MY HAPPY PLACE
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Christa Larwood, writer
I’d know the sound of Melbourne anywhere. It’s the electric whine of an approaching tram and the jaunty clanging of its bells. It’s the rattle and hiss of street artists’ spray cans as they paint the walls of a bluestone laneway. It’s the cries of stall keepers at the Queen Vic Market as they shout the virtues of their jams, cheeses and doughnuts.
These are the sounds of my city, and right now they seem awfully far away. I’ve lived in London for 15 years and the current travel restrictions have me thinking more wistfully of my home town than ever before. I fill hours planning my next visit, dwelling on each possibility.
Will I start at Dukes Coffee Roasters on Flinders Lane, where house-roasted coffee beans are turned into my favourite flat white? Or should I begin with the laneways, to see which independent shops and galleries have popped up to grab the ever-shifting limelight? Or I could gorge myself on spicy bowls of pho, world-beating pastries, even try a local innovation, the meat pie burger, if I’m feeling adventurous.
I suspect when the time comes though, I’ll simply find a spot on the grassy banks of the Yarra river, watch the light shift across the familiar, jagged skyline, and think to myself how bloody good it feels to be home.
@clarwood
HAA VALLEY, BHUTAN
Amrit Singh, co-founder of TransIndus
I was thrilled to visit the Haa Valley on my last trip to Bhutan – an unspoilt region where I didn’t see a single tourist, despite the many historic monasteries and a host of ancient trails. The twin monasteries of Lhakhang Karpo and Lhakhang Nagpo (pictured right) are believed to be the oldest Buddhist monasteries in Bhutan and stand on either side of the valley mouth, guarding it from evil spirits. A memorable experience was a short trek along a narrow path through a pine forest, past tiny villages and farmsteads to the Kila Gompa, a nunnery where a handful