all sorts of merchandise spread over the building's four floors, everything being dedicated to M&M's: souvenirs, bed& bath, kitchen wears, stationery, bags, clothes and jewelry.

Outfit in not boring black-and-white and a walk in Green Park

Those who's been reading my blog for a while know about my little obsession with cats. And they will understand why I could not resist to buy this white cat-ty skirt (H&M) as soon as I saw it. Outfits in monochromatic black and white are usually not my thing, they seem to be rather boring. But here I am dressed in black and white all over and not feeling wearing something boring at all, thanks to the skirt's print and to the faux fur-balls scarf.

Autumn in London

London's weather doesn't pamper with that many sunny days. Mostly it is gloomy and rainy outside. But when it IS sunny than it is sooo beautiful around and it is such a pleasure to have a walk in the park and enjoy all those autumn colours. If I go for holiday to Belarus it is always during summer time, if I travel around it is mostly Asian countries. So I really have been missing a genuine European autumn and now I enjoy and appreciate every minute of my stay here.

From summer to autumn and Oxford street's Christmas windows

Hello from London! After "late summer" weather of Nepal I found myself in "middle autumn" of Britain. Came here on Thursday for some business and to see my daughters. Straight away I had to forget about dresses and wear so many other things instead: a sweater, tights, boots, a coat and even something for my head. This vintage woolen skirt in turquoise I bought in Kathmandu just a few days before my leaving. Thought it would be the right thing to wear in London.

Dance costumes of Sri Lanka

Today I want to take you to Sri Lanka again and show you some of its dancing costumes which impressed me no less than the dances themselves. They are striking, colourful, unsual in style, and once seen can't be forgotten.
One of the most impressive from my point of view is so called ves costume, the common dance costume for most of the Kandyan dances. It consists of a large white loincloth, which is wrapped to form a kind of pair of loose trousers. The upper body is bare, except the large breast ornament, a kind of beaded net, constructed of small seashells and silver beads. The arm and shoulder decorations are also made of silver, like the impressive tiara-like headgear with its large ear ornaments. According to studies, it is believed that the outfit was simpler in older times - the tiara was in the form of a naga snake and now it has seven protruding “leaves” or “flames”. It was during the two last centuries that the outfit gradually got its present, spectacular shape.