Dust rising from a barren track which wound its way through cacti ravaged hills of rock and dry soil; setting off for Amed on the coastal road from Ujung was more reminiscent of T.S Elliot’s Wasteland than the images of lush green paddies for which the island is better known.
Stepping out of Auckland’s modern airport, it did not take long to see that sailing is this city’s great passion. A large canvas sail was emblazoned with the sign “City of Sails”, and two yachts were mounted on top of the awning that faced the other side of the approach road.
Peanuts are important to everyday cooking in most regions of Indonesia. Sometimes the small nuts are boiled in sufficient water to enrich the stock of a vegetable soup like the famous tamarind or sour-fruit flavoured soup called Sayur Asam. The still-crunchy texture and the nutty taste make an interesting combination with the vegetables.
It seemed like a good idea at the time: hiking 70 kilometres down a mountain.
It was after five o’clock-rather late for new arrivals-and I was the only visitor aboard the cable car. Slowly the car bobbed and swayed its way out of the station and into space, suspended between a cliff face and an awesome [...]
Will these wooden busts, so vulnerable to decay, soon be nothing but museum exhibits? Probably not. Steps have been taken to safeguard the last representatives of this applied art form of Holland.
Tombstone, Arizona, is often remembered as the wildest town in the old west. The place where the Earps (Wyatt, Morgan and Virgil) and Doc Holliday gunned down their enemies at the OK Corral and where around 100 people were murdered between 1879-84, the years Boot Hill Cemetery operated.
Opera music blares in the dusty atelier filled with images of lusty nudes. Antonio Blanco loves Jose Carreras almost as much as he adores the perfect shape of beautiful Balinese women. Moving through his studio with the graceful ease of a ballet dancer, Blanco, even at 68, acts like a star.
Some people say he’s mad, [...]
Local festivals survive in Japan as a reminder of the country’s relatively recent rural heritage.
DVT or Deep Vein Thrombosis is a very rare condition, also known as Economy Class Syndrome. Anyone who sits motionless for a long time may develop stagnation of body fluids, which can cause small clumps of clotted blood in the lower legs. If the legs are not exercised these clots can grow and later cause more serious conditions. To reduce the risk of DVT we recommend you try some of the subtle aerobic exercises as described above while in your seat. Also drink plenty of water and move about the cabin, when possible.
You don’t have to go to the ends of the earth to find adventure. Sometimes it’s right in your own backyard. For the recently-proclaimed province of Banten on the western tip of Jave, this is certainly true. Banten is perhaps the country’s most surprising province. So close to the capital Jakarta, (Soekarno Hatta international airport actually falls within its boundaries) it is home to…if you’ll pardon the cliche, a “treasure trove” of attraction for visitors.
