aawAny trip to Laos will inevitably include time spent in Luang Prabang. While this city is not the capital of Laos, it once was. Today, it is a hub for travelers in the region and a great base to explore Northern Laos from.
more “Luang Prabang: Ancient Kingdom and UNESCO Heritage Site”
The diversity of people in Ghana never ceases to amaze and inspire me. There are the proud Ashanti people whose great empire still echoes through today. Then there are the Ga who have shaped the culture around Accra. Up north, you can meet Fulani, a nomadic group of people who range across West Africa. In Western Region near the border with Ivory Coast, there is a small and unique village, Nzulezu, with its own people.
Because of centuries of colonialism and the slave trade that came with it, Ghana has centuries of traumatic history. However, I believe that it is important to face that history and to learn about it, as a way to gain a fuller understanding of present situations and as a way to prevent atrocities in the future.
The former slave-trading castles in Ghana have all been declared UNESCO Heritage Sites. The two that are most frequented by visitors to Ghana are the Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle. Elmina Castle also has another interesting designation – it’s the first permanent European structure built in West Africa.
The first things that probably come to mind when anyone thinks about travel to Egypt are the Pyramids of Giza. Of course, they are the only surviving wonder of the Seven Wonders of the World. They are easily accessible, being right on the border of Cairo, and are very much worth the visit. However, those aren’t the only impressive pyramids to visit on a trip to Egypt.
A harsh and sobering part of history is the trans-Atlantic slave trade, which lasted from the 16th to 19th centuries and stole an estimated 12 million people from Africa. These human beings were taken from their families and homelands and sold into slavery in the Americas. By the late 17th century, the British were shipping the most slaves from their colonies in West Africa, including Ghana. One of the their slave trading forts was Cape Coast castle.
Puerto Rico is known as La Isla del Encanto, or the “Enchanted Island.” No doubt, the beaches with crystal clear waters, gorgeous keys and small islands, and a mountainous rainforest, including El Yunque National Forest, are big parts of what makes Puerto Rico feel like an enchanted place. But I’d add the Bosque Estatal Guánica, or Guánica State Forest, to that list.
There is a specialized form of performing arts that is a bit of a dying breed in Thailand: the nang yai (หนังใหญ่) shadow puppet plays. A friend had told me about stuff he had read about this art form and we briefly talked about trying to go to a performance before he left, but it never materialized. However, as I’ve tried to soak up as much of the cultural as I can this year, I made a trip to Wat Khanon in Ratchaburi, one of the few places that has performances this last weekend.