Great Lakes Cruise Lets Passengers Become Scientists

A chilly breeze blowing across the Great Lakes separating the U.S. from Canada greeted passengers as they climbed to the top deck of the cruise ship. From the far end of the boat, three figures holding aloft an enormous helium-filled weather balloon began moving toward the gathering in an awkward six-legged parade. Expedition cruises featuring adventurous activities and exotic destinations, such as the Antarctic and the Galapagos Islands, are increasingly popular with families desiring a learning experience. The Viking Octantis, a 380-passenger vessel built to be part cruise ship and part scientific research platform, includes a laboratory and its very own submarines. The goal, says a marine scientist on the Viking staff, “is to do rigorous science that will be credible in academia and allow guests to participate.”

Lan Ha and Friend Cropped

The Áo Dài’s Flowing Elegance Mirrors Vietnamese Femininity

What images come to mind when you think of Vietnam? A peasant in the conical nón lá hat, harvesting rice from the fields? Colorful lanterns dancing from the masts of river boats or the corrugated eaves of Taoist temples in ancient Hoi An? Perhaps you dream of karst peaks that erupt from the placid waters of deep-blue Ha Long Bay?
All are part of the visual culture of the country I now call home. But I believe nothing says “Vietnam” more than the áo dài. The sleek silk gown is as much a statement of Vietnamese fashion and femininity as is the kimono in Japan, the sari in India or the cheongsam in China. At once draping and clinging, accenting the Asian woman’s natural curves, the áo dài teases with restraint and decorum, promising nothing but implying everything. As worn by Vietnamese women, who learn to walk gracefully at a young age, it is at once marvelously modest yet incredibly provocative. A man who isn’t stirred is either dead or recently divorced.

Life and Death Under the Volcano for the Bali Aga

North of the market town of Ubud, Bali’s tourist resorts and handicraft markets give way to small villages like Trunyan, pop. 300, that belong to a mountain people called the Bali Aga. Unlike Balinese Hindus elsewhere, the Bali Aga do not memorialize the dead with elaborate cremations. Instead, they place their deceased kinsmen beneath a large tree and let nature reclaim the bodies. In my imagination, Trunyan seemed both dreadful and exotic at the same time.

New Zealand’s Maori of Ohinemutu Offer Visitors Hot Tea and Ears of Corn 

Many Western texts say Dutch East India Company explorer Abel Tasman discovered New Zealand in 1642. In fact, the islands’ first inhabitants were Polynesian Maori who arrived in successive waves 300 years before. Today the Maori comprise about 850,000 of New Zealand’s population of just over five million. About 86% live on the north island in places like Ohinemutu, a colorful neighborhood adjacent to the popular resort town of Rotorua.

Shanghai – Head of the Dragon

By David DeVoss When California architect Robert Steinberg opened an office in Shanghai twelve years ago, he felt as if he had arrived at the leading edge of the Chinese Century. Unlike America, where architects were being laid off and signature buildings scaled back, the biggest city in the world’s most populous country was developing…

Daughter of Burma discovers her past amid the Buddhist charms of Modern Myanmar

For the Burmese, the Irrawaddy River is a laundry, bath, source of food, and major transportation route. Like the Salween and the Chindwin rivers, it starts high in the mountains, meandering south through teak and mahogany forests, and around mines producing jade, sapphires and world famous ‘pigeon’s blood’ rubies. In terms of per capita income, Myanmar is the poorest country in Southeast Asia, but its population supports – and daily feeds – more than half a million Buddhist monks as well as nearly 100,000 nuns. The majority of males in the country spend some time in a Buddhist monastery, often starting as young as age six.