I got this feeling on the summer day when you were gone...

As I start to write this blog post, it just turned one minute past midnight and I really should be heading off to bed. However, I realise that it has been five full months since I last posted anything on my blog, which is absolutely disgraceful. Blogging is a habit that I want to maintain but it requires a lot of commitment and effort.

I'm off to Milan tomorrow for what people used to call a 'mini-break'. It'll be my first time there. I realised the other day that so far this year, all the new places that I have travelled to begin with the letter 'M', which is quite a cool coincidence. In February, I was in Mumbai. In April, I went to an old friend's wedding in Munich. Earlier this month, I was in Mexico (Cancun) for my company's conference/party.

This blog is really a record of my life and I know that nobody else reads this but me so it is important for me to check in here every now and again. 2013 has been an exciting year so far. In addition to my trips to all those 'M' places, work is going well. My studies to become a chartered accountant is also going well (although I hope that I'm not jinxing myself by saying this two weeks before I am expecting some more exam results to be released!). The best part of the year, by far, however, is that I became an uncle. My beautiful niece is everything to me. Hmmm, I suspect I'm coming down with a case of birthday-itis! Symptoms include mild to severe reflectiveness and sentimentality! I don't care...I love it!

Bombay, baby!!!

It's my last evening here in Mumbai. Tomorrow, I fly back to London at lunchtime. This is my first trip to India and it has been a bit of a whistle stop tour as I just arrived in India five days ago. Even though it is a common thing for first time visitors to India to feel like being here is an assault on one's senses - the air, thick with exotic scents, and at times, pollution and repulsive odours, the overwhelming taste of the wide array of spices that flavour every local dish, the vivid colours of the beautiful saris that the local women wear, regardless of their socioeconomic status, the musicality of Hindi and over a dozen other regional languages - there is no doubt that I have just experienced a minutiae of what this grand country has to offer. Of course, you could spend a year traveling all corners of the country and still not feel like you have adequately experienced the vast arrays of cultures, cuisine, geography, etc. India is a country of almost 3.3 million sq km with a population of over 1.2 billion. Meanwhile, I have only spent a couple of days in two parts of it - the provincial Central India city Indore and the metropolis that is still called Bombay by the locals. All I can do is accept that I am only getting a tiny taster of India and be grateful for that.

The main purpose of my trip was to attend my oldest friend's wedding. A British-born Indian who is almost as unacquainted with Indian culture as her non-Indian guests, my friend married her Belgian husband last summer and was only having this Indian wedding to please her parents who wanted to celebrated their daughter's marriage as much as they wanted to celebrate their Indian heritage with their countless relatives and friends in India. It was a lovely affair and I couldn't have been more thrilled that I could have been a part of it.

After the wedding, I decided that I wanted to spend a couple of nights in Mumbai before returning to England. Although I, like millions of people around the world, had seen 'Slumdog Millionaire' when it came out in 2008, I knew that that there had to be more than just slums and squalor in this city by the sea (the Arabian Sea). I visited many of the iconic sites and places of Mumbai, including the Gateway of India (an archway that was erected to commemorate George V and Queen Mary's visit to India in 1911), Mani Bhavan (a house where Mahatma Gandhi lived for many years, whenever he was in Mumbai) and the majestic central rail station here, Victoria Terminus (although, officially, it is now called Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, an example of the renaming of key building and institutions to reflect the end of British rule).

My favourite place was Mani Bhavan, which now houses a modest but compelling museum to the Father of India. It is pretty hard not to be inspired by the man and I know that I'm not the only one. US President Barack Obama visited India in 2010, he was so moved by the man whose legacy Mani Bhavan represents that he subsequently sent a piece of stone from the Martin Luther King. Jr. Memorial, as a token of friendship between the two nations.

To use a rather common phrase that every city or country likes to use to describe itself, Mumbai is a city of contrasts; the old with the new, the religious and the secular, the rich and the poor, the last of which is more pronounced than anything else. You see people sleeping on the street and kids selling things as they weave in and out of the traffic. Meanwhile, there are billionaires living in ostentatious 27-level mansions towering the rest of the city. Of course, I am not one to judge since here I am staying in my 5-star hotel and taking a private city with my own driver and a separate English-speaking tour guide. The money that I'm spending in my short time here could probably be better spent by a few families living in the various slums that we drove by today. The picture below, by the way, is of the city's Dhobi Ghat - open air laundrette. It is where the middle class take their clothes to be washed by the poorer people who live in the surrounding slums for a small fee. Like Jenny from the Block once sang (using a line stolen from 20th Century Steel Band's 'Heaven and Hell Is on Earth'), 'everyone's got to make a living'!

