Through sketches, old photographs, letters, vintage artifacts, and evocative storytelling, the museum shines a light on the tumultuous life of the Victor Hugo and his family.
Janice Mucalov
Pinang Peranakan Mansion
FROM THE ARCHIVE:Step around an ornately carved wooden screen—a “spirit wall” to prevent evil spirits from crossing the threshold—and you enter the Pinang Peranakan Mansion. Located in the UNESCO-listed city of George Town, Malaysia, the jade-coloured mansion offers a glimpse into the opulent lifestyle of wealthy Peranakans.
Walking Safaris in Zambia
Norman Carr pioneered the idea of taking visitors to photograph the animals rather than shoot them. Now, the company has five different camps in South Luangwa and a new one in Zambia’s untouched Liuwa Plain wilderness.
The Flåm Railway, Norway
This steep climb through dramatic, primeval mountains is unlike any other train voyage in the world.
Guanajuato’s Mummy Museum
The smallest mummy in the world is an almost perfectly preserved, six-month-old fetus. It’s on display at the Museo de las Momias de Guanajuato, a UNESCO-listed Mexican colonial town.
Allerton and McBryde Gardens
The lush garden isle of Kauai is a natural spot for the unconventional duo known as the Allerton Garden and McBryde Garden, part of five sites that make up the National Tropical Botanical Garden (the other three are in Florida, Maui, and northern Kauai).
The Cave Cities of Cappadocia
FROM THE ARCHIVE:There’s a reason why St. Basil the Great, his younger brother St. Gregory of Nyssa, and St. Gregory of Nazianzus settled in Cappadocia, carved from living rock, in the fourth century. The special tufa stone of the moonlike lava valleys in this region of Turkey is soft and easy to carve, but hardens when it comes into contact with air.
Wat Pho
Most visitors to Wat Pho, Bangkok’s largest and oldest temple (built in 1688), come to see the enormous reclining Buddha. Those in the know then make their way to the back of the vast 20-acre temple grounds to get a true traditional Thai massage, for which Wat Pho is also famous.
Baden-Baden’s Ritual Baths
The Germans sure know how to take a bath. In the spa town of Baden-Baden, one hour west of Stuttgart, 800,000 litres of hot, mineral-rich water bubble up daily from 12 thermal springs. It is here that the bathhouse Friedrichsbad elevates the simple act of getting clean into a decadent three-and-a-half hour ritual.
The Colourful South Pole
It’s an understandable mistake if you think the so-called great white continent of Antarctica is white. Of course, the mountains are blanketed with snow, and the vast icy plateaus are indeed white—so blindingly white that you’ll squint even wearing Ray-Bans. But the icebergs?
