ARCHIVES: ASIA

BOROBUDUR: Java, Indonesia
Turning the corner, I found myself on the main path that led straight up to the front of the temple. It was massive, like a layered pyramid of dark grey stone rising out of the dirt. I picked up my pace to get to there quickly until I realized that I didn't need to rush the moment. I just stopped and stared in wonder.

FOODIE HEAVEN: Welcome to Penang, Malaysia
In Penang, Malaysia, the Jalan Sungai Pinang is a street crowded with food stalls, and frequented nightly by local Penangites who come to taste their rich treats. Some of the richest gastronomic experiences can be had in the markets of Penang. Street vendors at these markets prepare hot dishes with fresh ingredients right before your eyes.

AN OKINAWAN BULLFIGHT: Uruma Okinawa, Japan
Bullfighting is a traditional Sunday pastime in Okinawa and earliest records show it has been a spectator sport since at least the 17th century. Unlike bullfighting in Spanish speaking cultures, there is no Matador to face the bull; it is one bull challenging another and neither will be seriously injured or die in the event.

THE STONE-SHAPERS OF MAHABALIPURAM: Tamil Nadu, India
Mamallapuram is all about sculpture, old and new; history and mythology as is the old bespectacled guide in a crisp white veshti, who has been standing at the very spot at the gateway of the town for the past 31 years, heralding tourists with his trademark “I can show you Mamallapuram. Want a guide?

SAVORING COOKING EXPERIENCES IN ASIA: The Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand
I love serving my dinner guests Phad Thai and having them ask, “Where did you learn to make this?” I enjoy their surprised looks when I reply, “At the Peninsula Hotel in Bangkok. And, how do you like the lemongrass drink? I learned to make it at the Governor’s Residence in Myanmar.

CONTRASTING INDIA: Delhi/Ladakh, India
As our jeep drove on through the Ladakh district of India in the Western Himalayas, under the watchful eye of this bright afternoon sun, mud houses seemed to emerge from the desert. Then we see ahead the magnificent Tikse monastery which swells to its dazzling proportions, leaving us in awe.

THE FORT OF KUMBHALGARH: Rajasthan
We can scarcely believe that we are in the heart of the Indian desert – Rajasthan. It is so green and lush, the roads lined with sugarcane fields. Even the approaching mountains appear green all over. Our driver tells us that this is the only fertile area of Rajasthan, and this year the rains have been plentiful. “You are lucky to see this face of this state!” he exclaims.

AMONG THE LIONS: Gir, India
Sasan Gir, land of the wild and the free, the savage and the beautiful, where endless dry and arid grasslands are rife with game. Lions prowl there, magnificent lions with imposing manes. A stunning variety of some of the magnificent specimens of wildlife found anywhere else on earth are here in Sasan Gir.

HORSEBACK IN TIBET: Tibet, Asia
The romantic notion of galloping across the Tibetan grasslands on horseback has me lost in a reverie. According to the locals, Serchul County has the five “mosts” in the Ganzi prefecture. It is the highest (4000 metres above sea level), the farthest, the biggest, the coldest, and the poorest. It's subtle charm then is its rawness, its simplicity and its vastness.

CELEBRATING CHINESE NEW YEAR: Hong Kong
I was fortunate to be in Hong Kong during Chinese New Year. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn as much as we could about the traditional celebrations. From our Western viewpoint, Chinese New Year is like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year celebrations all rolled into one.

TIBETAN MAGIC: Mcleod Ganj, Upper Dharamshala

Serene and sunny, this seems like a great day to explore this little Tibetan settlement, which is often known as Little Lasha. Located in Upper Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh), Mcleod Ganj is the home of his Holiness the Dalai Lama and the head quarters of the Tibetan Government in Exile. Home for several Tibetan refugees, this mountain village is packed with compact houses, shops and monasteries.

CELEBRATING CHINESE NEW YEAR: Hong Kong
I was fortunate to be in Hong Kong during Chinese New Year. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn as much as we could about the traditional celebrations. From our Western viewpoint, Chinese New Year is like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year celebrations all rolled into one.

WHAT TO SEE, WHERE TO GO, WHAT TO DO: Beijing, China
If you’re headed there for either business or pleasure, you’re in for an unforgettable journey into the history and culture of a 5,000 year old civilization. China’s capital city is packed with magnificent historical sites and out of the way alleyways teeming with life, just waiting to be discovered.

GENOCIDE AND GRAFFITI - REMEMBERING CAMBODIA'S WAR TORN PAST: Cambodia
During the three years, eight months, and twenty-one days that the Khmer Rouge were in power, an estimated two million Cambodians lost their lives from starvation, overwork or execution. Twenty thousand of those were caged within these institutional walls, the school that came to be known as Tuol Sleng, or Security Prison 21.

THE ASTOUNDING TEMPLES AND TREES OF ANGKOR: Cambodia
The full moon hangs low. Voluminous clouds shroud us in darkness as we ride toward Cambodia’s ancient Angkor temples, and the world’s largest religious monument. The open sides of the tuk-tuk (essentially a motorcycle pulling a covered cart, in which my girlfriend Jen and I sit) allow us to breathe in the cool, tropical air, a far cry from the stifling midday heat.

DILAPIDATED GLORY OF AN ANCIENT PORT: Kodangallur, India
I am in Kerala, the southern coast of India, at a port called Kodangallur. The Brits in their 150 years of colonial dominance here till 1947, couldn't pronounce Kodangallur and came as close to the name as their thick tongues would allow by calling it Cranganore. Apostle Thomas had landed at Kodangallur in 52 A.D., soon after the death of Christ.

ANGKOR AND BEYOND: Northeast Thailand
The thrill of hearing your trowel “clink” on an artifact or part of skeletal remains that nobody has seen for over 3000 years is shared by all of us who are volunteers. In addition to digging, we take turns reconstructing ancient pottery (similar to assembling a three-dimensional jig saw puzzle) and sorting other finds such as jewelry and tools.

MUSIC WITHOUT BORDERS - THE RAINFOREST WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL: Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo
The 10th Anniversary of the annual, three-day Rainforest World Music Festival was held in mid July 2007 in the Sarawak Cultural Village in Santubong, 45 minutes drive outside of Kuching, Sarawak on the northwest coast of the island of Borneo.

ART IN A TROPICAL GARDEN: Rimbun Dahan, Malaysia
Tucked away on an small acreage just outside of Kuala Lumpur, a Malaysian architect, Hijjas Kasturi and his Australian wife, Angela, have developed a lush garden paradise retreat for artists and writers.

HIKING HALLASAN IN THE SNOW: Mount Halla, South Korea
At the foot of Mount Halla, my girlfriend Jen and I stop and gape at the meter of snow clogging the trailhead. Our guidebook clearly specified: no special equipment required. From a distance, the only visible snow lies atop Hallasan’s trapezoidal summit, like a white fin on a surfacing whale.

THE HEAVENLY GATES: Sapa, Vietnam
Jumping off the Victoria Express train in 5:00am fog at Loa Cai, a Vietnamese border town next to China, is not the most inviting start to the day, but I am here - determined to find the Heavenly Gates near the mountain-top town of Sapa.