Destinations

 DESTINATIONS

Comments

Post a Comment

NEW POSTS

The Banaue Rice Terraces: A Living Cultural Landscape

Image
My interest in exploring the northern part of the Philippines started from looking at a piece of art at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, California.   Among the display of ceramics and pottery engraved with gold and other decorative stuff,  a wooden carving of a male figure squatting on a platform with the lower arms on top of each other, resting upon his knees, caught my eye.  According to the docent, the wooden sculpture was called "Bului" which literally means "granary guardian" in the "Ifugao" tribe dialect. The carved wooden sculpture was set on a platform on top of another platform, a mortar.   Our docent explained the significance of the wooden mortar (which was used with the pestle, to separate the husk from the rice, sort of rice mill) and linked the story to the Rice Terraces in the Cordillera Mountains of the Philippines built 2000 years ago by the “Ifugao” tribe. So two years and three hundred kilometers north of Manila later, we explo...
Read more

Poland: The Wieliczka Salt Mine

Image
One of the most spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Sites I visited this year was the Wieliczka Salt Mine near Krakow, Poland. It was founded in the 13th century to mine the rich deposit of salt. Salt mining stopped in 1996 when the low price of salt on the world market made it too expensive to mine and the mine was slowly flooding. But miners did more than just extract salt. They left behind them a breathtaking record of their time underground in the shape of statues of mythical, historical and religious figures.  Part of the salt mine became an art gallery, chapels, cathedral, and underground lakes. Today, Wieliczka Salt Mine is one of the most visited National Monuments in Poland. For safety reason, less than one percent of the mine is open to visitors, but even that is almost four kilometers in length. There are 20 chambers to visit and 800 steps to climb of which 350 at the beginning take you down into the mine. You can’t just visit and wander around on your own. All of t...
Read more

Scenic Musandam, Oman

Image
Musandam is the Northernmost part of Oman that borders the straits of Hormuz, which is the entrance to the Arabian Gulf and one of the most important waterways in the world. At their narrowest, the straits are approximately 30 kilometers separating Oman and Iran. Most visitors arrive in Khasab, Musandam's capital city, by ferry from Muscat or by cruise ship. The Musandam Peninsula is a great place for nature lovers. You can take the traditional Omani Dhow boat and sail towards Masandam longest fjord with calm turquoise water that contrasts with the creamy white limestone cliffs and enjoy the breathtaking view of mountains rising from a distance or you can enjoy the same breathtaking scenery from the beach. Take a short trip from Khasab to Bhuka and experience one of the most dramatic coastal roads in Oman. It's pretty amazing. You will skirt through the narrow road between the mountains and the sea. Massive rock formations seemingly growing out of the waters with all sorts...
Read more