My love affair with Finland began the moment I stepped off the Finnair plane. My ancestry is Norwegian and I guess something primal in my Viking genes bonds me in kindred spirit with this unique Nordic land. Having toured over a hundred countries, this is virgin territory for me and what an utterly cool place to visit in January. I've packed enough thermal gear to survive the most brutal blizzards but on arrival in Helsinki today, there is no … [Read more...]
Australia Zoo, Crocodile Hunter AU – September 2006
Australia Zoo Crocodile Hunter - When visiting Brisbane be sure to take a day trip to visit the great Australian Zoo that was run by famed Australian Steve Irwin, otherwise known as the Crocodile Hunter. This is a large wild animal park with excellent exhibits on Australian and International species. Not to be missed is the 5000 seat Crocoseum where wildlife shows are regularly given. The most popular show is the action packed Crocodile … [Read more...]
The Skyclad Jain Monks in Kundalpur
During our four months trip in India this year, my husband and I stopped in Khajuraho to visit the Erotic Temples. There, we heard of a small village Kundalpur, where hundreds of Jain Monks will gather in a two-day festival to celebrate fifty women becoming Jain mothers. We left Khajuraho together with a local Jain couple and their family car for Kundalpur to take part in the festival. Kundalpur turned out to be a very enriching and deeply … [Read more...]
A Brush with Africa
But it took more than two decades in England, a self-confessed dull career in manufacturing, before these youthful experiences found expression in a style of art that has captured the very essence of Africa. What strikes you first about Simon's paintings is the extraordinary colour: an earthy yellow that manages to be both intense and transparently delicate. This is the colour of Africa and Simon achieved it in an accidental and unorthodox way. … [Read more...]
BBQ Goat in Oaxaca: The Pomp, Ceremony and Tradition
Some say it's one of the oldest professions in Oaxaca, yet it garners little if any respect from most of the population notwithstanding the tradition and ceremony that has been its trademark for generations: the chivero, or slayer and preparer of goat, and its barbequing Some say it's one of the oldest professions in Oaxaca, yet it garners little if any respect in a clay, in-ground oven. There are a number of caprine cattle that are cooked in … [Read more...]
Walking with Ghosts
Hurricane Katrina had no favorites. She picked equally on the weak and the strong, black and white. She stomped on the rich and the poor and she stopped life in its tracks. Imagine life with all your possessions in the front yard or in the gutters. Worse yet, imagine you have no possessions, no house. Imagine searching for your friends, your family or your pet weeks after they disappeared. Yes, just imagine! This is the reality for thousands … [Read more...]
Los Angeles, CA – California Missions
California has a total of 21 Missions running from San Diego to Sonoma ranging in date of founding from 1769 until 1823. The intent with each mission location was historically to place each one approximately a days journey between each other. Greater Los Angeles and Orange County have three representatives of these, Mission San Juan Capistrano, Mission San Gabriel Archangel (the closest mission to downtown Los Angeles) and Mission San Fernando … [Read more...]
Los Angeles, CA – Chinatown
Chinatown is located just north west of downtown Los Angeles - take the Hill Street exit off of the 110 Freeway - across from Elysian Park. Chinatown is in the "backyard" of downtown Los Angeles and is easily within driving distance. Just take Hill Street and you will end up in downtown. The present location has not always been Chinatown's historical location. The current location along Hill and Broadway Streets used to be little Italy and … [Read more...]
The Kingdom of the Atlas Mountains
Dear Friends, I got bitten by the travel bug again, after more than eight months of staying put around my home base of Orange County, California. I gave South America some serious consideration, especially now that it is summer in the more southern and chilly parts of the continent. But for various reasons, the most important of which is the chance to meet up with my brother Abdul, I settled on Africa. He is roaming around South Africa now … [Read more...]
India: Sixty million villages and still counting
How on earth do you cover one billion people and more than five thousand years of history in one short article? I am afraid I won't be able to answer that question in regard to writing something about India. I can do no more than give you my week's worth of roaming about in northern India, a country which I found as diverse as it is huge and old. Just to get primed for the speed at which life proceeds in much of this country, our train to … [Read more...]
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