I am staying at Trident Nariman Point in the affluent South Mumbai area, right by the sea. It is ranked third in the top hotels in Mumbai on Tripadvisor. The top two hotels are The Oberoi, followed by the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. Both of these hotels were attacked by terrorists in 2008. Many people, locals and foreigners, were taken hostage and killed. I felt uneasy about sleeping in these hotels as I felt like they were the sites of some shocking violence and I did not want to absorb any of that energy. Little did I know that Trident Nariman Point is adjacent to the Oberoi! Oh, well...I'm leaving in 12 hours so what does it matter now?

Security is extremely tight getting into my hotel or any other 5-star hotel in this city (I experienced the same thing at the Grand Hyatt Mumbai on my first night here). This is a direct consequence of what happened in 2008. You are confronted by the sight of guards using car bomb detectors before you are even let through the gate and once inside, you have to put all bags through a bag scanner and walk through a metal detector. I don't enjoy this at the airport and I certainly don't enjoy this upon checking in at my luxury hotel when I'm on vacation but after what happened in 2008, this is definitely a necessary evil!

These past few days in India have been interesting and memorable. I'm not sure if or when I will be back again but if I do return, I will hopefully be a bit more prepared for it all and it is fair to say that there will always be an infinite amount of new experiences to be had!

We are on our way...

Yesterday was a significant day; the UK's House of Commons passed a key vote proposing same sex marriage in England and Wales. While this measure does not automatically mean that this bill has passed into law, the overwhelming majority that voted in favour (a majority of 225 votes) pretty much guarantees its passage in the House of Lords, where the bill now goes. After all, it is highly unlikely that the unelected house would overrule a clear decision made by the elected house. If, as we expect it to, this bill gets enacted by the summer, as Prime Minister David Cameron plans to do, England and Wales will follow in the footsteps of less than a dozen countries around the world where there is same sex marriage. By this, I don't mean civil unions or partnerships or PACS (as they're called in France); I mean marriage in the traditional sense of the word, redefined as an institution to be more inclusive and encompassing of the social values of our constantly evolving world.

Even though this was the Conservative government's initiative, they faced a great deal of dissent from their backbenchers (with 136 Tory MPs opposing the bill), many of whom protested that such a proposal undermines the very essence of being the Conservative Party. However, I think that it's fairly obvious what Cameron's strategy with this is; it is to show younger voters, who might not be inclined to vote Conservative, that they are in touch with modern society and are prepared to evolve with it. It also demonstrates that the government is capable of working with the opposition on a social issue (with most Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs supporting the bill), one that is, arguably, even in 2013, still fairly divisive. Whatever the political motivations, I applaud them for carrying on the legacy of the Labour party who brought in civil partnerships less than a decade ago and going the full monty with what is the cornerstone of the struggle for gay rights equality. It's a step in the right direction. With no disrespect to the 11 pioneering countries that brought in same sex marriage before us (including Netherlands, Canda, Spain, South Africa and Argentina), the rest of the world will take notice of this. The UK will be the example that they may, one day, follow.

In the meantime, let's enjoy the music video below from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis for their moving pro-same sex marriage song 'Same Love'.

Oscar nominations out in Zero Dark Thirty?

It's that time of the year again - Oscar nominations will shortly be announced. This annual event is like Christmas to movie awards watchers like me! Here are my final predictions for the nominations for the 6 major categories of the 85th Annual Academy Awards.



Best Picture
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard - Rust and Bone
Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva - Amour
Naomi Watts - The Impossible

Best Actor
Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln
John Hawkes - The Sessions
Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables
Denzel Washington - Flight

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams - The Master
Sally Fields - Lincoln
Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables
Helen Hunt - The Sessions
Maggie Smith - The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin - Argo
Robert De Niro - Silver Linings Playbook
Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained

Best Director
Ben Affleck - Argo
Kathryn Bigelow - Zero Dark Thirty
Tom Hooper - Les Miserables
Ang Lee - Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg - Lincoln

For every category, I can think of other contenders that could very well make it onto the shortlist in place of my predictions but these are my final predictions and I will stick to them! They do not reflect what I think the nominations should be, just what I think they will be. The actual nominations are being announced in less than an hour by Emma Stone and this year's host Seth MacFarlane so I will update this post once they have been released.

