Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for international travel
Trekking Sri Lanka
By Linda Tancs
Touted as one of the best-kept secrets in Asia, the Pekoe Trail in Sri Lanka winds its way through the Central Highlands. Trekking through tea plantations, cloud forests, waterfalls, heritage estates and rural villages, the 186-mile trail is divided into 22 stages. The country’s first long-distance hiking trail, most stages are open from dawn to dusk except for those in wildlife corridors and protected areas. Some stages may also require special ticketing or permits, particularly those on private lands. The trail is open year round, but the best time to walk most of it is December to April and July to September.
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Swan Valley
By Linda Tancs
The Swan Valley is a region in the upper reaches of the Swan River between Guildford and Bells Rapids in Western Australia. Home to Western Australia’s oldest wine region, it’s also the only wine region in the country that you can cruise to from a capital city. Just 25 minutes from Perth, you’ll find the visitor’s center in Guildford. Be sure to pick up a map of the food and wine trails, featuring more than 40 world-class wineries, 10 breweries, five distilleries, three cideries, a meadery, gourmet producers, markets and art studios. Besides the self-drive or chauffeured option, you can take a scenic Swan River cruise from Perth or go wine-hopping in a horse-drawn wagon.
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Japan’s Island of Art
By Linda Tancs
Nicknamed Japan’s “Island of Art,” art displays and museums can be found all over Naoshima. A small island in the Seto Inland Sea, it has become an international hotspot for contemporary art. Benesse House Museum (both a museum and a hotel) was the very first structure to be built on Naoshima as part of the art island initiative. The newest museum complements Benesse and is home exclusively to contemporary Asian art. Ferries to Naoshima depart from Takamatsu Port in Kagawa and Uno Port in Okayama.
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A Reserve for Sperm Whales
By Linda Tancs
Dominica is the only country in the world where sperm whales can be viewed year-round (although sightings are most common between November and March). What better location, then, for the world’s first Sperm Whale Reserve. Located off the island’s western coast, tourists will be able to view the whales from boats. Around 200 of these whales reside in the waters off this Caribbean island.
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A Hindu Landmark in Singapore
By Linda Tancs
Located in the heart of Chinatown, Sri Mariamman Temple is Singapore’s oldest Hindu temple. A historical landmark, the religion’s rich traditions are amply demonstrated through carvings of Hindu deities on the temple’s exterior, exquisite ceiling paintings in its main hall and five tiers of sculptures of deities and mythological figures in its majestic grand tower entrance. A bustling place of worship, the temple is also the site of sacred events like the annual firewalking festival.
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Capitals of Culture in 2026
By Linda Tancs
In keeping with tradition, we begin the New Year with an announcement on the European Capitals of Culture for 2026: Trenčín in Slovakia and Oulu in Finland. Oulu is a vibrant coastal city sometimes called “the capital of Northern Finland.” One of the featured programs for the year is Climate Clock, a permanent public art trail that will pair artists with scientists to create site-specific outdoor installations that blend into natural and urban settings across the municipality. In Slovakia, Trenčín’s year-long program is themed “Awakening Curiosity.” The goal is to transform the city into a dynamic space for art, creative initiatives and community collaboration, building on a rich heritage of festivals, artistic events and community initiatives.
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Singapore’s Floating Baby
By Linda Tancs
Marc Quinn’s monumental 2008 sculpture Planet has been donated for permanent display at the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. Popularly called “the floating baby,” the work of painted bronze and steel measures nearly 32 feet long and almost 13 feet high but appears to hover over the ground as if impossibly suspended. Gardens by the Bay is home to more than 200 sculptures from around the world, featuring unique pieces, intriguing crafts and stone works.
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Five Centuries of British Art
By Linda Tancs
The Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut, houses the largest collection of British art outside the United Kingdom, comprising paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, photographs, rare books and manuscripts. Imagine experiencing five centuries of British artistic achievement without crossing the Atlantic! More than just a hub for academic research and learning, the center offers programs for children and families as well. Admission is free.
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The Tell Museum
By Linda Tancs
William Tell is a Swiss folk hero symbolizing the struggle for political and individual freedom. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albrecht Gessler, a legendary 14th-century Habsburg bailiff at Altdorf, whose brutal rule led to the William Tell rebellion and the eventual independence of the Old Swiss Confederacy. The Tell Museum in Bürglen collects historical, artistic and folkloric documents, writings, works, objects and depictions connected to Tell and to the founding history of the Swiss Confederacy. It’s housed in the Wattigwiler Tower on Bürglen’s Postplatz – the village in which William Tell is said to have lived.
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The Art of Wooden Shipbuilding
By Linda Tancs
Former home of the dukes of Brittany, Montoir-de-Bretagne has a rich maritime history. At the Brivet Wooden Maritime Museum, the history of wooden shipbuilding from the 16th to the end of the 19th century is explored. It’s a story of shipyards located on the Brivet River, along with its carpenters, blacksmiths and pulley makers. Admission is free.
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