Not your average Mardi Gras. Malta’s pre-Lenten Carnival emphasizes history and culture over skin and pulchritude. But revelers dressed as Queen Victoria and her court have a grand time nonetheless. By Liz Campbell The music is upbeat; the busy streets are overflowing with garishly costumed revelers. Nearby, a giant Sean Connery is playing the bagpipes,…
Silk vendor at D. Popli & Sons in Mumbai displays high-quality yet reasonably priced silk. Photo by Jacqueline Swartz By Jacqueline Swartz Mumbai, the city formerly known as Bombay, is the marketplace of India — its jewelry, textiles, handicrafts, furniture and leather goods come from all over India and around the world. This is India’s…
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.
Tourists landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport too often are focused on starting their safaris in Kenya, and seldom take the time to see what Nairobi has to offer. The country’s capital city, home to close to 5 million, is worth a week to explore.
Driving slowly down the narrow road bordering the Kaziranga Wildlife Preserve in north eastern India, my guide promised me a rhino sighting early the following morning. Elephant, endangered Wild Buffalo and deer roam this area, 25 miles long and eight miles wide, marked by tall grasses, marshes and the mighty Brahmaputra river. But the prize sight is the rare Indian one-horned rhino, brought back from near extinction in the last century.
Are you ready to travel after months of confinement and looking for a great alternative to the traditional branded, cookie-cutter hotel? Well, you’re in luck. More and more hotels are announcing their presence with their own distinct architecture, personality and design. The availability of lodgings listed below depend on local public health ordinances, so plan now but don’t expect your reservation to be confirmed for at least another month.
No matter where you live chances are you want to get out of the house and see some place new. Problem is that, though stay-at-home orders stemming from the Coronavirus are being relaxed, the definition of social distancing remains imprecise.
By Susan McKee Roman ruins surrounded me as I stood, looking out at the clear blue expanse of the Mediterranean. Yet, I wasn’t anywhere near Rome. I wasn’t even on Italian soil. I was on the south coast of the sea – the north coast of Africa — standing amid the remains of an enormous…
Baden-Baden, the idyllic spa town at the foot of Germany’s Black Forest, draws spa-goers to its thermal waters and wine enthusiasts to its nearby vineyards. Walkers stroll the flower-dotted paths and hikers can trek up hills or attempt to summit the 2,191-ft Merkur Mountain.
The Romans discovered the thermal waters 2,000 years ago, as
Freelance members of the Society of American Travel Writers interested in agritourism in the Tohoku region north of Tokyo sample traditional Japanese cuisine and locally produced wine at a rustic restaurant outside the city of Sendai By Jacqueline Swartz “You have the best job in the world,” remarked a person I was introduced to at…