It was pretty hard to find a favourite photo from my recent jaunt, but I couldn’t go past the tropical loveliness of this one which is currently on my phone and also being sported on the Cohabitaire Facebook page… then I wanted it on my desktop so thought it was time I shared the love with you too, just because I’m nice :)

You might have seen this one featured in this week’s Maldives post, snapped from the Thulusdhu guesthouse balcony. No, it’s not sunset as it might look but a the new sun rising in the east taken right before the heat kicked in for the day.

I really can’t go past a hot lens flare, and especially love the way my 18-105mm lens throws this circle effect when the sunlight is juuuuuust in the right position.

Cohabitaire desktops have been revamped to now include a massive 2056 x 1440 screen size, a Facebook banner, and also an increased resolution for iPad – bumped up to suit their swanky new retina display…. so now you’ve got no excuses for not having a sexy Cohabitaire photo on your screen. They’re FREE too, so why wouldn’t ya?

SELECT YOUR SIZE…

27″ Widescreen 2056 x 1440 • Widescreen 1920 x 1200 • Standard 1024 x 768
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So I gave you a little sneak peak of our trip to the Maldives in last week’s ‘Crazy in the coconut‘ post and didn’t want to be a tease, of course I was gonna show the rest! You can guess for yourself that it’s pretty close to paradise. Yep, story-book stuff, turquoise waters, white coral sand and endless days of heavenly humidity.

We landed here late in the night from Sri Lanka, meeting my Dad and brother & sister-in-law at the arrivals gate from Australia (love a good reunion!) and took a speedboat from Male for 40 mins north to our home at Coke’s Surf Camp in Thulusdhu for 10 days. I’ll never forget that trip as clouds billowed above, revealing a huge moon that danced and sparkled all over the midnight sea like a scene from a Disney movie. It truly was magical.

We spent our time doing, well, not much. Time has never ticked so deliciously slow! Besides soaking up the sunshine, swimming, yoga, reading, surfing and eating coconuts, we literally did nothing else. Absolute heaven.

Being one of the lowest lying places on earth, the Maldives has been high on my places to visit with rising sea levels from the effects of climate change taking hold. But I must admit I was surprised to realise that humans have already done a pretty good job of damaging this beautiful place – climate change or not. We swam sadly with a few plastic bag fish and Coke bottle floaters here and there. Being a tropical haven I naïvely didn’t expect what is usually so out-of-sight-out-of-mind, but like most places on earth it’s certainly not immune to human impact.

It had it’s fair share of destruction from the 2004 tsunami too with many lives lost and much of the coral yet to fully recover, though I hear that there are spots around the southern atolls that still have magnificent diving and reef life.

We stayed on a local island that, as the guesthouse name suggests, has a Coca-Cola factory on it. True, it employs many locals in the area and contributes to the local economy, but there’s no denying that this company has a lot to answer for the amount of rubbish around the globe. Anyway, enough of my ranting. Don’t get me wrong, The Maldives are certainly idyllic, but like many holiday destinations there are parts that have been terribly exploited, whole pieces of atoll swallowed by resorts and the like. It’s the truth of too much tourism unfortunately. There’s much encouragement by local ambassadors for ecologically sustainability (See the Save the Maldives, The Island President documentary showing soon) so it’s a good reminder to be a responsible traveller, only use what you need and be mindful of your actions.

But please, don’t let my rants put you off – for every negative aspect there are a thousand positives. The local people being one – so gentle and kind, with nature really shining at her finest here. The atolls themselves are incredible, surfers have been flocking for some time to this place where the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Laccadive Sea meet. You really do feel in the middle of nowhere. So far from the rush of city life and daily stresses…. this kind of holiday is a definite a must on your calendar. Get close to nature and revive!

I was going to blog about something else today until I got hit in the face with this so felt I had no choice than to hit you with it too!

It’s the work of graphic designer Scott Hansen, known as ISO50, who creates this visual mastery for his music project – Tycho.

He’s got a gazillion facebook followers so I’m certainly not the first who’s has cottoned onto at how incredibly original this stuff is – can’t say I’ve ever seen anything like it. You?

I love the subdued, grainy hues that give a vintage, dreamy feel. He’s a photographer too. Yeah, I know… what a show off!

I’m listening to Tycho on soundcloud as I type and floating away in the subliminal atmospheric fluidity of it all (how’s that for descriptive!? I sound like a wanker, don’t I?!).

Highly recommend a listen and get as blown away as I have been this Friday morning. Carry that into your weekend…. have a lovely one.

