Vertigo
ˈvəːtɪɡəʊ/
Noun
1. a sensation of whirling and loss of balance, associated particularly with looking down from a great height.

Some people absolutely hate looking down from high rise buildings, vertigo or no vertigo. But for me, whether I'm looking up from the bottom of a building, or looking down at the tiny moving cars and humans from the top of it, I'm in my happy place. Apart from the impressive skill and architecture, labour and project management involved in getting one of these up and standing, they do feature as statement pieces for numerous cities.

Some more well-known than others, here are a number of buildings that I would recommend visiting in different cities, especially for the view from the top (or bottom). Having lived in London in my 20’s, many of the high rises I have mentioned are in London, but I still have my eyes on others around the world. 

Eiffel Tower is a weird metal tower that has been around for over 130 years, acting as a symbol for Paris for tourists around the world. Built to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution, it’s the same height as a 81 storey building, although technically it only has 3 floors. I have never dared to take the 704 stairs to the second floor, but it’s equally nice to use the elevator just to save time and tick it off your bucket list (More time for wine… and raclette).

Height: 300m
Floors: 3
Claim to fame: marks the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution
Since: 1887

The Heron Tower a.k.a. 110 Bishopsgate is the third tallest building London and United Kingdom. To be honest, I didn’t (and sometimes still don’t) know which tall building is called what. The giant circular ‘SUSHI SAMBA’ logo attracts passers-by, tempting them to look up and approach the security guards inside (do it!). I personally go there for Duck and Waffle (open 24/7) as they seem friendlier than Sushi Samba, with a ‘single-floor’ difference. I can only imaging watching the sun rise, one day, when I can find a way to wake up at 5:30am to travel into the City from Greater London… one day.

Height: 230m
Floors: 46
Claim to fame: Duck & Waffle (and the speedy lift 'ride')
Since: 2007

I feel like I should mention the Shard as it’s the tallest building in Western Europe. I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite, but it has become a bit like the ‘Eiffel tower’ for London, which can be spotted from miles away. And the reason for leaving the top incomplete? Apparently, it’s both a metaphor for a ‘constantly evolving London’ as well as letting any excess heat that rises to the top, out to the skies. I had a birthday meal at ‘Ting’ which was lovely, but not sure I have warmed to a ‘minimum spend’ policy for some of the other bars (Gong Bar) when we have so many other friendly skyscrapers nearby.
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Height: 309.6m
Floors: 95
Claim to fame: Western Europe's tallest building
Since: 2013

With its distinctive shape, St Mary’s Axe (The Gherkin) was built where the Baltic Exchange used to be, which was destroyed by a bomb in 1992.

On a happier note... there’s an awesome bakery at the bottom of the building (Konditor & Cook) as well as a few food stalls in the courtyard. One of the stalls had a loud, excitable Canadian man who made, what was in my mind, the best marshmallow brownie I have and probably will ever taste(d).
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As for the top of the building, there is also a big hole at the top of the ceiling (to let the heat out as well), with plenty of perspex glass around to make the London sunrise and sunsets look even more extraordinary. The restaurant at the top is quite expensive, but if you like the less-busy, isolated seating with a view and occasional live jazz music, it’s worth a visit.

Height: 180m
Floors: 41
Claim to fame: looks like a vegetable
Since: 2004

Despite Tower 42 being one of the oldest skyscrapers in the UK, if it wasn’t for the cocktail bar at the top of the building, I probably wouldn’t have gone inside the building. The first time we went there, two of my best friends from university and I went to the bar (Vertigo 42) for some birthday drinks. We ordered wine and some nuts, which as students, was still a bit on the steeper side (we probably ate toast and popcorn for the rest of the week).
There’s a Paul’s Bar (usually a French bakery) at the ground floor area, which is equally expensive, so you may as well reserve and go to the top.

Height: 183m
Floors: 42
Claim to fame: Vertigo 42
Since: 1941

The CN Tower is another weirdo like Eiffel Tower. It's a communications and observation tower made of concrete. It's got a new thing called 'Edge walk' which lets groups of six walk hands-free around CN Tower, the world’s highest full circle hands-free walk at 356m above the ground. But if you're squeamish at the thought of 'hanging out' like that, then you could just hang out in the 360 bar, where we sat and watched planes take off and land from an airstrip for God knows how long... 

