Travel & Holiday.

"Secret Journeys of a Lifetime" presents 500 off-the-beaten-path travel destinations around the world that are notable for their vistas, wildlife, and historical and cultural significance.

The latest historical and anthropological archaeology, epigraphy, and art history on Southeast Asia, these articles offer new understandings of classical Hindu and Buddhist cultures of Southeast Asia and their relationship to the regionÍs medieval cultures. The articles are presented under four headings: Art, religion and politics (Buddhist monuments in Java and Cambodia); Southeast Asian transformations (cultural exchange with South Asia); Technology (workmanship in art and material culture); and Southeast Asia between past and present.

My Reflexions is a story book containing 19 stories written by a retired engineering professional. According to the author, barring two stories, Angkor Wat – A Travelogue and Priyesh Menon – An Obituary, all stories are a work of fiction. Each story was a result of the author hearing an event reported in news in the print or TV or Internet or social media or even in his own life that suddenly triggered him to think differently. When the author looked at the event from various angles and reflected on it a new story was born. The seven stories from this book - The Clone, The Missing Week, The Carrier, The Underworld, The Space Twins, The Invasion and Journey of a Soul are classic science fictions and show author's love and his exposure to India's Space Program during his long service in the Research Laboratory under Dept. of Space. The author has succeeded in dealing with the complex plots in all these stories in a remarkably free flowing language and tries to search his own answers and solutions to many questions the modern science has failed to answer, so far. The Thread and The Obsession deal with the intricate and complex human relationships in the family life in our society today. All the remaining eight stories are based on the socio-political atmosphere prevailing in the country. They are thoroughly enjoyable due to the element of subtle humor in their narration and do not intend to hurt anybody's feelings.

Interpreting Southeast Asia's Past: Monument, Image and Text features 31 papers read at the 10th International Conference of the European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists, held in London in September 2004. The volume covers monumental arts, sculpture and painting, epigraphy and heritage management across mainland Southeast Asia and as far south as Indonesia. New research on monumental arts includes chapters on the Bayon of Angkor and the great brick temple sites of Champa. There is an article discussing the purpose of making and erecting sacred sculptures in the ancient world and accounts of research on the sacred art of Burma, Thailand and southern China (including the first study of the few surviving Saiva images in Burma), of a spectacular find of bronze Mahayana Buddhas, and of the sculpted bronzes of the Dian culture. New research on craft goods and crafting techniques deals with ancient Khmer materials, including recently discovered ceramic kiln sites, the sandstone sources of major Khmer sculptures, and the rare remaining traces of paint, plaster and stucco on stone and brick buildings. More widely distributed goods also receive attention, including Southeast Asian glass beads, and there are contributions on Southeast Asian heritage and conservation, including research on Angkor as a living World Heritage site and discussion of a UNESCO project on the stone jars of the Plain of Jars in Laos that combines recording, safeguarding, bomb clearance, and eco-tourism development.

Visit Southeast Asia's paradise! Taste traditional street food in Hanoi, cruise in Halong bay, explore nature and wildlife, take a boat trip through paddy fields and marvel at colonial architecture in Ho Chi Minh City. Your DK guide has it all: Welcome to Vietnam! Take the new lightweight Vietnam travel book wherever you go. Inside the pages of DK Eyewitness Vietnam, you'll find: - Our pick of Vietnam's must-sees, top experiences and hidden gems. - The best spots to eat, drink, shop and stay. - Detailed maps and walks to make navigating the country easy. - Easy-to-follow itineraries. - Expert advice: get ready, get around and stay safe. - Color-coded chapters to every part of Vietnam, from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, the Mekong Delta to Northern Vietnam. Vietnam has a wealth of sights and experiences waiting to be discovered! From dramatic mountain landscapes in Sapa to long stretches of pristine, palm-fringed sands on the east coast. And with the country's rich history, delicious cuisine and friendly cities, there is plenty for you to enjoy. There are so many reasons to love Vietnam! Experience the best of this small Asian country in spectacular detail with photographs on practically every page, and hand-drawn illustrations that place you inside the country's iconic buildings and neighborhoods. This guidebook breaks up this bit of paradise into easily navigable adventures with expert local knowledge, trusted travel advice and comprehensive maps. From North to South Vietnam, excursions to Angkor, historical and religious sites like the temple of the Jade Emperor, and all the outdoor activities Vietnam has to offer! More trips to uncover DK Eyewitness is the most up-to-date travel guide series following the COVID-19 outbreak. Each guide includes expert-led insights into the world's most famous countries and cities, things to do and places to stay. Want the best of Southeast Asia in your pocket? Try our Eyewitness Malaysia or Eyewitness Cambodia and Laos.

