Panama -

1. unlike many natives in Central & S Am, the Kuna control their homeland-- kuna yala, which includes the San Blas Archipelago. Kuna women are known for their beaded leggings & their signature molas, intricate appliqued blouses. the Mola can be traced back to Kuna women's geometric body painting; with the arrival of European settlers, the designs transferred onto cloth.
2. Sapibenega- a small island w/a white sand beach, has 13 simple cabins w/ wooden floors, bamboo walls & shutters, solar electricity
3. www.sapibenega.com

India- Hodka Village

1. Hodka Village close by Pakistan
2. Westernmost India
3. Halopotra (nomadic cattle breeders who are believed to have arrived from the Arabian peninsula) are Muslim, 90% of Hodka's population of 2500 but they share the jheel with the Meghwal, a Hindu people from Rajasthan
4. both groups are known for their exquisite artisanship, the women sew extravagantly patterned embroidery--some pieces take more than a year to finish
5. circular huts particular to Hodka's mud architecture part of the simple & chic Shaam-e-Sarhad resort (8 tents & 3 bhungas, distincitve circular mud huts in the vernacular architecture) local cuisine: vegetarian curries

Great Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe

• the 1st Westerners to see Great Zimbabwe were so stunned they thought they'd stumbled on King Solomon's Mines. Visitors today are =ly impressed
• in medieval times upto 20000 people called this area home--today the 81 hectare central ruins are a mass of stacked granite boulders, tiny passageways & snaking walls. the best par is the 9m high 245 m round great enclosure which is crowned by teh conical tower

set in a country as renowned for turmoil as for ruins, just getting there can be fairly extreme

lost cities of the world

• Palenque: Mexico, at foot of Chiapas mountains in SWMexico, an archaeologist's treasure trove, existed @ least 100 years BC, 50 yrs later became a major population centre of Classic Mayan civilisation, complete wiht myth & legend: child kings, invasions, decapitations, court intrigue & finally the abandonent of the city. the city's rich history is recorded in the hieroglyphs which adorn temple walls
• Babylon, Iraq: settled around 2500 bc became a great centre of the mesopotamian world 500 years later, when Hammurabi, the 1st king of the Babylonian empire, made it his capital. it ws destroyed in the 6th century BC by the Assyrians & then left to fall into ruins in the 2nd cent BC, following the death of Alexander the great. the ruins of Babylon conjure images of a biblical past: the great tower of Babel, the beautiful hanging gardens..
• Taxila, Pakistan, 30 km NW of Islamabad, founded 7th century BC, a tale of 3 lost cities

next Bali trip

go May through Aug

1. stay
2. Anantara Seminyak: new resort minimalism w/Balinese architecture www.anantara.com $350
3. maya ubud: cliffside property river views www.mayaubud.com $195
4. como shambhala estate - stunning architecture & setting, rain-forest plateau overlooking deep river valley cse.como.biz $300
5. st regis bali: nusa dua resort 121 suites & villas stregisbali.com $435
6. eat
7. Jimbaran fish grills (jimbaran beach US$20 for 2)
   warisan: indo mediterranean fusion rice paddy views (Jln. raya kerobokan 62-361/731-175 US$50 for 2)
   Sarong Bali (high style haute cuistine) 19x Jln Petitengit 19x, Kerobokan, US$45/2)
8. Kagemusha: Jpn Jln Pengosekan, Ubud, $18/2
9. Ku De Ta: 9 Jln Laksmana 62-361/736-969
10. Naughty Nuri's : mixed grill BBQ Jln. Raya Sangingan, Ubud US$20/2
11. Waroeng: artsy cafe, noodles, Monkey forest road ubud 62-361/970-928 US$10/2