Update

My Best Picture nominee predictions lined up with the actual nominees perfectly...except for the fact that the Academy went with nine nominees while I had predicted ten nominees. The only one that I had predicted which ended up being omitted from the Academy's list is 'Moonrise Kingdom'.

We can all look forward to Adele belting out the theme song from 'Skyfall' on the Oscar telecast next month! The Grammy winner is now an Academy Award nominee, as a co-writer of the song.

I didn't think that it would happen but Quvenzhané Wallis has made history as the youngest ever nominee for Best Actress for her debut performance in 'Beasts of the Southern Wild'. At the tender age of 9, Wallis beats the previous record holder Keisha Castle-Hughes, who was nominated in the same category at the age of 13 in 2004 for 'Whale Rider'. She takes the spot that I had predicted was 2008's Best Actress Ocar winner Marion Cotillard's, for her bold performance in 'Rust and Bone'. Cotillard was already a nominee at the Golden Globes, th SAG Awards and the BAFTAs whereas Wallis was not nominated at these other precursor awards at all (although, to be fair, she was not eligible at the SAG since her movie was non-union). This goes to show that the Academy does make these unexpeted, independent choices on their own will.

Another record was broken in the Best Actress category today. At 85, Emmanuelle Riva becomes the oldest Best Actress nominee ever for her performance in Best Picture nominee 'Amour'. Jessica Tandy previously held this record, when she was nominated for playing the title role in 'Driving Miss Daisy' at the age of 80.

Meanwhile, I did pretty badly in the Best Director category, getting only 2 out of 5! The two eventual nominees that I had predicted were Ang Lee and Steven Spielberg. The Academy is usually a fan of actors who emerge as credible directors so it is a bit of a shock that the directors' branch has snubbed Ben Affleck for 'Argo'. Kathryn Bigelow, who became the first woman to win the Best Director Oscar in 2010 for 'The Hurt Locker', was also a shock omission considering the level of acclaim the film has garnered. Perhaps, the controversy surrounding the film's torture scenes and the Senate investigation into the filmmakers' acccess to confidential CIA files made some voters uneasy. Tom Hooper, who won this category just two years ago for 'The King's Speech', was also snubbed for his work on 'Les Miserables'. These three directors' loss were the gains of David O. Russell (perhaps, 'Silver Linings Playbook' is the real threat to 'Lincoln' for that Best Picture Oscar!), Michael Haneke (for one of my personal favourites of 2012 'Amour') and Benh Zeitlin for 'Beasts of the Southern Wild'. This nomination, along with the film's nods in Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay, goes to show that no matter how small your film's budget, you can still capture the hearts and imagination of even the most discerning of audiences.

For the first time in 31 years, a movie has achieved a nomination in all four acting categories. 'Silver Linings Playbook' sees leads Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence nominated along side supporting players Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver. This is the first time that this has happened since 1982, with Warren Beatty's 'Reds'. This was predicted by some award watchers but it was not a given since De Niro had not been nominated at the Golden Globes or the BAFTAs. Meanwhile, this is the first time that Weaver had been cited by anybody. If you're going to be nominated for just one award, how great that it should be an Academy Award!

Click here to get the full list of nominees!

How many more...

The Executive Vice President of America's National Rifle Association, Wayne LaPierre, held a press conference today, if you could call it that, considering that he gave a prepared speech and refused to take any questions. Mr LaPierre's speech was the first official response to last week's school-shooting tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut from the powerful firearms lobbying group.

He argues that the media should be blamed for this, with their violent films, television and video games. This may be true. However, there was no doubt that this speech was a disingenuous attempt to point the finger elsewhere. It blows my mind to think that there are actually people out there who agrees with Mr LaPierre when he says that this would not have happened had Sandy Hook Elementary School had armed guards and thus, the answer to our problems is more guns, not less. Really? So, the fact that there were armed guards at Columbine is moot? What about the fact that the person that Adam Lanza killed first, his own mother, had a fairly big gun collection? That didn't save her life.

