I've wanted to visit Vienna for a long time. It's an often overlooked city, but it's one that is thought of as a quintessentially European city - regularly topping the rankings of the most liveable cities in the world. I finally understood at least some of the hype when I visited. The city is incredibly beautiful - the architecture, the history, the culture - there aren't too many places in the world I've visited more aesthetically pleasing than Vienna. However, as a brown person, be ready for stares. These guys don't have too many Sikhs (I saw one!), and they have a tendency to stare...a lot. Other than that, I'd be hard pressed to say too many bad things about the city. You can read my detailed review of the city here, but here are the 5 things I most loved about Vienna.
Zurich has a reputation for being a grey, corporate, business city with little to offer by way of history, culture or adventure. Now, don't get me wrong - this isn't the most exciting of cities, but it surprised me with its beauty, and there is definitely history and culture. It's definitely a city by the rich and for the rich, so it's been one of more expensive destinations I have visited, but with the magic of cheap flights and some accommodation searching, I managed a trip at a relatively reasonable price. You can read in detail about my trip here, but here are the 5 things I loved about Zurich.
Not many cities have surprised me the way that Kuala Lumpur did. I didn't have particularly high expectations when I visited, but I was completely blown away by the character of this city. Often overlooked for Hong Kong, Bangkok or Singapore, Kuala Lumpur is one of the best examples of old meets new and a must visit city. It has incredible food, jaw dropping architecture, it's cheap and there's a decent Sikh population out there. I had quite an adventure in KL and my detailed review can be read here. You can also read top 5 lists of other cities that I have visited here. As with most places I enjoy, it's difficult narrowing the list down to just 5 things I loved about KL, but I've given it a go.
One of the most storied cities in the world, and home to an empire that helped shaped western civilisation. In many respects, Rome is without comparison. I spent the best part of a week in the Italian capital (and you can read about it in detail here, and my trip to the Vatican, which is not a part of the list, here) and it was one of the most absorbing weeks of my life. The history is unparalleled, the culture fascinating, and the food indescribable (my favourite pizza place was here, not in Naples or New York). I could list at least 10 things in Rome that I absolutely loved, but, with some creative accounting, here are 5 of my favourites.
UpdateI originally wrote this list a few years back, but earlier this year I visited Singapore for the second time (you can read about it here). I realised that the things I enjoyed about Singapore had shifted a little, and therefore I probably needed to update this list.
That's exactly what I've done, so read on for my 5 favourite things about Singapore It's difficult to do justice to a city as spectacular as Naples. It has a raw beauty that is refreshingly unique in an increasingly homogenised Europe. A city that combines traditional architecture with modern skyscrapers almost seamlessly. I'll never forget arriving into Naples and seeing scooters piling on top of each other, street vendors covering the pavements, the smell of food from road side stalls and shops floating over the cobble stoned streets. From history to food, to insta-worthy landmarks, Naples is a city that has it all. You can read my detailed observations of the city here, but below are my 5 favourite things about Naples.
ManhattanI lived and worked in New York City and found it was unlike anywhere else in the world. And, without a doubt, Manhattan is NYC's beating heart.
The cool thing about Manhattan is that it's split into a number of neighbourhoods, each with its own unique character. The differences between Chinatown, the Financial District, TriBeCa and SoHo are incredible, even though you could walk through each of them one after the other. Given these differences, I decided that during my time in New York, I would visit every part of Manhattan and then pick some things I really enjoyed. Since my return, friends have been asking for my tips, so I thought I'd share this more widely. This list shows one thing to do in every Manhattan neighbourhood, with the neighbourhoods defined by the city's own political map. It consistently ranks as one of the most visited cities in the world, and has a history that spans over two thousand years. It has been home to innovations, inventions and revolutions and in the middle of the previous millennium it was the largest city in the world.
Paris is so much more than the romanticism that its name conjures, its history includes episodes as violent as any other city and all these events have left their unique mark on France's capital city. It's also one of the closest capital cities to where I live, a short train ride away, but it's perhaps because of this proximity that I often overlook it for other destinations. My trip last year was to visit friends that I worked with previously, and their knowledge of the city allowed me to see a side of Paris I may have otherwise have missed. There's a lot that I enjoyed (food, culture, history) and some things that I didn't, but here is a list of 5 things I absolutely loved. The New York PizzaEver since Gennaro Lombardi opened the first pizzeria in the United States in the Little Italy neighbourhood of New York City, the New York style of pizza has grown into a global phenomenon unique in its flavour, detached from its Neapolitan origins.
From that first pizza place in 1905, the city now has close to 500 pizzeria's operating in the city. So what makes New York pizza so different? Firstly, there's a standardised size, 18 inches in diameter, secondly it uses a high gluten type of bread. I've tasted pizza in many parts of the world, but the New York style is definitely one of my favourites, in fact, I had a boss who would come from Washington DC, just for the pizza! So what else could make New York pizza so special? Some say its the evolution of the pizza through Gennaro Lombardi (many successful NYC pizzeria's can trace their origins directly to his pizza place), others say its the unique concentration of minerals in New York's famously high quality tap water. Whatever the reason, you are never more than a couple of blocks from a good pizza place, and during my time in New York, I made it a mission to visit some of the best pizzeria's the city has to offer. After all of that, here are, in my opinion, the 5 best pizza places in New York City. Lessons from the Big AppleIt's been over a month since I've made the move to New York and it's beginning to feel like home. I've spent the first month exploring different parts of the city, doing the usual tourist things and trying to see a few things not on the trip advisor lists. Between my colleagues at work who have been incredibly welcoming and new people I have met in the city, I have managed to travel to a few different areas and see a few different things. I've also taken long walks on my own to orientate myself in the city. I did a 15 mile walk one weekend and close to a 10 mile walk on another weekend and I feel like I finally have my bearings. I've only been to Brooklyn a couple of times and Harlem once and I'm yet to see any American sports. As I'm roughly 6/7 weeks into my stay, I'll probably update this list a couple of times as I see new things and explore new places. What's it like for Sikhs?Its not that bad at all...so far at least. Colleagues and other locals I meet do tend to ask me if I've had any trouble and sometimes seem quite surprised when I say no. Perhaps its the post Trump coming together that I've seen in New York but the locals are very welcoming. I didn't have any trouble coming into the airport from London, but I'll reserve judgement on that until I've flown a couple of times. Anytime that I meet up with new people, they are curious and open-minded, they ask questions about my long hair, and almost always seem surprised and pleased with the answer. People just generally seem to be very respectful.
There aren't as many Singh's walking around Manhattan as you'd see in central London and no where near as many as the Midlands but I've seen one or two. Surprisingly, it doesnt look like the Singh head nod has reached New York yet. Only a matter of time. |
AuthorBritish Sikh, born in the Midlands, based in London, travelling the world seeing new cultures. Categories
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