The Fat & Thin of Staying Healthy in South East Asia.

The Fat & Thin of Staying Healthy in South East Asia.

Yes, Asian cuisine is easily one of the best in the world, but some of the region’s traditional fried food can wreak havoc on your waistline (think: crunchy spring rolls dripping in oil and deep fried, carb-packed, sauce heavy noodles). Fear not, Just because you’re visiting the land of flavoursome – albeit unhealthy- food, doesn’t mean you have to pack on the kilos, nor does it mean that you have to avoid local foods in order to stay in shape. In fact, thanks to it’s fresh, region-specific vegetables and spices, true Asian cuisine has been proven to be one of the healthiest diets in the world. Here’s how to avoid having kilos creep on when you’re in a country where the cuisine itself is a tourist attraction alone.

Fresh Spring Rolls

Unlike their fried counterparts, fresh spring rolls are actually full of beneficial ingredients because rather than being deep fried, they’re prepared raw.
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Jaipur: Discover the Pink City’s Architectural Gems

Jaipur: Discover the Pink City’s Architectural Gems

Hawa Mahal
Sitting on the edge of the City Palace, it’s the mixture of red and pink sandstone that ensure the Hawa Mahal breathtakingly stands out against the stunning landscape of
Jaipur. It’s impressive facade consists of a unique five-storey exterior which is akin to that of a honeycomb and has 953 small windows, called Jharokhas, that have been completed in an intricate latticework design. Created in 1799, the Hawa Mahal was erected so that the ladies of the royal court could marvel at the beauty of the city from behind closed doors. And, still, 219 years later, the view is no less impressive.

Jaipur City Palace

City Palace
From the imposing entrance gates to the grand fusion of architecture used on the Mubarak Mahal within, it’s not hard to see why this palace once housed Indian Royalty. Now serving as a museum, the lavish structure was built in the 18th century by Sawai Jai Singh II and its history is therefore closely entwined with that of Jaipur and it’s rulers over the last hundreds of years.
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Roof of The World: Introducing Karma Exotica Dharamsala

Roof of The World: Introducing Karma Exotica Dharamsala

Home to one of the world’s most beloved spiritual teachers, the Dalai Lama, Dharamsala embodies much of the philsophy that drives Karma Group – and now we have a resort there!

The India State of Himachal Pradesh is arguably India’s most spectacular province: a world of perennially snow-capped Himalayan peaks, stark lunar landscapes and bright green valleys scattered with forests, snow fed rivers, tea plantations and adobe villages. Little wonder that it is known locally as the Abode of the Gods – in particular a reference to the soaring Himalayan ranges, whose scale seems other than human.

The northern reaches of Himachal Pradesh are a breathtaking hinterland whose proximity to the borders of Pakistan, Tibet and China makes for a fascinating mix of peoples and cultures one of the most fascinating and influential among them being the Tibetan. There are few people in the world that haven’t heard of the Dalai Lama – figurehead of Tibetan Buddhism.
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Poleng – Bali’s Unique Black & White Weaving Technique

Poleng – Bali’s Unique Black & White Weaving Technique

Among the kaleidoscope of visuals that greets visitors to Bali, there’s a recurring motif called poleng that you’d have to lock yourself in your hotel room to miss.

It’s everywhere – girdling tree trunks and mossy stone statues, spread on restaurant tables, adorning worshippers at temple ceremonies a monochrome checkerboard pattern known as poleng. And it’s more than mere decoration – poleng is one of the clearest expressions of the unique worldview of the Balinese.

They may call Bali the Island of the Gods, but the tiny Hindu enclave in the heart of the Indonesian archipelago is as filled with demons as it is divinities. In fact, Balinese beliefs are a heady homegrown blend of animism, Hinduism, Buddhism and ancestor worship. At their heart lies a philosophy called Rwa Bhineda, which describes the world in terms of complimentary opposites – large-small, young-old, good-evil.
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Ocean Spa & Yoga Bale at Karma Beach: Wellness as Nature Intended

Ocean Spa & Yoga Bale at Karma Beach: Wellness as Nature Intended

The spa industry is constantly striving to recreate authentic experiences that draw on the healing properties of the natural world. But when your location is a white sand beach lapped by the aquamarine waters of the Indian Ocean, the scent of frangipani heavy in the air, there’s no need to recreate – it’s all about dissolving the boundary between inside and outside. The result – the new sea-facing Ocean Spa at Karma Beach, Karma Kandara, Bali.

The Ocean Spa adapts the vernacular architecture of a traditional fishing hut: fishermen once stayed in this weathered wooden structure whilst harvesting fresh seaweed in the clear, clean waters just off Karma Beach.

Based on the traditional Balinese bale pavilion design, the Ocean spa & Yoga Bale features a cool interior giving onto a wooden verandah close to the ocean’s edge and boasting a castaway paradise panorama combining limestone rocks, bone white sand and the pellucid waters of Karma’s secret lagoon.
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