During Myanmar’s colonial-British era, Maymyo — named “May Town” after Colonel May, then in charge of the 5th Light Infantry of the Bengal Army — offered a cool “hillside station” retreat from lowland Mandalay’s oppressive summer heat. Horses, ridden or pulling carriages, provided transportation to an environment more than a little reminiscent of home.
It is my pleasure to announce the winners of — and prizes for — our latest essay contest. On the subject “I’m Singing about Singapore,” many of you were inspired to write. Judging was tough, and it was decided to give out three prizes this time.
The winners are MARVIN FELDMAN of Jacksonville, Florida; CAROLYN A. VON KUTZLEBEN of Avon, Connecticut, and ELAINE BALLARD of San Antonio, Texas. Each will receive a 50-dollar gift certificate from Magellan’s Travel Supplies (800/962-4943). The essays of all three appear below.
The second edition of the guidebook “1001 Gardens You Must See Before You Die,” by Rae Spencer-Jones, features an updated selection of gardens in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Including hundreds of color photos, the 960-page guide is available from bookstores, online and from Barron’s Educational Series. It retails at $35.
In May 2003 I traipsed behind Geoffrey Newman on a weeklong trek with The Wayfarers titled “Dorset Gardens: Rambles and Roses” (April ’04, pg. 42). The Wayfarers, a UK touring company, has run tours through the English countryside and beyond for close to 30 years.
7 days / 6 nights, March 1-7, 2013. Highlights: National Orchid Exhibition in San José / Hacienda La Laguna tropical garden for anthuriums, bromoliads, philodendrons, mini orchids / epiphytes at Lankester Botanical Garden / El Silencio Cloud Forest / walk hanging bridges through Arenal rainforest / Tabacon Hot Springs. Land, $1,995. Single supp., $400. Costa Rica Tours, Ltd. (Charlotte, NC; 704 / 541-8680).
If the tide is out, you can walk a quarter-mile cobblestone causeway to St. Michael’s Mount. Don’t worry if you linger on your tour of the castellated mansion atop this tidal island, a mirror image of Normandy’s famed Mont-St-Michel directly across the English Channel. When the tide comes rushing in, a motorboat ferry will carry you back.
Most visitors travel to the island for the sole purpose of wandering the public, grand rooms of the castle, owned and continuously lived in by members of the St. Aubyn family since 1646.
The difference between “travelers” and “tourists” is huge. As travelers, my wife and I found that special bistro in Paris; that pub in London that isn’t written about in any travel book; a 250-year-old farmhouse in a village near Pisa, Italy, where we stayed for weeks; a house in Thailand that was made completely from teak, and a quiet patio restaurant in Switzerland overlooking a valley right out of “The Sound of Music,” complete with a valley floor of yellow flowers and the sound of cow bells.
Hampton Court Palace, the former home of King Henry VIII, has a new permanent gardens exhibition. Situated off the East Front Gardens, it shows how the palace gardens evolved from the early 16th century up to the present day.
On Saturdays and Sundays through Sept. 26, 2004, costumed interpreters dressed as courtiers in the days when William III and Mary II were in residence will lead 30-minute tours of the East and South Front gardens.
Contact Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, Surrey, KT8 9AV, England; phone +44 (0) 870 752 7777.
Possibly as long as 40,000 to 60,000 years ago, Australia’s Aborigines arrived on that island continent from Southeast Asia via the islands of Indonesia. Eventually they occupied almost all parts of Australia, including southeastern Australia, where Sydney is now located. Known archaeological sites near Sydney date back at least 15,000 years. That’s four times older than the Egyptian pyramids, the oldest of which dates to about 2600 BC.
