I went to Japan some 40 years ago to write travel articles but ended up staying a couple of years, first as editor of a travel magazine published in Tokyo and then to write the first of several guidebooks on Japan. My Frommer’s Japan guidebook alone ran more than 600 pages and covered about 65…
Perched at the edge of a precipitate drop, my first thought would NOT be, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to dive off here?’ But, in Queenstown, New Zealand thousands of tourists don’t agree. The logo of AJ Hackett, the first commercial bungee jumping facility in the world, is Live More, Fear Less, and visitors have taken…
By Richard Varr I’m crawling on my hands and knees in the cramped and low-ceiling belly of the HMB Endeavour to reach the so-called Great Cabin at the ship’s stern. Imagine calling the 18th century brigantine home for just over three years with one of the few creature comforts being drop-down hammocks swaying at the…
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. It incorporates more than 400 types of coral and is home to thousands of sea creatures. A Matisse paint box gone mad, among the profusion of yellow sponges and swaying green sea grass are splashes of pink, red and purple. Small schools of blue tang and pink-hued parrot fish dart about. But large stretches of this coral are white, the bleached skeletal remains of a once vital organism.
By Charles Cecil I remember the first time I ever entered a mosque. It was in the early 1960s. Columns decorated with colorful tiles depicting floral designs supported arches bordered with bands of floral decoration. I was transfixed by the sight as my shoeless feet sunk gently into a plush carpet covered with geometric patterns.…
By David DeVoss For the better part of three years Macau slumbered, its public squares subdued, its major shopping streets shuttered. On two occasions the entire city locked down on orders from Beijing. For a city of 713,000 that makes all its money selling the luck of the draw, the consequences of reduced tourism were…
A chilly breeze blowing across the Great Lakes separating the U.S. from Canada greeted passengers as they climbed to the top deck of the cruise ship. From the far end of the boat, three figures holding aloft an enormous helium-filled weather balloon began moving toward the gathering in an awkward six-legged parade. Expedition cruises featuring adventurous activities and exotic destinations, such as the Antarctic and the Galapagos Islands, are increasingly popular with families desiring a learning experience. The Viking Octantis, a 380-passenger vessel built to be part cruise ship and part scientific research platform, includes a laboratory and its very own submarines. The goal, says a marine scientist on the Viking staff, “is to do rigorous science that will be credible in academia and allow guests to participate.”
By John Gottberg Anderson I had crocodile for dinner the other night. Not the whole thing, of course. Even a relatively small adult croc could feed a Cambodian village for a week. But fileted and stir-fried with aromatic lemongrass, onions, garlic and spicy red chilies — served with steamed white rice and a cold beer…
By Tom Adkinson Ancient Babylonians and Greeks peered into a dark night sky and started naming constellations. Copernicus observed enough in cloudless night skies to move Earth from the center of the universe to its rightful place orbiting the Sun. Slaves on the Underground Railroad depended on the North Star Polaris to guide them to…
What images come to mind when you think of Vietnam? A peasant in the conical nón lá hat, harvesting rice from the fields? Colorful lanterns dancing from the masts of river boats or the corrugated eaves of Taoist temples in ancient Hoi An? Perhaps you dream of karst peaks that erupt from the placid waters of deep-blue Ha Long Bay?
All are part of the visual culture of the country I now call home. But I believe nothing says “Vietnam” more than the áo dài. The sleek silk gown is as much a statement of Vietnamese fashion and femininity as is the kimono in Japan, the sari in India or the cheongsam in China. At once draping and clinging, accenting the Asian woman’s natural curves, the áo dài teases with restraint and decorum, promising nothing but implying everything. As worn by Vietnamese women, who learn to walk gracefully at a young age, it is at once marvelously modest yet incredibly provocative. A man who isn’t stirred is either dead or recently divorced.