All in Travel

The Northern Italian City of Orvieto

John McMahon
Travel

On Sunday, 4th October, Julian Casey and I made the most of our day off from the General Chapter to travel by train to Orvieto, north of Rome in the region of Umbria. This city is perched on the top of a hill resulting from a volcanic eruption 100,000 years ago.  It is accessed by a fenicular.

 CathedralPigeon Holes in the underground caves where homing pigeons lived and provided food for the residents.Once there, we visited the beautiful Duomo or Cathedral, St Patrick's Well and took a guided tour of the underground city. Once underground, our guide informed us there are 1200 man made caves in the area. Across the centuries, these caves have been used for people to hide from invasion, even as recenthly as during World War II. An Etruscan enclave from the Eighth Century BC, the town was destroyed by the Romans in 264BC.  It became reinhabited in the Middle Ages when people began to work, but not live, in these numerous caves.  

Bangkok's Culture

John McMahon
Travel

I have returned to Bangkok on my way to Rome this evening. I sense Buddhism makes a big impact on the culture of Bangkok. Last evening I walked down the street to see young people praying on the street corner, while dancers moved gently to the sound of the accompanying music. In the nearby Buddhist temple, middle aged men sat lotus style in meditation, undistracted by the many people passing by.

Thai ShopTribute to the QueenBangkok Traffic Sign

Killing Fields - The Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre

John McMahon
Travel
A Mass Grave Memorial ChapelKnown as one of the killing fields in Cambodia, Choeung Ek is the location where 20,000 people, including foreigners, were murdered. Often victims were loaded onto enclosed trucks to be transported from Toul Sleng Prison to Choeung Ek where they were executed and put in one of 129 mass graves.