I wrote a daily blog for over a year (greenbottletree.wordpress.com) but stopped in February 2013 to start other writing projects. However, there are certain things I miss about blogging, one of which is writing about my travel experiences. While on a two-week holiday in South Korea at the beginning of April 2013, I realised there was lots of information my friend and I were Googling and sourcing from people’s travel blogs. I also realised there are lots of things it’s good to know before you go somewhere new. So I decided to start a travel blog for any trips I now make.
As for me, I am a self-employed stenographer/court reporter but I would far rather be a food and travel writer. I enjoy travelling because for me it is pure escapism, I get to try new kinds of food, I spend time outdoors looking at and appreciating my surroundings more than I ever do at home and there are always adventures.
I currently live in southeast London and work mainly in central London, Middle East and India. I enjoy thinking about making things (that rarely get made), writing, eating and talking about food, discovering cafes that serve good coffee, cake, snow, motorbikes and old kitchen “stuff”.
Karina
All the practical information within these travel pages is based solely on my experiences, thus the listings are very limited, but I have eaten at/drunk at/visited/stayed at all the places within these pages.
The content within this section is practical, anecdotal and written as a result of a holiday to South Korea where the only information I could find that was accurate about some lesser visited destinations was via other people’s blogs. I enjoyed reading more personal observations and seeing photos. I also liked that one person’s holiday or travels are more realistic to inspire where you go or don’t go rather than a whole guide of listings and recommendations, many of which over the years I have followed and been disappointed by.
Why is there not much consistency of layout between different countries?
Not everywhere seems to lend itself to a rigid template of how or what to write about so everywhere is presented a bit differently. I reiterate that I have only written about places I have been to. These opinions are all my own, as are all the photographs. As for the photos, there are A LOT of photos missing from older posts because I thought it was a good idea to employ a clearly inexperienced web designer to make my site look better. Never. Again.
I love that food is something we need, yet, unlike other necessities in our daily lives, it is something that can be a source of excitement and pleasure as many times a day as you consume it. My life is certainly not three meals a day, plus the, ahem, odd snack, of sheer taste bud joy, but when I have time and inclination it gives me a lot of pleasure to eat and/or create something delicious. I am very enthusiastic about new ingredients, new flavours, new techniques, new utensils and new eating experiences. As a result, I always come back from travels or after explorations of ethnic grocery stores around home buzzing with ideas and a need to experiment.
The pages within Food are a forum for me to express and share my experiences and discoveries.
The posts here are largely based around features and patterns I’ve photographed, mainly while travelling, and on souvenirs I’ve bought that reflect my developing interest in contemporary interpretations of folk art and traditional handicrafts.
The idea came from a particular shop in Delhi that, among other things, sells beautiful hand carved wooden boxes with modern designs using traditional wood carving methods. To me they are things of beauty and inspiration.
I cringe slightly at “lifestyle” but it’s the only heading I could think of that encapsulated random thoughts, home-related ideas, interior design (on a very, very basic level), health and so on. “Miscellaneous” seemed a step too vague.
I was inspired to write more for this theme after seeing a “lifestyle” picture in a magazine of someone sitting in an impossibly idyllic, comfy log cabin, fire roaring, sheepskin rugs, mug of steaming drink, happy smiling friends around; you have probably seen something similar, especially in the Hygge world now embraced by the UK. At that moment, that was exactly how I wanted my life to be styled. I wrapped myself in our armchair throw, rediscovered a perfect huggable mug, made hot Ribena and curled up accordingly. It struck me that with a bit of imagination things around your own home can be altered to make something as simple and everyday as having a warm drink on a cold day feel more evocative of a holiday or an image of who/where you want to be for a few minutes.
There really is something about “lifestyle” that makes me go off on one about really pretentious-sounding ideas but the posts within lifestyle are kind of about creating triggers around you that remind you of travels or just ideas for creating small spaces in your home or work environment that make you feel happier.