I began a discussion on the subject of alternative energy production with my visiting European energy expert, my longtime friend, Per. (Per is Norwegian, but has lived in Kiel, Germany, for several decades.) Per is an expert in many aspects of alternative energy generation. He holds the European patent for a Biomass Generator, that could greatly increase the storage and recycling energy currently squandered in disposing of tons of urban biomass waste.
I must confess prior practically total ignorance of Morocco. Whatever I thought I knew was wrong. Similar to my mistaken preconceptions of southern Spain, I thought that Morocco was all desert. Instead, it turns out that the northern half of Morocco is equally lush and . . .
No, I have not traveled to Iran, but my across-the-street neighbor just returned from a one month visit to his hometown of Shiraz, Iran...
In this post, based on what I learned during our Viking River Cruise from Bucharest to Budapest, I will attempt something very difficult: to explain the history of the Balkan countries in a short essay. This journey up the Danube River has been an amazing history lesson. I’ve learned that the Balkan situation is even more complicated than the Middle East, because the Middle East crisis escalated mostly in the last century, whereas the Balkan region has been at war for more than a millennium. . .
Ayutthaya lies about a two hour's drive north of Bangkok. It was Thailand's capital for approximately four hundred years, founded in 1351. It was burned by Burmese invaders in 1767, which resulted in its abandonment and the establishment of Bangkok which remains Thailand's current capital.
Below is one of the oldest Stupas, built in the 14th century, in the same era as the construction of Cambodia's Angkor Wat, the world's largest UNESCO world heritage site. Stupas are Buddhist cylindrical structures containing the ashes, bones, or remains of religious figures, and are intended to function as pilgrimage sites for worship and meditation.
Bali is an island populated by 95% Hindus, but are only 5% of Muslim-majority Indonesia. As early as the first century CE, Indian traders spread Hinduism and Buddhism to East Asia, including what is now Indonesia. Hinduism in Indonesia reached its height by the 7th century. It was during this period that the Buddhist temple of Borobudur was constructed. (Borobudur was featured in my previous Indonesia blog.) By the 13th century, Islam spread through the islands of Sumatra and Java, supplanting Hinduism. However, Bali remained almost exclusively Hindu, despite the rise to dominance of Islam throughout the rest of what is current-day Indonesia. Bali has maintained the ancient Hindu religious practices which are also still practiced in India.
Departing Los Angeles and three days at sea, our first port of call of our world cruise was Cabo San Lucas, at the tip of the Baja California (Lower California) peninsula. The word “cabo” means “cape” in Spanish, referring here to the termination of the Baja Peninsula. It is a famous tourist destination, famous for its Marlin fishing competition and as a destination for partying American college kids on Spring Break. It is known for its dramatic stone formations in it harbor, which includes a dramatic stone archway...
Until today’s port visit, Cadiz was just a name I had encountered sometime in the past. I didn’t know anything at all about it. Now at the end of the day, I feel enriched by learning about this city, as well as having visited an historic village named Vejer de la Frontera.
I first heard of Cape Verde Islands in the title of a jazz composition by pianist Horace Silver, The Cape Verdean Blues.