Ingrid x

I ate so much coconut on holidays I swear I nearly turned into one. (ha! sorry, Dad joke) You could say I’m nuts for coconuts (sorry!). We were literally surrounded by them, and I don’t know if by some law of abundance, I just simply couldn’t get enough coco in my cookie.

Each morning in the Maldives we’d get the chef to put a few in the fridge, then in the peak heat of the day we’d go get a straw stuck in and drink it cold then crack it open, and with the help of a trusty pocket knife – dig in and devour the thick fleshy goodness. Oh yum, oh yum!

Sweet and spongey kind - someone tell me what kind this is?

I’m so pleased my infatuation is backed by the facts that coconut is indeed a superfood:

• It’s a complete meal – full of electrolytes, protein and medium chain fatty acids – easy for the body to break down.
• High in minerals such as calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, and zinc
• You absorb more moisture drinking coconut water than regular water
• It’s almost identical to human blood plasma – was used in transfusions during the Vietnam war . It literally saves lives people!
• Because of above point, it strengthens your immunity
• Contains an anti-aging plant hormone called cytokinins, good for hair & skin – keeps you healthy AND pretty.

Coconut make you stwong!

It’s why you should cook with coconut oil and milk, why you should drink coconut water and why you should munch down that delicious flesh.

Choose a coconut by shaking and listening for a sloshing sound.
Sloshing = winner. No noise = weiner.

As soon as I got home I was dying to make my own Coconut Chilli Sambal, otherwise known as superlicous taste explosion! In Sri Lanka this was served as a side dish that you’d top pretty much everything with. Incredibly delicious with our morning egg hoppas.

Combine:

1 cup shredded coconut
As much as you can handle fresh crushed chilli
Juice of 1 lime
Season with rock salt + cracked black pepper

Yep, that’s it.

Throw over curry dishes, fish, eggs, vegetables, anything you wanna give a hot/creamy kick.

Sri Lanka really was a land of stellar sunsets and sunrises, tropicana coast lined with palm tree silhouettes…. pretty much all my favourite things in one place.

Our trip started on the western shores of Negombo, snaking our way down the subliminal south coast for the most chilled out week of sunshine and surf before looping back through the tea leaved Hill Country… and all the way along the sun was showing off every moment it was shining it’s pretty face.

As the cold sets into Sydney – these images are giving me so much comfort right now! Paradise does indeed exist!

xxx

Kandalama Hotel, Sigiriya, Sri Lanka

I was first given a tip off about Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa by a great couple we met at a wedding the week before my trip. They had just returned from Sri Lanka and India and had a tonne of brilliant info of where to stay, do and see. Don’t you just love a good coincidence?

Bawa carved a name for himself as the father of what is now known as ‘tropical modernism’, with a reputation throughout Asia for his large scale architecture, hotels, universities and residencies that blend with the environment, embracing the tropical climate and drawing inspiration from their surrounding landscape.

“Bawa’s work is characterised by a sensitivity to site and context. He produced “sustainable architecture” long before the term was coined. His designs broke down the barriers between inside and outside, between interior design and landscape architecture and reduced buildings to a series of scenographically conceived spaces separated by courtyards and gardens.” – Geoffrey Bawa Trust

Lunuganga, Bentota

During his career, Bawa also designed a few residencies, one of which we were lucky enough to stay at in Colombo. I nearly fell off the chair at the internet cafe to hit the ‘book now’ button for De Fonseka Place Guest House, one of the of the first residential buildings ever designed by Geoffrey Bawa in the 1960′s.

De Fonseka Place Guest House is the home Ianthe Wijewardene grew up in before her father’s expatriate work took her family to the UK. After raising her own kids in London, Ianthe returned to her father’s home in Colombo with her husband late last year and had the brilliant idea of turning the spare rooms into guest quarters. I’m so glad they did because it really was one of the holiday highlights (and I’m sure others are too because it’s on top of Trip Advisor).

I was so taken with the dark timber detailing and exaggerated eaves seen so much on traditional Sri Lankan homes, the cool polished concrete floors, the strong coconut palm pillars and the crisp tropical gardens complete with roaming tortoises (one of them is 22 years old!) and a Mango tree (I couldn’t stop humming the Angus & Julia Stone song the whole time I was there). Not to mention the incredible breakfast (so many recipes to share soon!). To me though, it was also the stylish selection of furnishings and worldly artworks that really complimented the design perfectly.

So smitten we were with Bawa’s works, we sought out one of Colombo’s ritziest restaurants, The Gallery Café on Paradise Road for a fancy-last-night-in-Sri Lanka-dinner (3 courses, $30 each!) which also happens to be the former studio office of Bawa in Colombo.

