 On this Indonesian island, the hills are alive with the music of gamelan - By Mary Roach The telephone directory for Pengosekan, Bali, is short but confusing. Of 200 listings, almost all contain a Dewa, the name of the person I'm looking for. Dewa is a much used Balinese caste name, and while not everyone chooses to be called by their caste name, that's still a lot of Dewas.
"Better you just go there," says a waiter at my hotel, in the neighboring town of Ubud. I mention that the Dewa I am seeking is a gamelan musician.
"Walk down the street and listen," says the waiter. "You are sure to find him."
The advice is astute: Bali is an island best navigated by the s...
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 New Zealand, if you didn't know, is actually two islands. Generally speaking, the North Island equals beaches, and the South Island equals mountains. There is, as you might guess, a bit more to it than that, but the formula does reflect the great Down Under passion for the outdoors.
The unmatched scenery includes rain forests and glaciers, rivers and lakes loaded with trophy trout, alpine mountains with superb skiing, and the kind of hiking found on the Milford Track, touted as “the finest walk in the world.”. Yes, these Kiwis are an active bunch: They invented bungy jumping, believe t...
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 Greece Crete could certainly fit into a leisurely, ferry-hopping beach holiday through the Greek islands, but that's giving short shrift to a place that is so rich with history, archaeological treasures, and an intrinsically Mediterranean landscape. Greece's largest island, it has seen burgeoning tourism (and the companion development of major resort areas, particularly on the north coast), but remains a land of remote villages where Zorba the Greek would feel right at home.
In summer it's very hot and the number of visitors can be overwhelming in July and August, but a sense of timele...
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 New England A favorite summer resort for more than a century, New England's largest island attracts the rich and famous, from movie stars and presidents who arrive by private plane, as well as legions of day-trippers disembarking from the ferry. Chances are they will all find what they’re looking for.
Want a postcard-perfect whaling village with immaculate 19th-century homes? Go to Edgartown. Gentle hills leading to the sea? Try Chilmark. Woods and pastoral farms complete with stone walls? Head for West Tisbury. A day at the beach? Plenty to choose from (and if you’re renting a house, you’ll likel...
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