Height: 553m
Floors: 144 
Claim to fame: it was the World's tallest free-standing structure for over 30 years until 2007.
Since: 1976 

This is the first name that used to come to mind if someone mentioned the word 'skyscraper', obviously when I was a lot younger. It was the tallest building in the world for almost 40 years after all. The museum inside the second highest floor is quite interesting, where you can see images of labourers who worked on the building for just over one year, in black and white images (yes, that old!). Being at the core of NYC, open 365 days a year, this trademark skyscraper doesn't sleep. In fact, it plays around in the night skyline with different colour schemes... whether it's the usual white, or in the American Flag's form. Such a moody building. You can see how it looks every week here. 

Height: 443m
Floors: 102
Claim to fame: tallest building in the world for almost 40 years and was built in 410 days!
Since: 1931

This one's a newbie, and you can tell! Built in 2001, it is the largest building in Southeast Asia, with 3.2 million square feet of floor area. State Tower is one of the tallest (and poshest) buildings in Thailand that conquers the Bangkok skyline in style. It's home to one of the best cocktail bars I have ever been to (Sky Bar, Lebua).

Live music, a chilled drink, 360 degree panoramic views of the city, good weather and you'll feel like you're 'on top of the world'. Don't forget to wear a shirt and jeans or trousers (guys) and ladies, nice sandals or shoes as opposed to flip flops (as tempting as it may be on your holiday). It's a bit of a 'fancy' place (but the service and everything else makes the effort totally worth it). 
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Height: 247m
Floors: 68
Claim to fame: Lebua (Rooftop bar) 
Since: 2001

​These towers are an icon for Kuala Lumpur. The Petronas Towers are inspired by the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia's (Tun Mahathir Mohamad's) vision for the country to be a global contender. It took seven years to build and involved daily transfers of over 500 trucks of material and digging 30 metres below ground level. It's mostly made of concrete but the steel and glass 'look' was intended to be a reflection of the country's Islamic art and religion. 
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Height: 452
Floors: 88
Claim to fame: tallest twin towers in the world.
Since: 2001

holiday
ˈhɒlɪdeɪ/
noun

1. an extended period of leisure and recreation, especially one spent away from home or in travelling.

Most of the holidays I have been on, whether it's in Europe, South America or Asia involve monuments, many of which are meant to have some form of religious and historical resemblance. Temples, Mosques or Mausoleums, Churches, Chapels or Cathedrals, these were built and in most cases remain as places to seek refuge, practice religion and faith, or just appreciate. 

I have tried to pick a few of the most memorable 'holy' places I have been to, using my Instagram photos.

This is the largest and most impressive temple I have been to, despite having to wake up at 3am for it. We dressed up in conservative clothes, covering our legs and arms and hopped on a mini bus to get to Angkor Wat (temple). The sunrise and the reflection of the whole temple on the still waters, were totally worth it. 

For some reason, I attract sales people. Even if they're kids. They (especially one little boy) were trying to sell me everything from magnets, bracelets, those elephant-print trousers (you know the ones I am talking about), postcards... upon dismissal, I was even called a 'bad person'. Ouch.

Anyway, once we escaped the little pests, the day got hotter and in over thirty degrees heat, we walked up way too many steps.
The tour guide rambled on for ages, like they always do, but we learnt how this Hindu temple in Cambodia, with all the carvings of 'God-Kings' and 'Apsaras' (beautiful Goddesses), was built by over 300,000 labourers and 6000 elephants, using 'holy' sandstone from the Phnom Kulen mountain, transported by rafts over the river*. And we thought our jobs were tough... 
No wonder it took forty years to build. 

*Source: Lonely Planet

I did no research on this temple beforehand, so I was absolutely amazed by it when we entered the gates. Wat Rong Khun was clearly a new-ish temple, with its modern vibes, created by a local Thai artist in 1996. 

I could see the intentionally dramatised contrast between 'heaven' and 'hell', carvings of skulls and hands in the 'bad' area and the dragons in the 'good' area. The colour white signifies the purity of the Buddha. 

The temple hasn't had much luck itself, surviving one earthquake and a lack of funding. It's still slowly, but surely, being rebuilt and expanded. 
Once you're near the temple, it's worth paying the local Akha hill tribe a visit (they have pretty long necks!) as well as the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai. ​

...it's still not complete (expected to in 2028). 

Before my first visit to Spain, anyone who has been to Barcelona wouldn't stop talking about [Antoni] Gaudí, the architect. One of his largest projects, Sagrada Familia was commenced in 1880s. This Basilica, also known as the 'Church of the Holy Family' is the largest Roman Catholic church in the world. 