I’ve been getting asked what my favourite thing about India was, and though it sounds cliché – it really was the people.

I don’t know if it’s the sheer population that makes for so much human interaction, but there’s such a sense of openness and heart that just floors you completely.

No-one was afraid to look you in the eye or greet you passing in the street… it really caught me off guard at first, it’s such a rare experience these days.

It was a photographers paradise having so many keen characters to pose for their portrait. You wouldn’t guess from looking here that most people had big cheesy grins before the shot was taken, but the lens pointing at them seemed to be the cue to pull a deadpan blue steel. Ha! I never grew tired of it, nor of them rushing to my side to see the results and approve with a trademark head wobble and a sheepish grin.

We came across a village on a walk one day where these kids were literally falling over each other be in a photo with so much energy and innocence. You couldn’t help but get caught up playing and laughing along. I just loved it!

Why hello there my friends… and how the hell are ya?!!! What’s been going on?

Me? I’m just great thanks! Super relaxed and ready for the next adventure after spending the past couple of months ticking a few boxes:
- Complete 500 hour yoga teacher training in India – tick!
- Eat amazing spicy food in Sri Lanka – tick!
- See the Maldives before rising sea levels swallow them whole – tick!

Thought I’d kick off my return with one of the biggest ticks, the big kahuna: The TAJ! It really was so incredible to see it up close with all it’s nature inspired elements of design and the surrounding manicured gardens of this grand Indian icon.

A giant tomb it may well be, but after a few weeks living in dust with not a blade of grass in sight the Taj Mahal sure was an oasis in the desert… there may or may not have been some tree hugging going down. The building itself is nothing short of magnificent – just the scale of the thing and such intricate detail in the stone and mosaic work. I’ll never forget that day.

Over the next few weeks I’ll share some more about my travels: this week it’s all India, next week everyone’s favourite land of tea, Sri Lanka, and after that it’ll be the idyllic atolls of the Maldives… as much for my own nostalgic whims as to get you inspired – so stay tuned for all of that!

It’s so nice to be home and back here to share some inspiration with you here on Cohabitaire. Hope you’ve been keeping happy & well.

Hare, hare!
Ingrid.

It’s been a long time coming, but like most things on the horizon – it was here before I knew it. That’s right, this moment right now. And this one…. and this.

I spent this morning breathing in a brilliant sunrise across the ocean towards Bondi, feeling a calm contentment just being there and ready for the journey ahead. For me this day is full excitement, sadness, fear and happiness all at once as I bid farewell to my husband and my home and head to India for my level 2 Yoga Teacher Training (see level 1 adventures here).

While I stretched in the sunrise, unbeknownst to me, a lovely blogger called Robyn took some amazing shots of colour and little me (see above) and was sweet enough to say hi and get my details to send them through – and by the time I got home, she had blogged about it. You can see it really was the most incredible morning. Thanks for sharing the love, Robyn!

I have no doubt the next few months will be full of amazing experiences and, though it’ll be hard to be far away, I’ll be doing my best to enjoy exactly what’s happening right then and there and not wish the time away. There’s so much to look forward to, I feel so incredibly lucky, but in the end nothing can make you happier than the present.

So as I take a break from city life, it’s time for Cohabitaire to take a little break too. You might have noticed things have been a bit thin around here lately, but never fear, when I return in a couple of months Cohabitaire will be back in full swing, bigger and better than ever.

Ingrid x

I’m a huge fan of Eoin Finn and have been for some time now. It all started with the Pursuit of Happy Hips – a home practice yoga DVD that I got for Christmas one year that led me to find out more about Eoin, the Blissology project, his love for the environment and his incredible style of teaching. He’s truly an inspiring spirit.

So, You can understand my profound disappointment when I found out he’ll be teaching a yoga masterclass workshop at BodyMindLife in Sydney when I’m away…. yep, devastated! I nearly changed my travel plans when I discovered the dates clashed - but alas I’m being called elsewhere – so please, promise you’ll go along and tell me all about it?

What makes Eoin so brilliant is the inspiring values he believes can change the world: taking a step back from our economic driven lifestyles to reconnect with nature and the people in the world around us to return ourselves, and the planet, to a state of bliss…. his Hammock Enlightenment theory captures this beautifully.

“We wanna make the world a better place,
by slowing down our frenetic pace.
By doing so we make a space,
to open up to love and grace.”
- the Hammock Enlightenment Mantra, Eoin Finn

Take a look at Eoin’s TED talk: