Travel has offered me a way to anchor me to the NOW, to an extraordinary present. Be it the mighty Iguazu falls of Patagonia, the glaciers and fjords of Norway, the gigantic gorges of Kimberley’s, the gentle perfume of Kyoto’s cherry blossoms; nature has a way of embracing you into its fold till you become one with it.

As an ardent admirer of art and architecture, I am in awe of the human spirit, of generations of visionaries who have created monuments and structures that have withstood the ravages of nature and have outlived their creators by centuries. Ancient sites like Machu Picchu in Peru, the monumental pyramids of Egypt, the ancient temples of Tanjore, Gaudi’s mind-bending architecture; they help me glimpse the extraordinary creative gift we humans possess.

Travelling around the nature reserves of Masai Mara and Serangetti, gave me a new perspective of creatures living in their natural habitats. My eyes welled as I watched a zebra giving birth to a calf, from up above hot-air air balloon over Kenya’s Mara. Heart pounding while watching a lion pounce on a deer, I realise how fortunate we humans are to live in the comfort of our homes, built with not a care of the chaos we continue to cause to our earth.