I am down to the last alphabet of my A-Z challenge and I can’t think of a place to take you to, whose name starts with Z! Zurich is a dim memory with no images to give it a boost. Zanzibar still a distant dream. So I decided to go calling on the God of […]
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On a peninsula gently cradled in the palms of the Mekong and the Nam Khan rivers, sits the picturesque royal city of Luang Prabang. And crowning it, like the mythical jewel on the forehead of a Naga, is the Wat Xieng Thong. A confluence of rivers is sacred to Asian communities. And that is the reason this auspicious spot was […]
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No words or images can do justice to the spectacular desert landscape of Wadi Rum, whose simple, large hearted nomadic inhabitants and their warm welcoming hearths moved us as deeply as the savage land itself. Traversing this surreal sea of sand and cliff was a near spiritual experience. Its vast stillness underlining the immensity of nature, and the insignificance of […]
Read MoreWe arrived late. And in the race up to the night festival and back, we left with little or no impression of this historic market town, in the heart of the larger Takayama city. On our return the next morning, after a night at an Onsen nearby, its medieval charm and picturesque setting, took us completely by surprise! Presiding over […]
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No temple festival in India is complete without a procession of the temple chariot around town. Like the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath in Puri for example…..that incidentally gave the English language the word ‘Juggernaut’! Originating in the early 17th century, as thanksgiving for a good harvest, and to mark the onset of winter, the Takayama Hachiman […]
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The barrio of San Telmo, named after the patron saint of seafarers San Pedro González Telmo, is where Buenos Aires began. Where the Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founded the first settlement in the 16th century, that grew into one of the most important cities in South America. When its wealthy residents fled North and East after an […]
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Whether it is a resurgence of indigenous identity or as in recent times, just political posturing by populist governments, a number of places from Peking to Pondicherry and Bombay to Burma, have undergone name changes in the past decade. Could I locate a renamed city among the photos in my archives for the story challenge: letter Q? It […]
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How to visit the dramatic Nabatean city of Petra, Jordan.
Read MoreGassho-Zukhuri means ‘Hands folded in prayer’ in reference to the roof of the distinctive thatched buildings in the Shirakawa-Go district. Ogimachi – a living, traditional Gassho village with 59 original Gassho-style houses – is one of three villages designated UNESCO heritage sites, .
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“Remember to bury these under the Sun Gate.” Frank, our guide, handed over a bunch of coca leaves…. “For luck.” I carefully tucked the leaves into my pocket before boarding our train to Aguas Calientes. Frank was going to await our return to the Sacred Valley, the next evening. We lucked out with front row […]
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If we had come here first, like everyone else looking to explore the romance of Rajputana, maybe, just maybe, we would have liked Jaipur better. But as it is, we came here from Jodhpur, and Udaipur before that, and we perceived a more jarring urban version of the famed Rajput culture and hospitality. We missed the […]
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This excerpt from the Book of Revelations, clearly cites what early Christians thought of the fabulous Altar of Zeus, on which Antipas was sentenced to death, when he refused to declare that the Roman emperor was “Lord and God.” “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘I know your works, and where you dwell…where […]
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The Urge To Wander 