Travel

Practical Tree Sculpting — Living Bridges by the War-Khasis of India

The living bridges of Cherrapunji, India are made from the roots of the Ficus elastica tree. The root bridges, some of which are over a hundred feet long, take ten to fifteen years to become fully functional, but they’re extraordinarily strong – strong enough that some of them can support the weight of fifty or more people at a time.

Because they are alive and still growing, the bridges actually gain strength over time – and some of the ancient root bridges used daily by the War-Khasis people of the villages around Cherrapunji may be well over five hundred years old.

Sense of Adventure in Man and Bee Influenced by Neurotransmitters

Sense of Adventure in Man and Bee Influenced by Neurotransmitters

To Boldly Go Where No Bee Has Gone Source: Science Now Just like humans have astronauts and mountain climbers, honeybee societies have their own brave explorers: scouts, the bees that venture out to find new food sources. A new study examines scouts' brains and finds that novelty-seeking i ...

Tales from the Oasis

Tales from the Oasis

We recently went on a trip to the desert which began at an oasis. It was a lovely camping trip that was about 3 days and 2 nights. The trip took place in a land cruiser that was fully equipped for rough terrain, including a snorkel, which we didn’t end up needing in the desert. There was a dr ...

A Shan Romeo and Juliet Story

A Shan Romeo and Juliet Story

Back in 1999, after studying at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park New York, I was highly disillusioned with the US -- the greedy consumer mentality and the increasing amounts of GMOs in the food (which everyone thought I was nuts for being concerned about at the time!) so I fled to Myan ...

Kiwi Saves Girlfriend from Papua New Guinean Rapist

Kiwi Saves Girlfriend from Papua New Guinean Rapist

As you guys know I grew up in Papua New Guinea, I loved growing up there, but I also loved leaving there in my early teens. PNG is no place for a woman, or a girl for that matter, and although I tend to idealize traditions and indigenous cultures quite a bit on this site, I know it isn't all admirab ...

Solstice Journey 2011

Solstice Journey 2011

We've been planning a trip to Vancouver Island for about three years now. Last week we finally made it! It is a pretty easy trip from our place, it turns out...a skytrain ride to Georgia St and a 45 min bus from there to Horseshoe Bay where you catch a 1 1/2 hr ferry to Nanaimo. On the bus out of to ...

World Food Thursdays 5

World Food Thursdays 5

Welcome back to World Food Thursdays, please scroll down to the bottom of the page and link up your delicious international food! Please forgive me for not posting the past couple weeks, I had a cranio training and then we took a road trip to Portland. Portland is an amazing spot for world food ...

Pigs, Ferns And Easter Sunrise on Sacred Hilltops

Pigs, Ferns And Easter Sunrise on Sacred Hilltops

I have mentioned my incredible, brilliant, creative and imaginative sister before in passing, but I haven't really expressed how much she means to me. My parents adopted two children from Vietnam when they were married there during the Vietnamese war. The eldest one was adopted when she was about 4 ...

Conde Naste Hot Chef

Conde Naste Hot Chef

A few years ago I was the Executive Chef of The Strand Hotel in Yangon, Myanmar (Rangoon, Burma). The Strand is a historical boutique hotel built by the famous Armenian Sarkie brothers in 1901. The Sarkies also established the famous Raffles Hotel in Singapore and the E & O (Eastern and Oriental) in ...

Louiza – Berber Whiskey

Louiza – Berber Whiskey

This summer, while shopping at the Trout Lake Farmer's market, I came across a rare find--a sack full of fresh Lemon Verbena for only $4! I have tried growing lemon verbena on two occasions now, but both times they haven't made it through the winter--or that's what I thought. The woman who sold me t ...