They have their own blog here, which gives you real time updates on the construction, history and more. Personally, I thought the outside is much more impressive than the inside (in case you want to save the not-so-cheap entrance fee). 

I work 2 minutes away from this beautiful cathedral, and I consider myself lucky to be doing so. When I (accidentally) get to work a bit early, I usually take the longer route via St Paul's Cathedral just to 'say hi'. The city of London has made no mistake of hiding it's beauty either. No matter which angle you look at it from, it's perfect. ​It's dome gives the cityscape a bit more charm, sat amongst all the office blocks and skyscrapers. 

You can look at St Paul's from the terrace of One New Change (for free) or just off Paternoster Square, or from Millenium Bridge, or even from Bankside in lovely restaurants like the OXO Tower or the Tate Modern.

The cathedral itself goes back to the 17th century and was one of the biggest rebuilding projects after the Great Fire of London in 1666 and to add to that, it has a 'whispering gallery' inside. Pretty awesome. 

This Russian-style church built in 1893, a replacement of an older version from the 1400s, was a pleasant surprise in the middle of February, when it was freezing cold and raining on and off... We had been walking for a while, from old to new parts of Riga, across the bridges and river, when we saw the blue domes from a distance and decided to track it down. 

We didn't go inside, but the outside was nice enough.

We took an UBER ride from central Bangkok to get to Wat Arun, but it's not too far from Khao San Road (backpackers' hangout in Bangkok) and the Grand Palace. Wat Arun is another serene, intricately detailed Buddhist temple that shows it's symmetry all around it. It's a shame that we aren't allowed to climb the steps to the top, as I can imagine that the view would have been pretty awesome of the river and that side of Bangkok. 

We took a ferry across the Chao Phraya River, which cost us less than USD 5 and the entrance was equally cheap (compared to the Grand Palace which is around USD 25). Wat Arun is also known as the Temple of Dawn as the first light of the morning reflects off its white surface. This was certainly a less busy temple, compared to Wat Pho (the temple of the reclining Buddha).

We were hoping to bump into the Pope here... he must have been busy. 

You need almost half a day (at least) to see the Vatican City, the smallest 'country' in the world. It was wise of us (me) to book the entrance tickets for the Vatican Museum online, as we managed to skip the queues. The conservative dress code applies, and I was given a (very unattractive) disposable poncho to cover my shoulders. 

The inside and outside of the basilica were stunning and the museum was the most impressive I have seen. The only problem was the number of tourists in July... it felt like I was back into my morning commute in London. Apart from that, a must for all bucket lists.

My friend guilt-tripped me into going into this synagogue. I didn't really want to as I was running out of cash, but I am glad I did in the end. For around EUR 20 you can go to a number of museums and synagogues, most of which gave a lot of insight into Jewish history in the country. 

I was mostly impressed by the unusual decor inside the dark-coloured monument. This was my first visit to a religious monument of its kind and the pin drop silence inside made it even more of an experience. 

Looking at this Catholic church (San Francisco) in Miraflores, you wouldn't think that there were around 75,000 bodies buried under it, would you? 

From the outside, the church is pale yellow with local sales people trying to sell you paintings. The inside of the church is like a fairly standard, nice church, but visiting the Catacumbas (Catacombs) gave me the chills. It was quite unusual to see all the bones and skulls of humans organised neatly in sections of the types of bones.

​That must have been a fun job for some lucky people. 

One of the three Madrasah's in Registan of Samarkand, made me happy for three reasons: 
a) it kept me cool from the ridiculous heat outside
b) the insides were decorated with detailed gold-plated designs
​c) the outsides were decorated with numerous little ceramic tiles (mostly blue and white)

In a country that was ruled by Persians, Greeks, Turks, Mongols, Chinese and Russians, the old city of Samarkand is still famous mainly because of Registan, previously occupied by bustling markets and caravanserai (roadside inns). King Timur's presence was felt in every building we entered and the pride the locals take in the history and heritage of the sites, makes visitors respect them even more. 

This was quite a drive from Kuala Lumpur, especially with a driver who insisted on taking us to random shops on the way (for commission), but when you get there, the size of the Hindu idol marking the Batu Caves is unbelievable. 

I did find both the driver and the people at the entrance of the temple quite irritating as they tried to force us to see the fish pond (or something like that) at the bottom of the temple and almost made us buy a ticket for a good USD 10, or so. Why they thought I would see a fish pond instead of what was up there in the caves, is beyond me.
Basically, ignore these people and just walk up the 272 steps... for free! 

