Me? Well, I’m slowly working my way through Season 3 of the West Wing. Such outstanding writing, acting and cinematography. Hands down, Sorkin’s best show to date. And so soothingly therapeutic right now.

Someone asked me recently if I’m into the House of Cards show. Not that Kevin Spacey isn’t amazing – heck, I’ve been a fan of his work since around Se7en. And I just recently re-watched American Beauty where Kev costarred with the equally talented Annette Bening. But right now I just can’t absorb both a political TV drama AND a real-time, real-life King Lear. Sorry, Shakespeare.

Så fort du slutar utmana dig själv – fysiskt och mentalt – tar jag ett steg närmare ättestupan. Så känner jag. Dagens yoga-pass och workshop på Kockum Fritid – som leddes av trevliga och pedagogiskt begåvade Magnus Ringberg – var ett klockrent exempel på en fysisk utmaning med psykologiska implikationer.

Dels fick jag det positiva kvittot på att kroppen (efter lite uppvärmning) fortfarande är elastisk och hyfsat samarbetsvillig. Dels blev jag varse om att flexibilitet verkligen är färskvara – särskilt vid min ålder. Behöver nog öka antal yoga-pass i veckan för att förlänga träningsformens långsiktiga fördelar och framförallt för att kunna bli bättre rent tekniskt och därmed få ut mer fysiskt.

Summa summarum klarade jag åtminstone 80% av dagens mer eller mindre fakir-mässiga rörelser. Den relativt höga procentsatsen fick mig på gott humör resten av söndagen – men kommer sannolikt att kännas av mer fysiskt under morgondagen.

Sugen på att testa på yoga? Kan varmt rekommendera dom duktiga tränarna på Kockum Fritid här i Västra Hamnen.

Bilden ovan är från en Qigong-workshop för några år sedan på Kockum Fritid. liksom dagens event, var det också samproducerat med Health and Training Academy. Illustrationen är från en serie yoga-bilder jag tog i höstas på fotomodellen, Tora Rosenkjaer.

Well, it’s about time to leave Bangkok and the always intriguingly interesting albeit grueling humid and intense South East Asia. It’s mostly been seasonally cool, though. At least while the sun’s hiding behind thick grey clouds. The shot above is from earlier tonight from on top of the Thong Lor Skytrain Station (BTS) where late afternoon/early evening traffic started to pick up in both directions along Sukhumvit Road. I’m not a huge fan of this part of Bangkok, but if you have to stay on or near Sukhumvit, trendy Thong Lor is a good option as it offers a somewhat local vibe to the area’s otherwise extremely urban state of mind. And best of all, there’s not many (if any) nagging tailors here.

After spending several weeks  in Thailand – where smiles are plentiful and most generously offered, even to the strangest strangers – it’s certainly going to take some serious acclimatization before we readjust/realign/reboot our lives to Scandinavia’s cold and dark meteorological and social climate.

Tonight, we ate the trip’s last meal in Asia at a popular Japanese eatery around the corner and filled our table with udon noodle soup topped with tempura, a tray full of tuna, salmon and yellow tail nigiri, some California maki rolls, a tray packed with salty Edamame beans, several bowls of garlic rice and finally, a small grilled teriyaki salmon. All sumptuously delicious and beautifully presented by the chef and our kind waitress.

I’m going to miss being able to spoil myself with so much great food. I always do. The level of choice here is remarkable. I am sure I could without any problem eat at a new restaurant in Bangkok every night for the rest of my natural life without having to repeat a single visit – or go bankrupt.

Though I’m not looking forward to enduing a minimum of three winter months, I concede that I’m rested, inspired and ready to dig in to both ongoing projects and forthcoming assignments. And I can’t wait to go through about a terabyte of film and stills from both Thailand and the Maldives.

Next stop: Malmö

This is the beautiful Ao Nang Mosque – which is literally next door to our hotel. And though the morning call to prayer has stirred us a few times, it’s not really a bad thing to wake up fairly early each morning to the tune of a beautiful song. We’ve been debating for a few days whether or not the singing is live or prerecorded. I also wonder if a female would be allowed to perform the call to prayer.

