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Raleigh is often called the Smithsonian of the south, for good reason. The city has world class museums and the admission for a number of them is rather reasonable as in free! Downtown Raleigh is a city center easily made for walking and most of the major museums are easily within walking distance of each other. In addition, a free bus service runs daily (the R-Line). Three museums we visited… Read More
11th Century Bagan, land of a thousand ancient temples, lies northwest of capital city Yangon along the banks of the Irrawaddy River. The town is divided into three sections: Old Bagan, New Bagan and Nyaung U. The bulk of the temples and archaeological zone is situated in Old Bagan, as is the quiet, secluded Thiripyitsaya Sanctuary Resort. The resort is indeed a sanctuary, its riverside location and landscaped gardens a… Read More
Inle Lake is a magical place where villages and monasteries rise from the water amid floating gardens, hill tribes inhabit the shoreline, and the only way to get around is by longboat. These traditional wooden boats are plied by boatmen using a unique one-leg rowing technique to transport goods and passengers, fish and go to market, all with the green, cloud-covered mountains of southern Shan State rising around the lake’s… Read More
On my fifth visit to India, I finally made it to Darjeeling – a place I had wanted to go since my first trip five years ago. It takes dedication to get to the town in the Himalayan foothills, developed as a summer hill station during the British Raj and famous for its deliciously floral tea. After flying into Bagdogra, or taking a train to New Jalpaiguri station, you must… Read More
As Hanoi prepares to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of its founding, take a close look to four temples built to protect the city from all direction
1. East: Bach Ma Temple
The oldest of the four sacred sites is Bach ma (White Horse) Temple, located at 76 Hang Buom Street, Hanoi. Bach Ma Temple was built in the ninth century to worship Long Do (Dragon’s Belly) – a patron saint of Hanoi. Legend has it that Cao Bien, a Tang Dynasty official, try to use his magic power to overcome a deity, but lost. He is said to have built an altar to exorcise the spirit on this site
Seattle? Weird? The home of pocket protectors and black, horn rimmed glasses? Well, yes. Don’t forget this is the very same Seattle that produced Jimi Hendrix, the Grunge movement and Kurt Cobain. Sure, there are enough geeks to fill the busses every morning on the way to Redmond but there are still plenty of ex Hippies and apathetic, flannel clad guitar players to keep Seattle interesting. Welcome to Weird Seattle.
As you cruise up and down I-5 in Washington you may ask yourself, ‘what’s happening in Tacoma?’—the answer is a lot. No longer the ugly step child of Seattle, Tacoma has cleaned up its formally blemished downtown and has set itself up to be a true destination for Washington visitors and the place to start is the Museum District.
