Tag Archives: religion I can’t help but love a country that is passionate about food, wine and walking. While ‘walking’ may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of France, the French take their walking trails seriously. The country is criss-crossed by roughly 177,030 kilometres of marked, mapped and well-maintained paths. The Institut Géographique […]  “Les hirondelles sont là!” ~ “The swallows are here!” The phonecall from my friend’s brother heralded the official beginning of spring in France: the arrival of the swallows was proof of the season – as though any further proof were needed. Buds were sprouting on the trees, cherry-, apple- and plum-trees were covered in blossoms, and hardy […]  When I think of Hong Kong, I think of a bustling metropolis with cosmopolitan shops, sparkling lights and tall buildings. And it is true: as one of “The Four Asian Tigers”, Hong Kong is a financial centre with modern architecture reaching into the sky; a pulsating commercial network which never sleeps; and one of the most […]  Some trips are such a jumble of colours and textures that they more closely resemble a crazy quilt than a tidy tapestry. So it was for me on the short trip to Attapeu Province in Southwestern Laos in January: a mix of Wats (temples), waterfalls and monuments; rural plantations and rough-board housing rubbing shoulders with […]  On the break between Christmas and New Year’s, I thought we had both: time and good reason. We had family visiting from both Canada and Australia, so a visit to the Allied war memorials at Kanchanaburi (more about that some other time) and beyond, seemed like a good idea. I had failed to take “time” […] |
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