The story of one family’s worldschooling adventure, with tips and inspiration for anyone who wants to embrace travel as an immersive learning opportunity. In The Everywhere Classroom: How One Family Turned Wanderlust into Worldschooling and How You Can Too, Andi Almond recounts her family’s experiences traveling the globe for a year, revealing the rich educational opportunities the world offers beyond traditional classrooms. Through the engaging and often humorous stories of the Almond family's adventures—from an impromptu expedition to Antarctica to a solo teen homestay in Taiwan—the book captures how travel off the tourist trail offers profound lessons that push comfort zones and foster growth and global awareness. Each chapter weaves a vivid tapestry of encounters that illustrate how families can make the most of their travels, whether on a weekend getaway close to home or extended adventure far afield. Supplemented with practical tips, curriculum ideas, and strategies for incorporating worldschooling into trips of any length and budget, The Everywhere Classroom goes beyond being a mere travelogue. It serves as a catalyst for change, inspiring families to explore purposefully and discover boundless learning in the world.

This edited volume programmatically reconsiders the creative contribution of the littoral and insular regions of Maritime Asia to shaping new paradigms in the Buddhist and Hindu art and architecture of the mediaeval Asian world. Far from being a mere southern conduit for the maritime circulation of Indic religions, in the period from ca. the 7th to the 14th century those regions transformed across mainland and island polities the rituals, icons, and architecture that embodied these religious insights with a dynamism that often eclipsed the established cultural centres in Northern India, Central Asia, and mainland China. This collective body of work brings together new research aiming to recalibrate the importance of these innovations in art and architecture, thereby highlighting the cultural creativity of the monsoon-influenced Southern rim of the Asian landmass. "Although Maritime Asia in mediaeval times was not as densely populated as the agrarian hinterland, Asia’s coasts were highly urbanized. The region from southern India to south China was a heterogeneous blend of cultures, leavened with a strong interest in trade. This cosmopolitan society afforded plentiful opportunities for artists to find patrons and develop individual styles and aesthetic sensibilities. In the bustling ports of Asia’s south coast, rulers sought to embellish their prestige and attract foreign merchants by sponsoring the development of monumental complexes and centres of learning and debate. These educational institutions attracted teachers from all over Asia, and in their cloisters they developed new intellectual frameworks which were reflected in works of art and architecture. Scholars moved frequently by sea, influencing and being influenced by other foreigners such as Japanese and central Asians who were also attracted to these places. This very variety has hindered scholarly research in the past. This volume contributes to the endeavour to show how Maritime Asia was not an incoherent jumble of misunderstood influences from better-known civilizations; there was a pattern to this creativity, which the authors in this collection clarify for us. The maritime world of Asia may have lain on the margins of the land, but it provided a physical and intellectual medium through which artistic ideas from east and west flowed freely. Maritime Asia also made significant original contributions which hold their own with those of the hinterland of the Asian continent. Unconstrained by the burden of static hierarchical courts, the peoples of Maritime Asia built on the inspiration provided by a hybrid society to demonstrate a high degree of artistic originality while testing but not breaking the link with conventional iconography."-- Professor John Miksic, Department of Southeast Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore (NUS) "The collective objective of this two-volume work is to give substance to the oft cited mantra that mediaeval maritime Southeast Asia was as much an innovative contributor to, as a recipient, in the cultural conversations that took place across the Bay of Bengal and South China Sea. In bracketing these studies between the 7th and 14th centuries, the editors have drawn into focus two key traditions that are explicated in texts, ritual art and architecture and religious landscapes of this period: tantric Buddhism and esoteric Shaivism. A great strength of these studies is this focus, for which the editors are to be commended. The chapters contain much that represents significant milestones in building new understanding in the field, including overdue recognition of the importance of Southeast Asian esoteric Buddhist practice in shaping Chinese Buddhism. Nowhere did the architects of the religious landscape of early Southeast Asia think of themselves as being on the periphery, or as outsiders, looking in. Rather, they knowingly imbued their tirthas and sacred centres with the same authority as those in India and created religious edifices that were on occasions beyond India’s experience. I highly commend this publication to anyone with an interest in bringing a wider lens to the study of Indian esoteric religious practices and to understanding the relationship of early Hindu-Buddhist Southeast Asia to the wider Asian world." -- John Guy, Senior Curator of South and Southeast Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York "The Creative South is a rich compendium of scholarship concerning the religious art of Southeast Asia and its ties to India in the period beginning in the 8th century. It was a time when merchants were crisscrossing the seas from India to China and when advocates of innovative doctrines and rituals were finding ready support among the rulers of the varied kingdoms. From the identification of images embraced by the seafarers to the mysteries of the fire shrines in Cambodian temples, from the funerary beliefs of Odisha to the unique character of the Javanese Ramayana, these eighteen studies provide fresh understandings of the patterns of reception and innovation." -- Hiram Woodward, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Quincy Scott Curator of Asian Art Emeritus, The Walters Art Museum

"The volume thoroughly examines the origins and principal types of Buddhist architecture in Asia primarily between the third century BCE-twelfth century CE with an emphasis on India. It aims to construct shared architectural traits and patterns alongwith the derivative relationships between Indian and Asian Buddhist monuments. It also discusses the historical antecedents in the Indus Civilization and the religious and philosophical foundations of the three schools of Buddhism and its founder, Buddha. Previously obscure topics such as Aniconic and Vajrayana (Tantric) architecture and the four holiest sites of Buddhism will also be covered in this comprehensive volume. The author further investigates the influences of Buddhist architecture upon Islamic, Christian, and Hindu architecture that have been overlooked by past scholars."