Bo Sang Umbrella Festival in Northern Thailand

Artist paints a giant handmade paper umbrella at the Bo Sang Umbrella Festival

Across Thailand, thousands of small craft villages dot the landscape. Each one specializes in the manufacture of a particular handicraft. Especially in northern Thailand, the choices seem endless. In tiny Ban Ton Pao in northern Thailand, everyone in the villages is involved in the production of handmade paper from Mulberry bark. In nearby Baan Tawai, … Read more

VIDEO: Delivering Freight in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia

The best way to see French Polynesia is a aboard the Aranui 5, a combination cruise ship and freighter

Perhaps the best way to see French Polynesia is to take a cruise on the Aranui 5, a combination cruise ship and freighter. The ship visits three of the island groups in the French territory and delivers freight to all six of the inhabited islands in the Marquesas Archipelago. In this video, I interview Tino, … Read more

VIDEO: Celebrating the Songkran Festival (Thai New Year) in Chiang Mai

Man drenches revelers with water canon during 2018 Songkran Festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand

In mid-April each year, Thailand celebrates the Songkran Festival, Thai New Year. While festivities occur all over the country, the most lavish celebrations occur in the northern city of Chiang Mai. Held over a four or five day period, Songkran begins with a monk blessing and alms-giving ceremony, followed by the presentation of Songkran queens … Read more

VIDEO: From Farmer to Fruitiere to Affineur – the Making of Comte Cheese

Cheesemaker at Fruitiere of Bouverans performs a clean break test on curd that will become comte cheese

Comte cheese may not be a household word in the United States, but every Frenchman and woman is intimately familiar with this semi-hard cheese from the Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Comté holds the coveted PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) status in the European Union, which means that only farms, dairies, and aging cellars located … Read more