Perth may be Australia’s fourth largest city, but it is better known as “one of the most isolated big cities in the world.” It’s not true, of course. Perth’s location on the coast of Western Australia puts it more than 1,300 miles from it’s closest major Australian city, Adelaide. But Honolulu, Hawaii, located almost 2,400 … Read more
Geologists and scientists can’t agree on how The Pinnacles in Western Australia were formed. But they do agree on one thing: these astonishing stone spires that pierce the golden-red sands in Nambung National Park are mysterious and stunning. Tourists also agree. They flock to see them in droves, making The Pinnacles the most visited attraction … Read more
“Lake” isn’t an accurate description of Lake Ballard in Western Australia. They say there’s water in it, somewhere in the far distance. But the shoreline where I stood was a long expanse of caked red mud that morphed into brilliant white salt flats at the horizon. Where red met white, a cone shaped island rose. … Read more
I squinted in the pre-dawn grayness, searching for signs of the tropical pink water lilies that carpet the surface of Nong Han Lake every winter. A few minutes earlier, my friend Anne and I had gingerly climbed into a tippy flat-bottomed wooden boat for our ride to the center of the lake. There, the lily … Read more
Picture thousands of people dressed up as monsters, roaming the streets of a tiny village in northeastern Thailand. Giant ears, huge hooked noses, and foot-long spiked teeth sprout from their masks. Their chin-to-toe costumes are sewn from scraps of cloth into a kaleidoscopic patchwork of colors. Many carry wooden truncheons shaped into phallic symbols. Others … Read more
