culture
Get the authentic cultural experience on your next foreign jaunt. Wander like a local; here, there, and everywhere.
'Ghillies': Scotland's little-known Highlanders
On Scotland’s formidably wild Isle of Skye, there were hoof trails everywhere at first light. Trails in the mud, trails curving across the moorland, trails on the far side of the burn where they vanished into the murk of the pine forest. To the east, the land swooped uphill onto the ruggedly beautiful shoulder of Sgùrr a' Mhadaidh Ruaidh, with a vantage point over the Trotternish peninsula. West, and downhill from where Mitchell Partridge was standing, the loose contours of Glenhinnisdal valley dropped to Loch Snizort and the Isle of Skye’s coastline. There was a feeling of waiting for the stag rut to begin.
CopperchaleuPublished 2 years ago in WanderPiplantri: The Indian village where girls rule
Shyam Sunder Paliwal cracked open the pod and the blood-red seeds dribbled out. Holding it in his palm, he offered the fruit of the sindoor shrub up for inspection.
Quilting: An Irish tradition fit for pandemic times
When Sarah Harris moved from her home of 20 years in Ireland back to her native Colorado, she brought the quilting business she’d started in County Wicklow with her, making commissions of "memory quilts", patchwork designs composed of baby blankets, graduation gowns or old clothes from deceased loved ones. Before she’d turned it into a business, quilting was something she did for herself – a way of connecting with her mother and grandmother, both quilters in the US, in spirit and in practice.
Turnell FeliuPublished 2 years ago in WanderBolivia's little-known tribal kingdom
Bolivia’s La Paz is the highest capital in the world. At 3,690m in elevation, its air is cold and thin, leaving many visitors gasping for oxygen and experiencing altitude sickness, known locally as soroche. But if you push past the chaotic traffic and drive 100km north-east, descending into the sub-tropical Yungas valleys, you’ll discover a cluster of quiet villages hidden in the forest connected by a labyrinth of dirt roads.
Scotland’s little-known fourth "language"
“Slaverin, slubberin, gibberin, gabberin, roon wi a wallop, a sklyter, a sweel,” recited the poet. “Yonder’s the burn – in its bairnhood, it’s blabberin. Heich-lowpin puddock, wi virr in its heel…”
Khasis: India's indigenous matrilineal society
During my travels across mainland India, especially in small towns and villages in the north, I hardly saw any women-run shops or marketplaces. In a sit-down eatery in Uttar Pradesh, I watched men make flatbreads and mash vegetables for curries while male customers gobbled them up. Between Kolkata and Gorakhpur, I sat sandwiched between men in passenger trains passing through the rural countryside. On most occasions, women were absent from public spaces.
CopperchaleuPublished 2 years ago in WanderThe Ethiopian who saved an Italian goat cheese
After this story was reported, Agitu Idea Gudeta was tragically killed. Her family has given us permission to publish this story in her memory.
Singapore's endless pursuit of cleanliness
It hits me every time I step off the plane: the sudden chill of full-blast air con and the distinct scent of orchid-tea fragrance diffuser. Airports can feel nondescript, but arriving at Changi – both today and long before the Covid-19 pandemic – is a uniquely Singaporean experience. On the way to passport control, walking through the perfumed air, you'll see immaculately kempt green walls and tidy water features, teams of janitorial staff (in both human and robot form) and high-tech washrooms with interactive feedback screens.
Turnell FeliuPublished 2 years ago in WanderAsia's isle of five separate genders
The Indonesian island of Sulawesi sprawls like a drunken starfish in the western Pacific Ocean, its four emerald limbs reaching into the Celebes, Molucca and Flores seas. On its south-western tip sits the smog-choked port city of Makassar, long an important trading post and Indonesia's eastern gateway to the world.
CopperchaleuPublished 2 years ago in WanderThe Swedish law of wanderlust
Swedish ice-climbing instructor Markus Nyman warms up his students with an off-piste ski tour, snaking past pine trees so thick with powder that locals describe them as "snow ghosts". They're only a few minutes' slalom from the main chair lift that takes alpine adventurers to the top of the slopes of Duved, a 17th-Century village 640km north of Stockholm. But soon they're swapping skis for crampons and poles for pickaxes as they prepare to scale a frozen waterfall in the middle of the forest.
CopperchaleuPublished 2 years ago in WanderOman's spectacular 'Norway of Arabia'
Hidden among the wild fjords of northern Oman, between the mountains and the sea in a quiet bay, sits the small village of Kumzar. This is the country's northernmost frontier, but Kumzar has a distinct atmosphere from the rest of Oman. In fact, its glorious isolation – the village is accessible only by an hour-long speedboat ride or a 2.5-hour trip on a sailing dhow from the nearest city, Khasab – has led Kumzar to develop a language and culture all of its own.
Europe's language that few speak
When Davis Stalts spoke of his seafaring grandfather, it was with the reverence accorded to a mythical hero. "He had hands this big," he gestured, capping off a large space with his palms. "He said he was made of steel."