A major fire disaster is taking place in Wangduephodrang. After almost four hours of raging fire, Bhutan’s one of the oldest and most historic fortresses, the Wangduephodrang Dzong, is almost completely destroyed. The fire started at around 4 pm this afternoon. Many are already describing the fire as a major loss to the Bhutan’s cultural heritage. …
You may have thought of going to Istanbul to visit the Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Haghia Sophia, and Topkapi Palace. Your read the Spice Bazaar is a must-see place and one of Istanbul’s most vibrant attractions. You even pondered to include a Bosphorus Cruise, a boat ride that takes you past Ottoman Palaces, as well as …
In the remote parts of Central Sulawesi of the Indonesian archipelago, an-odd shaped island resembling a hunched-over letter “k”, under the Dutch known as Celebes, there can be found a saddle-roof style house type built on piles. Depicted on Dong Son drums as far back as 500BC-AD100, its origin suggests being of mainland Southeast Asia. …
Travel in Indonesia: fascinating Tana Toraja culture of Central Sulawesi Read More »
Trekking in Eastern Nepal along the Arun River valley one can admire fascinating changes in house architecture as one progresses from the lower Himalaya toward the elevations where Arun breaches the High Himalaya on its way from Tibet to Nepal. One of the dominant Ancient Nepalese ethnic groups that populate the Nepal Midlands in this region …
Trekking Eastern Nepal – Himalayan House Style of the Rais Read More »
Guizhou is one of lesser-visited provinces of China. This is largely due to its remote mountainous character and bad roads, especially in its southeastern corner, where a number of fascinating ethnic minorities such as Bouyei, Sui, Hui, Zhuang, Miao and Dong are found. Although much of these ethnic groups live in poverty, Dong relatively prosper …
Ancient Wooden Architecture of Zhaoxing, Dong Village, Guizhou, China Read More »
Ladakh is known as the Little Tibet. It is a cultural satellite of Tibet that is part of India and is in fact one of India’s most remote regions. Located in extreme northwestern corner of India, it lies in the rain shadow of the High Himalaya. Receiving only fraction of monsoonal rains but found in …
The Tibetan architecture of temples as well as houses is always manifested by solid structures no matter where they are found, whether in Central Tibet, in Sikkim or Bhutan and elsewhere in the eastern Himalayas, the Nepal Himalayas or in the far western reaches of Tibet including Ladakh. In the old Tibetan town of Zhongdian …