There is no doubt that mental illness played a part in all of this. People with that kind of capacity suffer from a type of emotional detachment that allows them to commit such heinous crimes. What guns allow is the facilitation and manifestation of these people's violent fantasies. Sure, even without guns, people who want to hurt and kill will come up with other ways to hurt and kill but we should not be making it easier for dangerous people to carry out their plans with easy access to firearms. People need to make a change in the world. What would you rather be - to feel more secured through the possession of guns or to feel safer knowing that nobody owns one?

'Amour' is the word...

Today, I took my last exam for the year and it was a nice feeling to be able to breathe again. Whether or not I have passed these two exams that I took this month is for me to worry about another day. The results will come out in February so for now, I will just enjoy the lightness of being that I feel. I decided to celebrate by taking myself to the cinema. What better way to relax and to indulge than seeing a really wonderful movie that will help me to gain some perspective and remove me for my mundane anxieties.

I had been wanting to see Austrian auteur Michael Haneke's 'Amour' for a while now, ever since it won the Palme d'Or at Cannes back in May. The movie awards season has begun and already, the movie has been stacking up on awards. Emmanuelle Riva, the lead actress, has been singled out for her sublime portrait of the distaff half of an elderly couple living in Paris. We initially see her still vital and enjoying her comfortable life with her loving husband but as the movie progress, we witness her character succumb to old age and the emotional toils of this on her devoted and devastated husband. However, the movie is not simply about the inevitable physical decline that we all face should we be lucky enough to reach a certain age but rather, the movie lives up to its title in the way that we see two elderly people who have been in love for a very long time and continue to be in love with each other right up til the end.

Needless to say, the movie moved to tears on more than one occasion. I knew that I would be affected by this film and I think that that might have been why I was so drawn to this movie. I wanted to be overwhelmed and I wanted release; an experience that would remove me from my immediate circumstances.

There is a lot of Oscar buzz for Madame Riva. She has already won best actress awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Boston Society of Film Critic and the European Film Awards. If she gets nominated for an Academy Award next month, she will become the oldest acting nominee ever, at the age of 85. This is all very exciting, especially considering her long, glorious career. After all, she was the leading lady of the 1959 French New Wave classic 'Hiroshima, Mon Amour'. For her to be nominated in over five decades after starring in that cinematic landmark would be a real testament to the view that talent cannot be withered by age. Similarly, the movie's male lead is Jean-Louis Trintignant, the star of such classics as 'And God Created Woman' and 'A Man and A Woman', gives a phenomenal performance that is equally worthy of award recognition. Emotionally rich and intelligent drama does not get much better than this - c'est magnifique!

Queen of Silom Soi 2

Today, my mother and I had the pleasure of going out to lunch with my dear aunt Pah Maliwan and her friend Pah Naruhnee. I have known Pah Naruhnee ever since I was little as she has been best friends with my aunt for decades and I have always known that she was the landlord of a small commercial area in central Bangkok but it was always very vague to me. We dined at Grand San Yord, which is famous in Bangkok for its tender and sweet roast duck, and being the Ah Mahs that they are, both aunties told me to finish the last prawn dumpling.

Pah Naruhnee said 'Eat this and you'll end up with a beautiful wife', to which I replied 'But I don't want a beautiful wife'. Without missing a beat, Pah Maliwan said 'Eat this and you'll end up with a handsome husband'. While I have never really discussed my sexuality with older relatives so much, it has been an open secret for a while now but in that moment, for my mother's elder sister, a woman that I have always been very fond of, to acknowledge, without making a big deal out of it, this part of my identity...well, it really moved me. It confirmed what I have long believed to be true; that my relatives in Bangkok love and accept me unconditionally, just as I am.

After lunch, my mother and I dropped off both aunties. Pah Maliwan was going to her Private Members Club to meet up with my cousins while Pah Naruhnee was heading home. My mother drove us to Silom and as we went past Bangkok's infamous Patpong district, I realised that we were approaching the hub of gay nightlife in Bangkok, Silom Soi 2-4, which turned out to be Pah Naruhnee's turf! She is the landlady for all the bars and clubs patronized by any gay person who has ever lived in or visited Bangkok, locals and expats. As we pulled away, I commented to my mother and aunt that these two alleys owned by their friend are full of bars and clubs. Both of them casually replied, that's correct, gay bars! Good times! Think I might have to visit Pah Naruhnee's hood before I leave Bangkok in a few days. It won't be my first time there and certainly won't be my last!