Ha Long Bay contains roughly 1,600 limestone karst islands rising from the Gulf of Tonkin in northern Vietnam. The number matters because it explains both the bay's visual power and its management problem: a landscape of this scale, this geologically spectacular, and this close to a major international flight hub will inevitably absorb more visitor traffic than it can cleanly … [Read more...] about Ha Long Bay Without the Cruise Brochure
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Kyoto in Autumn: What the City Looks Like When the Maples Turn
Kyoto does not ease you into autumn. One week the hillsides above Arashiyama are a uniform dark green, and the next they are burning — crimson momiji pressing against the grey wood of temple gates, orange canopies spilling over stone lanterns still damp from the morning drizzle. The Japanese call it koyo, the turning of the leaves, and they plan around it with the same … [Read more...] about Kyoto in Autumn: What the City Looks Like When the Maples Turn