Traveler's Advisory
By Leora Moldofsky
Europe
Santillana
del Mar
The caves
of Altamira in Spain have been described as the Sistine Chapel
of Paleolithic art. But the vivid, graceful drawings of bison
and deer, dating back 14,000 years, have been off limits to
most visitors since 1982, when it emerged that body heat and
CO2 promoted a white fungus on the walls. Now every line,
crack and crevice of the homage to the hunt has been recreated,
a few hundred meters from the entrance to the caves, near
Santillana del Mar in northwest Spain. The 4,400-sq.-m facility
also houses a permanent exhibition and library of books about
human prehistory in the region.
Asia
Lampang
Sabu was set to follow in his father's footsteps and become
an elephant handler-until filmmaker Robert J. Flannery chose
the 12-year-old Indian mahout for the title role in his 1937
docu-drama Elephant Boy. Pupils at the Thai Elephant Conservation
Center's Mahout Training School may not get a chance at stardom,
but they'll gain a deeper appreciation of the pachyderm way
of life. Tourists not looking for a new profession can attend
a three-day mahout homestay program at the center, near Lampang
in northern Thailand. The course costs $90, including accommodation,
meals and elephant-riding classes. For information, e-mail
elephant@fio.org.th.
Seoul
Tourism can be a tool for peace, according
to the World Tourism Organization. To honor that aim, Japan
Airlines has planned a cycling tour between Seoul and Osaka,
Japan, the joint host cities of the 2001 WTO general assembly.
Starting on Sept. 24, participants will cycle 300 km over
seven days, with time out of the saddle for sightseeing in
Korea and Japan. The journey ends with a 3.3-km stroll past
the 1 million spectators who line Osaka's city streets each
year to view the Midosjui Parade. The tour costs $1,160, including
hostel-style accommodation, meals, travel insurance and transportation
by coach and ferry. Participants will need to bring their
own bikes. For more information, see www.jal.co.jp/bicycle/.
Australia
Sydney
Established in 1816 near the site of Australia's first European
settlement, Sydney's Botanic Gardens is a 16-hectare showcase
for wild and cultivated plants from Europe, North America
and the Orient, many of which are collected in specialized
sections like the Fernery and the Rose Garden. But the gardens'
latest display has a more local flavor, and exposes a history
that, according to gardens directors, visitors could find
"deeply confronting." "Cadi Jam Ora: First Encounters" presents
an Aboriginal perspective on the site through displays that
include a 50-m-long "storyline" featuring plants used by the
local Cadigal tribe for food, medicine and tool-making.
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August 13, 2001 | No.
32
COVER
STORY
The
New Kennedys
They're back. Four members of the clan are running for office in the U.S.
Five others floated trial balloons, then popped them. When the family
business beckons today, the name cuts both ways. A third generation struggles
with the legacy of Camelot
TRAVELERS
ADVISORY...
PACIFIC
BEAT: Cook Islands dynamo; M.P.s in grass skirts...
SOCIETY
AND SCIENCE
DOGS:
Best in Show... Are canine beauty contests a health hazard?
THE
ARTS
FASHION:
Celebrating Antwerp's radical style
BOOKS: A look at race in John Henry Days
CINEMA: Planet of the Apes? Rent the
original
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