Make sure bad luck isn't lingering in your future by celebrating the Japanese Setsubun Festival. Held on the first day of the spring season, it was once thought to be a New Year's Eve of sorts which no one wanted to start off on the wrong foot. Also called the "Mame maki", locals began to throw beans to drive away evil spirits or "Oni" thought to abound during a change in season. Despite being one of the lesser-known Japanese Festivals, people still celebrate it at shrines and at home as part of centuries of tradition. Every year during the Setsubun Festival, the head of the family "toshiotoko" dresses up like an evil spirit and positions himself on the front door of a house. Thereafter, the ...
It's summertime in the Mongolian steppe, and at such a northern latitude, we must wake early to beat the sunrise. Even in mid-July, the predawn air is crisp and cool in Mongolia's Hustai National Park, home of the last surviving wild ancestor to the domestic horse. We begin emerging from out traditional Mongolian gers, bleary eyed with cups of steaming milk tea in hand. As the horizon begins to brighten, we caravan out of camp on a jeep safari to spot the world's last wild horses. The takhi horse, native to the rolling green steppe of central Mongolia, went extinct in the wild in the 1960s. In 1992, the Mongolian Association for Conservation of Nature and the Environment and the Foundation Reserves for the Przewalski ...
When people talk about traveling to Japan, stories are often recalled of scarlet sunrises over Mount Fuji or Cherry Blossom filled picnics. A diverse country, Japan combines old and new, and once a year on the streets in Kawasaki, it even goes a little crazy during the Kanamara Matsuri Festival! The Kanamara Matsuri Festival, also known as the Pink Penis Parade or Festival of the Steel Phallus, is a yearly fertility festival held at the Kanamara Shrine in Kawasaki, Japan. The festival originated during the Edo period (1603 - 1867) when prostitutes used to pray for protection from STD's at the local penis-venerating shrine. Since its inception, Kanamara Matsuri has since evolved to promote fertility, harmonious marriages and even draw attention and fundraise ...
The Baalbek ruins located in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, are one of the most significant architectural wonders of the ancient world. This area in Lebanon could be likened to a cradle of life. Many of the world’s greatest civilizations thrived here including the Phoenicians and Romans. Baalbek is a great place to visit in Lebanon if you like puzzles from the past, as it's literally layer upon layer of ancient ruins. One of the most impressive places to visit in Baalbek is the Temple of Jupiter from1st century A.D. The Temple of Jupiter is one of those places that can shock and awe simply from its grand size and soaring columns, but is greater magnified when you realize that it was driven to such heights back ...
Japan is famous for preserving old and elaborate traditions, and passing them down to younger generations to experience and enjoy. Some traditions may appear completely nonsensical like the phalluses paraded around at Kanamara Matsuri, but most can be traced back to deep and committed beliefs, like the burning torches touted at the Oto Matsuri Festival. Every year in Shingu City in the Wakasa Prefecture, the Oto Matsuri Festival is celebrated at dusk. Signifying the close of winter, the celebration begins with a purifying meal of white coloured foods like tofu, fish, miso soup and rice. This theme continues through to the outfits of local "Noboriko", and tops off the visual ambiance of the Oto Matsuri Festival. Prior to the ceremony, Noboriko prepare by bathing ...
Mapping out the Himalayas has been historically recorded since people started climbing and undertaking expeditions to the Mt. Everest. However, only in 2008 did Robin Boustead successfully map out a feasible traverse on the Himalayas using GPS and the help of his wife and friends. This route is known as the Great Himalayan Trail and it is touted to be the ultimate goal of any mountain trekker. The Great Himalayan Trail is approximately 7800kms and is divided into 7 trails that may be explored individually. The Great Himalayan Trail, according to its pioneers, is more of a recommended trail rather than an actual, permanent one. Trails in the Himalayas change constantly and there are a lot of possible ones still waiting to be explored. The ...
When we talk about archaeological sites they are often shrouded in myth and legend, and perhaps nowhere else on earth do more of these tales originate from other than Greece. Greek ruins always make our top 10 lists because its roots are so deep. Its colourful and vibrant history has been a source of inspiration for many centuries now. Its academic contribution to the world is priceless and has been the foundation to many schools of thought today. Mystras is one of the top archaeological treasures in Greece. It's located 5 kilometres from the city of Sparti, south of Peloponnese. Mystras, also known as the 'wonder of the Morea', is an amphitheater and a castle built in 1249 by the Prince of Achair. Mystras, Greece ...
Much of the world knows this place just as PNG. But take the time out to delve a bit deeper, and you're sure to discover that there is a lot more about this place than just these three letters of alphabets. Papua New Guinea or PNG is a truly mysterious and magical land. People have arrived here for centuries. Indonesians and Australians, people from all over South Asia, and in recent times, tourists and nature lovers from the world over. There’s a lot you can do here. You can dive into the abyss, snorkel to play with colorful fish, enjoy a surfing vacation, go on fishing expeditions, or take a cruise to explore the many fascinating islands. But there’s one activity that is beyond compare, ...
The Hoover Dam is a modern engineering marvel; the arch-gravity dam backs onto the walls of Black Canyon and redistributes the force of nearly 45,000 pounds of pressure per square foot. Completed in 1936, two years ahead of schedule and decades ahead of its time, Nevada's Hoover Dam literally took an act of Congress - a marvel all its own - to complete. After the Hoover Dam location had been studied as a site to help prevent floods and produce hydroelectric power, the project was authorized in 1928. You can head to the Hoover Dam from Las Vegas via Route 93, just east of Boulder city. A visit here is sure to bring out the kid in you. It's one of those monuments that lives ...
You can’t walk down a street in Suzhou without coming across a silk store. Suzhou (also known as Soochow) is one of the top destinations in China for authentic classical gardens, complete with rock gardens, pagodas, glimmering pools full of goldfish, towering bamboo, and intricately carved wood buildings. It is easy to see how the Chinese city has garnered a reputation for being “paradise on earth”. As you stroll along the garden walkways, it’s easy to imagine a time when the gardens catered to silk-clad Chinese ladies carrying dainty parasols, and somber calligraphers dressed in black, enjoying the fresh air. In the midst of this idyllic atmosphere, a vibrant Chinese silk industry flourishes, making Suzhou one of the hubs for the textile industry in China. ...