A few hundred clicks south of here, the decade long conflict continues between the entrenched separatist movement of Thai Muslims and the Thai government led army. But here in Krabi Province, everyday life between Muslims and Buddhists is peaceful and congenial. The vast majority of locals here belong to the Islamic faith, though worshiping traditions appear less formal and more pragmatic as it does with their Buddhist copatriots. Not all, but very many women bear… Read more →

It’s been about ten years since I last set foot on Railay Beach near Ao Nang in the southern Thai province of Krabi. Aside from the seemingly tectonic shift in demographics (more younger Yanks, Russians and Chinese, considerably less Scandinavian families) and probably twice as many speedboats and long-tails, it’s still breathtaking to step onto that beach and once again experience first hand the emerald, semi translucent sea and surrounding limestone islands with their dramatically steep cliffs.

Today, while Charlotte covered Railay East, I spent about an hour shooting on the peninsula’s west side. It was pretty packed with a whole bunch of more or less fit sun lovers, so it took some time to figure out angles that wouldn’t demand too much retouching.

Ao Nang has really grown since our last visit. And that means it’s much, much busier than we remember it to be. Then again, we’re here during peak season and memories can be tricky – I mean, it’s easy to forget how things really were and just remember all the good stuff.

The general vibe in Ao Nang village is still fairly laid back and relaxed. We’re staying about a 15 minute walk from the beach and close enough to the beautiful Ao Nang Mosque for us to be … Read more →

End of the year and time to take inventory. While biting into a thick, bean burrito the other night, way after I’d passed the, “I am so full now it hurts” stage, I had one of those rare moments of clutter-free clarity about how often I find myself stuck in situations like this; stuffed beyond belief.

During the course of our stay here in Asia, I’ve been more or less subconsciously trying to address this bad habit. Mostly, I’ve stuck to a strict vegetarian/pescatarian based diet and avoided processed foods, including the usual suspects; breads, pastries, pastas, sauces, dressings and dips.

For about two weeks, I was really focused and kept stringently to my new, narrow dietary path without much trouble or frustration. Then we started visiting the Mexican cantina, La Monita Taqueria, located in a typical soi off Sukhumvit near Wireless Road. We’d barely walked through the front door before I immediately realized that all bets were off. The pungent smell of… Read more →

I’ve been lucky/fortunate/worked hard to have visited many beautiful islands with gorgeous scenery and pristine, sun-drenched, powder sand beaches lined with picture-perfect, swaying palm trees. It’s often a surreal experience – especially when you’re there during Europe’s cold, color-less winter months.

This relatively short visit to the  Maldives will henceforth be on top of that list of surreally beautiful places that exceeded my expectations.

Leaving soon and heading back to Bangkok for a couple of weeks.

Still basking in the sun here in the Maldives…but right now, at the very top of the Turning Torso – where Sky High Meetings reside – is where certainly one of the year’s most interesting conferences is well underway. The meeting’s topics include distribution logistics, a review of delivery schedules and perhaps most importantly, the children’s Christmas lists.

Early this morning, I ventured about an hour out from the center of Bangkok to a seemingly obscure plot of undeveloped land that has long served as a makeshift graveyard for several commercial planes. Star and visual draw here is, of course, the gigantic and instantly recognizable, Boeing 747, “Jumbo Jet”.

All of the derelict planes inner workings had been gutted for what I can only assume was the value from the network of copper wiring which is hidden behind the walls of the fuselage. Ironically, the first class cabin (top floor) was more or less empty and the only remaining seat in the entire aircraft was the cockpit’s barren jump seat.

I didn’t have time to investigate for any clues as to which airline the plane had been in service for. But given its location, I’m not overreaching with a guess that it was probably Thai International Airways.

While walking around inside and around the grounded metal carcass, I wondered if I at some point in my life, on some trip to or from Asia, had been one of the plane’s passengers.