Vignettes of the World
My Travel Journal
The Coconut Tree Prison is the most unhappy place in Phu Quoc, and that is an understatement. It stands testament to the ubiquity of political division that haunted the nation during much of the 20th century. In the Coconut Tree Prison, this political division manifested …
I stepped out of the airplane and could smell the ocean already. It is properly “winter” time even for this part of the world. The humidity greeted me all the same, in a somewhat tamed tropical heat. I hoped for some really sunny days on …
Phu Quoc, meaning “prosperous land” in Vietnamese, is an island that lies south of Cambodia and west of Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand. Known as the “Pearl Island,” this largest island of Vietnam is blessed with pristine waters and long stretches of beautiful white …
Australia’s Aboriginal art features distinctive and unique elements that are full of unspoken meanings. They convey the contemporary reinterpretations of the native worldview. I visited an art gallery, Yubu Napa, in Alice Springs. This gallery features all kinds of Aboriginal themed handicrafts, besides the display …
There are half-day tours that take you around the historical, cultural and natural sites in Alice Springs. I opted to keep things simple after three days of intense tours in the Outback. In the morning of my day of departure, I walked from my hotel …
In the beginning, Alice Springs (Mparntwe in Eastern Arrernte) was home to the Arrernte Aboriginals for 20,000 years, long before the arrival of the European settlers during the 1860s. The Arrernte Aboriginals hunted and gathered food in this area. The Lhere Mparntwe (Todd River) determined …
Perhaps I can take a break from the history, culture and the nature and discuss the food that I had in this part of Australia. Surely, I heard all about the bush tucker and the kangaroo tail, which are considered essential and delicacies in Aboriginal …
Due to this part of the Uluru being the women’s section, there is no photo on the safe site for women. The Kitchen Cave could be photographed on the inside and the outside. Please respect the rule. Up close at the Uluru, you would naturally …
We had a fascinating lesson of the Uluru being the beloved nature that bestows life and meaning upon the Anangu peoples. But a basic understanding of the geology of the rock is another way to appreciate the Uluru. The Geology of Uluru Within its embrace …
The tour guide started speaking volumes about this scenery before us. Perhaps due to the prolonged hunger that I endured before lunch, I didn’t quite get the significance of this moment, “what are you speaking about, where are we?” “The Uluru, girl,” my Texan friend …