Photo by David Coleman
Notes from the Field
Conwy Castle: A Lesson in Location, Location, Location
Conwy Castle is imposing enough on its own, but climb its turrets and the reason becomes obvious: King Edward I built it to command the River Conwy, with towers positioned to spot any army for miles before it could sneak through. Here’s what the castle and its walled town look like today.
An Oasis in Texas
AUSTIN, United States — Austin is a city that’s young, fun, and takes pride in being a bit off-kilter.
Myazedi Stupa, Bagan
BAGAN, Myanmar (Burma) – Myazedi Stupa, which translates as “emerald stupa” or “jade stupa,” holds two ancient stone pillars inscribed with the earliest dated example of written Burmese language.
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
WASHINGTON DC, United States — One of the world’s most visited museums, the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum has an incredible array of original artifacts from the history of flight and space exploration.
Gallows Point Resort
ST. JOHN, US Virgin Islands – Gallows Point Resort on St. John in the beautiful US Virgin Islands is a fantastic place to watch some stunning Caribbean sunsets. It sits on a point right next to Cruz Bay.
Sydney Harbour at Night
SYDNEY, Australia — Sydney Harbour is a beautiful setting for Australia’s largest city, and at night it really sparkles.
Inside the Tortoise Pagoda, Saigon’s Hidden Taoist Shrine
Behind an unassuming gate in downtown Ho Chi Minh City sits the Jade Emperor Pagoda, a 1909 Taoist shrine also known as the Tortoise Pagoda for the turtle-filled pond by its entrance. Inside, fluorescent bulbs and candles light a crowded scene of statues and Taoist symbolism — here’s a look around.
Caernarfon Castle
CAERNARFON, Wales — All of the surviving castles that King Edward I had built in the late-13th century are impressive. But Caernarfon Castle was designed to be something special.
Castelo de São Jorge: Lisbon’s Castle on the Hill
Perched on a hill over central Lisbon, Castelo de São Jorge looks like a castle drawn from imagination, with walls that owe their present form to a 1938–1940 restoration, on fortifications dating back to the 7th century BC. Its uneven, railing-free ramparts open onto sweeping views over the city and the Tagus — here’s a look at what I found on several visits.
North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah), Australia
NORTH STRADBROKE ISLAND, Australia — Known to the locals as “Straddie,” North Stradbroke Island near Brisbane separates southern Moreton Bay from the Pacific Ocean. With miles of spectacular ocean beaches and an abundance of local marine life such as whales, sharks, turtles, and dolphins, it’s a popular summer holiday destination and yet still manages to feel remote.
Coba’s Mayan Ruins on the Maya Riviera
COBA, Mexico – You’d never know it today, but Coba, on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, was once an important and powerful Mayan city. But it has long been in ruins.
Inside Hanoi’s Museum of the Vietnamese Revolution
Housed in a colonial-era trade building in downtown Hanoi, the Museum of the Vietnamese Revolution favors weapons, flags, and propaganda posters over raw emotional pitch. It’s a museum of artifacts more than atmosphere, and here’s what it actually looks like inside.
Catedral Metropolitana de Panamá (Basílica Santa María la Antigua)
PANAMA CITY, Panama — The Catedral Metropolitana in Casco Viejo, Panama City’s old quarter, is one of the largest colonial-era churches in Central America and dates to 1688 to 1796.
The One Pillar Pagoda, Rebuilt in Concrete
The One Pillar Pagoda looks nearly a thousand years old, but the original was blown up with explosives in 1954 — an act conventionally blamed on retreating French forces — and rebuilt the following year. Despite that, it remains one of Vietnam’s most iconic Buddhist temples — here’s a firsthand look at it, lily pond and all.
Waterloo Panorama Virtual Tour
WATERLOO, Belgium — This 360° panorama captures the entire painting inside the Panorama of the Battle of Waterloo.
Mingun Pagoda
MINGUN, Myanmar — The massive, unfinished Mingun Pagoda is a testament to the ambition and vision of King Bodawpaya.
Day 6: Scrambling the Western Breach to Crater Camp
The guide called it the hardest day of the climb: a pre-dawn scramble up the Western Breach’s scree and ice, with no ropes and a several-hundred-foot drop underfoot. Here’s what that stretch of Kilimanjaro’s Lemosho Route actually looks and feels like, from Arrow Glacier to Crater Camp.
Inside Istanbul’s Museum of Gilded Imperial Barges
Despite its name, Istanbul’s Naval Museum is really a showcase for something stranger and more beautiful: 14 imperial caiques, the wooden, gold-coated royal barges once rowed for Sultans and their Harem along the Bosphorus.
Catedral de Granada
GRANADA, Nicaragua — The distinctive yellow and white Granada Cathedral dominates the city’s skyline and is Granada’s most important church.
Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica
MONTREAL, Canada — The interior of Old Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica has to rank it as one of the most stunning churches or cathedrals in North America.
Dong Ba Market: A Crowded Slice of Everyday Hue
Hue’s Dong Ba Market isn’t styled for tourists — it’s a crowded, everyday tangle of hardware stalls, shoe sellers, and pho stands, with squid drying in the sun and the muddy Perfume River tributary just beyond. Here’s a look at what fills its stalls and lanes.
Cu Chi Tunnels: War’s Cunning Underground, Now Open to Visitors
Sixty feet into an original Cu Chi tunnel, I understand why the Vietcong’s underground network baffled the American military: it was built for bodies far smaller than mine. What follows is a firsthand look at the tunnels’ ingenious, and often gruesome, engineering, plus the strange tourist theme park now built around them.
The Belfry of Bruges
BRUGES, Belgium — The Belfry of Bruges is the most famous landmarks is this charming medieval city. But it hasn’t all been peeling bells and glorious views in its nearly 800-year history.
Kronborg Castle’s Royal Apartments
HELSINGØR, Denmark — The Royal Apartments at the 16th-century Kronborg Castle are where King Frederick II and his young queen, Sophie, lived and worked.
