Category Archives: Craft Historically, the medieval Newar (Newari) village of Bungamati was known for its woodcarvers, its ancient temples, and its views of the surrounding mountains. Bungamati is a tiny town of about 6,000 residents, sitting on a spur of land overlooking the Bagmati River at the southern edge of the Kathmandu Valley. When I visited, almost two […]  (Double click to start Tullamore Blues by Irish Mythen) It’s a small world, right? We were at the Byron Bay Bluesfest (Back to the Roots) recently. On the Saturday, we walked into the Delta tent to hear the delightful celtic accent and the cheeky, cackling laughter of Irish Mythen, a singer-songwriter born and raised in […]  Inle Lake in the Shan Hills of Myanmar may not be particularly large, but it is rich with culture. Its shores are laced with canals and waterways that give access to cities and villages housing about 70,000 people. Inle Lake is as ethnically diverse as the Shan State as a whole; pockets of Intha (“People of the Lake”), Shan, Taungyo, Pa’O (Taungthu), Danu, […]  There is something universal about the search for beauty. We may not agree on what “beauty” is – indeed, Western philosophy has argued conceptions of beauty extensively over time – but we all seek to surround ourselves with objects that are not merely functional, but are also aesthetically pleasing. One of the many joys of […]  Can you get more Irish than Dún Chaoin (Dunquin) and An Daingean (Dingle), on the Corca Dhuibhne (“Seed or tribe of Duibhne”; the Dingle Peninsula) on the southwestern-most reaches of Ireland’s County Kerry? I very much doubt it! After staggering into Dingle from Annascaul, wet and windblown, we were pleased to have two nights in one […] |
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