A-Life BC Travel Blog

By Michael McCarthy

There is something about a 500-foot tall plastic rabbit with flashing eyes and strobe lights that makes you sit up and pay attention. You could travel the world and never see such a bizarre structure, but at the annual lantern festivals in the tropical island of Taiwan such gigantic creatures as electronic rabbits and high tech dragons are all the rage. Old traditions and new technology mix together well in Taiwan, but never better than during the annual lantern festivals.

Cities and towns all over Taiwan vie for the honour of hosting the annual lantern festivals to honour the New Year. Teams and companies spend months and much money to create enormous structures to match the craziness of the New Year celebrations. Given Taiwan’s position as a global leader in electronics, it’s no surprise that good old-fashioned lanterns have taken on a high tech look.

By Michael McCarthy

Vermilionville, Louisiana, is a replica of a French settlement dating from the 1800s and a popular tourist attraction located just outside of Lafayette, the “capital of Acadiana.”

You’ll find Lafayette about 190km west of the big city of New Orleans as the crow flies. This is pure “Cajun” country, comprised of swamps and backwater bayous. Many little towns in the region are, literally, swamped by dance music. The aroma of tasty Cajun cooking wafts through the air and old-fashioned French is often spoken.

By Michael McCarthy

The fabulous Taj Mahal, located in Agra, central India, is a beautiful building, one of the most famous and recognizable in the entire world. But the nearby ghost town of Fatehpur Sikri is easily more fascinating.

Situated only 30km west of the Taj, out in the emptiness of the desert, Fatehpur Sikri blends both Islamic and Hindu elements into its fantastic architectural style. A brilliant variation of red sandstone only available locally was used for construction of most of the buildings, which provides the city with much of its fabulous red lustre.

By Michael McCarthy

Beverly Hills has been home to the stars (and the ultra rich producers and promoters who can also afford to live there) since the original Beverly Hills Hotel was built back in 1912 in the midst of what was then an apple orchard. Movies aren’t made on Hollywood movie lots any more (it’s a tawdry area full of cheap tourist junk) but many Hollywood stars still live in nearby Beverly Hills. Of all the attractions in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills may be the most scenic, and it costs nothing to window shop.

Sometimes real movie stars can be sighted in the fashionable shopping district centred on Rodeo Drive.

By Michael McCarthy

For those interested in experiencing true Tibetan art and culture, Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, has taken the place of Lhasa, Tibet, as a tourist destination. In Kathmandu, in the northern Boudinath district of the city, there are now so many Tibetan attractions and recent refugees that the area is becoming known as "Little Lhasa," and it’s well worth a visit for those people interested in Tibetan Buddhism. Centred around the largest stupa (temple) in the world, tourists can find more than 40 different Tibetan monasteries, arts and crafts stores, restaurants, cyber cafes, bookstores and guesthouses, many of them catering to western visitors.

Nepal is a poverty-stricken country and it often appears that the only thriving industry is tourism. Where else can you get a room in a guest house run by chanting monks wearing purple robes for $10 a day, a breakfast for 25 cents, and enjoy an earnest conversation about existentialism with an elderly bearded sadhu (wandering wise man) toting a trident and speaking excellent English with a 1910 Oxford accent while asking for a modest tip for his time?

By Jessica Woollard

Humans have long been fascinated with observing our civilization in microcosm. As far back as ancient Egypt, populations constructed tall structures to climb and look out at the expanse before them, drawn to experiencing the world at a small scale and enjoying the sense of perspective such an experience brings. The tradition has continued in the modern world, with tourists ever drawn to climbing tall structures around the world, whether ascending to the top of the duomo of St. Peter’s Basilica or the top of the planet at Mount Everest’s summit.

Even children through the ages have shown an interest in the world in miniature, playing with dolls and toy soldiers, recreating life on a small scale, a life they can more easily understand.

By Michael McCarthy

There is something about riding a "toy train" that brings out the child in everyone. The expression refers to the smaller gauge railways built by the British Raj a century ago and still working industriously in some parts of India today. Take the Himalayan Queen, which descends down the Himalayan foothills from the old British hill station of Shimla in northern India. The Queen rides on a single track of 2-ft 6-in gauge, descending down from the clouds in Shimla.

On its five-hour, 96-kilometre descent, the train winds its way along at a sedate 22km/h pace through an astounding 102 tunnels – some up to 3,000 ft in length - and an equally amazing 864 bridges, making it one of the most picturesque train trips on the entire planet.

By Michael McCarthy

It’s known as one of the great wonders of the world, but chances are you have never heard of it, and certainly most people in North America have never visited the place. Buried deep in the jungles of northern Cambodia lie the remains of the fabulous 12th century temple complex of Angkor Wat, slowly emerging from the sleep of centuries as archeologists carefully dig through the remains of what was once the world’s largest city.

Located just outside the rapidly growing town of Siem Riep, Angkor can easily be reached these days via international flights that touch down briefly in the capital of Phnom Penh, itself an architectural delight well worth an extended visit. From Phnom Penh there are one-hour flights onward to Siem Riep.

"Wat" means temple, and Angkor actually refers to a vast complex of temples that stretches for more than 50 miles throughout the steamy jungles, many still in a state of disrepair. Touring all of the temples in one visit is literally impossible; the heat and humidity, crowds and touts are quite draining. While Angkor may not be well known to the west, certainly Chinese and Japanese tourists have discovered it by the busload. Temples can be crowded on any day of the year.

By Michael McCarthy

Those rare visitors to Gwaii Hanaas National Park (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands) who want to paddle or sail all the way around the island chain face an arduous and often dangerous adventure through open waters. Luckily, there is an alternative. Moresby Island Explorers, based in the tiny town of Sandspit, offer adventurous travellers an exciting excursion: a four-day trip via zodiac boat. Whereas experienced kayakers who know how to read the tides, currents, winds and weather can take a few weeks to paddle the islands, those with less time or skill are best served by riding these high-speed crafts.

By Michael McCarthy

The low moan of a foghorn cuts through the deep mist like the call of a humpback whale. Here on Quirpon Island, off the far northern tip of Newfoundland, humpbacks are often found feeding right underneath your window at one of the world’s most unusual settings for a bed and breakfast. The whales may have an easier time getting here than you will.

The Quirpon Island Inn is a difficult b&b inn to access, but Newfoundland itself is pretty far off the beaten track anyway. At the far end of the Viking Trail, a highway built to attract tourists to the New World’s first settlement by Vikings (approx. 1000AD), eager travellers access Quirpon by climbing into a fishing boat and travelling through surging seas to the small island buffeted by high winds.