The monkeys will greet you on the way up, especially if you have visible food. I started with: "Ahh how cute!!" to "Get out of my way!" about half way up the steps. The caves are quite interesting, but the temples inside were a bit of a disappointment. Nothing special. However, the view from the top and the large sculpture, as well as the whole concept, was very special. 

Economics was one of my favourite subjects in high school and college, until I went to university. Clever people decided it would be fun to switch the Demand and Supply curves over, making me doubt what I had learnt so far in its entirety. I will therefore ignore the things that I never understood and stick to the simpler (and in my opinion, better) theories, whether these are applied to dating, making decisions, job searches or money and happiness.

Cities are full of time-poor, impatient, career-driven, social, independent people who go to the gym, drink protein shakes, do adventurous things like skydiving while traveling the world. Often this means that there is high demand for efficiency when it comes to 'finding love' in the limited amount of spare time that they may have remaining. And so, the online (or mobile) dating world was born and a large supply of apps and websites emerged to keep our thumbs and shallow brains occupied for hours of swiping. 

Since Match.com was introduced in the 1990s, a lot has changed. Tinder is obviously the most well-known of them all (I'm not sure if it still qualifies as a 'dating' app), but there's now a wide range of adaptations such as: Happn, Coffee meets Bagel, Bumble, the League, Hinge... I could fill this page with a list, but you get the picture. Since 2007, the online dating industry has boomed, whether it's because of changes in lifestyle, increased use of mobile, advancements of technology, transparency of the supply of men and women, or the inherent laziness of human beings. The effect? The value assigned to a 'date' is no longer what it used to be. ​

When I graduated, I went to over 60 interviews in 16 companies in the space of a couple of months. By the end of the process, I was close to borderline insanity, irritable, overly sensitive, and almost started smoking (I didn't, just in case my parents read this).

​On a more positive note, I realised how important it is to be clear on what you're good and bad at (your strengths and weaknesses), where you could improve your skills and knowledge (opportunities) and what could limit your personal growth (threats).

Create your own SWOT here (Credit: Jodie Shaw) 

For people living in poverty, who don't have enough money to feed their families or fix a leaking roof, or build a place to live in, money can buy happiness, as they can buy what they need to watch their families survive and grow (beginning of the diagram). 
At the age of 20, like many young girls, money bought me things that I had been eyeing up for a long time: an overpriced bag, expensive make up, shoes and clothes, all of which gave me a thrill of being able to spend money on things that I wanted. 
As years pass, the levels of excitement from new possessions have reached a plateau, where the law of diminishing returns kicks in (second half of the diagram). Don't get me wrong, I still love shopping, but more as a way to spend time, de-stress and gain temporary happiness. For instance, I would no longer apply for a job if it compromises on my 'free time' (going back to 'Opportunity cost'). 
​From personal experience, and after observing my parents who are impossible to buy presents for, I feel that over the long run, additional money (on top of what you need to survive), can buy more experiences, quality (over quantity), and can act as an enabler for happiness. For example, when my parents and brother bought me a laptop for my birthday, I was clearly happy. Not because I have a shiny new toy, but because I can spend more time writing (well, typing), which makes me happy.

This is my favourite one as it ties in various aspects of human behaviour such as trust, betrayal, decision-making, risk and opportunity costs. 
A quick recap, this is not really a theory, but more of a situation: 2 prisoners commit a crime and are locked up in separate cells. They are interrogated separately, and need to decide on whether they should confess to the crime, or stay quiet. In either situation, if their action doesn't match the other's, one or the other will end up with 10 years in prison, but there is the temptation of being able to be set free by confessing, in case the other doesn't. 
It raises the question of what you would do if you were in that situation... 
On a lighter note, this could also be applied to my favourite subject: dating apps. Most have been considerate enough to not let the other person know if you 'like' them (or swiped right), but some less considerate ones let the other person know that. There's therefore the risk (and utter shame and heartbreak) from a non-reciprocal swipe to the left. If you're in the dating scene for long enough, hopefully you'll stop caring, though. 

In summary, from personal experience, economics and psychology probably go hand in hand in many respects. These simple theories can give certain situations a 'name' or some structure that can help us get some clarity and perhaps some perspective. I'm sure there are many more applications, especially if you are one of those clever people who know more about the different Demand and Supply curves. Please do feel free to enlighten me (and others who feel my pain).