The city of Hue is located approximately in the middle of Vietnam and was the seat of royal power from the 19th and into the 20th centuries. There were thirteen kings who reigned from Hue. Many of the ancient structures were destroyed during the Vietnam-American War, which have since been restored. The photos show scenes from the Imperial Palace as well as the three hundred-year-old Buddhist pagoda.
Montenegro is the smallest of the six countries that emerged at the breakup of Yugoslavia (Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Serbia, Albania, Macedonia) after the death of Yugoslav dictator Marshall Tito in 1980.
Having visited India at least fifteen times over many decades, I’ve made friends among the musical community that has enabled me to book events in advance of my visits, filling the two short weeks with musical opportunities. Another enabling factor is my decades-long study of Indian (Hindustani) classical music, starting in 1975 at Ali Akbar College in Marin County, California. My knowledge of Indian music has enabled me to collaborate with Indian musicians in both classical and jazz-fusion-world-music concerts...
Approximately one month ago, Houston, Texas was inundated by the storm surge caused by hurricane Harvey. In an unprecedented series of Atlantic hurricanes, Harvey was followed in quick succession by hurricane Irma which struck Florida, hurricane Maria which devastated Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, . . .
Thousands of terracotta warriors were made and buried over two thousand years ago, but they were only discovered in 1974 when some farmers were digging a well. They are buried 2-3 meters deep. They were arranged in a classic large army formation, with the lowest rank soldiers in front, backed by archers and chariots, with the generals in the rear. This is a unique human creation in the world.
It has been said that the American healthcare system is not about health, nor is it a system. Rather, it has been described as a pyramid scheme run by insurance companies with government collaboration, in which exorbitant premiums are collected from those who can afford to pay. Profits are maximized by simply paying out less in benefits than what is collected in premiums. The sicker the American population is, the more profits can be made by the insurance companies. Care is withheld from the uninsured...
Ha Long Bay Vietnam is a unique location, famous for its thousands of scenic islands in the bay. Our tour took us to a magnificent cave inside one of the islands. The photos from this area will tell the story better than my words.
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.
