Refine your search

The results of your search are listed below alongside the search terms you entered on the previous page. You can refine your search by amending any of the parameters in the form and resubmitting it.

Select all Deselect all Add selection to lightbox
Large Small
Thumbnails per page
In the 15th century, the Portuguese explored the sea route to India and Pope Nicholas V enacted the Papal bull Romanus Pontifex. This bull granted the patronage of the propagation of the Christian faith in Asia to the Portuguese and rewarded them with a trade monopoly for newly discovered areas.<br/><br/> After Vasco da Gama arrived at Calicut on the coast of Kerala in India in 1498, the trade became prosperous. In 1510, the Portuguese wrested Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur and finally established themselves in Goa. By 1544, they conquered the districts of Bardez and Salcette in Goa.<br/><br/> In 1534, the Archdiocese of Goa was established. Soon missionaries of the newly founded Society of Jesus were sent to Goa, which lead to conversion of many locals to Christianity. In 1542, Francis Xavier, co-founder of the Society of Jesus, arrived in Goa.
Mandalay, a sprawling city of more than 1 million people, was founded in 1857 by King Mindon to coincide with an ancient Buddhist prophecy. It was believed that Gautama Buddha visited the sacred mount of Mandalay Hill with his disciple Ananda, and proclaimed that on the 2,400th anniversary of his death, a metropolis of Buddhist teaching would be founded at the foot of the hill.
In the 15th century, the Portuguese explored the sea route to India and Pope Nicholas V enacted the Papal bull Romanus Pontifex. This bull granted the patronage of the propagation of the Christian faith in Asia to the Portuguese and rewarded them with a trade monopoly for newly discovered areas.<br/><br/> After Vasco da Gama arrived at Calicut on the coast of Kerala in India in 1498, the trade became prosperous. In 1510, the Portuguese wrested Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur and finally established themselves in Goa. By 1544, they conquered the districts of Bardez and Salcette in Goa.<br/><br/> In 1534, the Archdiocese of Goa was established. Soon missionaries of the newly founded Society of Jesus were sent to Goa, which lead to conversion of many locals to Christianity. In 1542, Francis Xavier, co-founder of the Society of Jesus, arrived in Goa.
In the 15th century, the Portuguese explored the sea route to India and Pope Nicholas V enacted the Papal bull Romanus Pontifex. This bull granted the patronage of the propagation of the Christian faith in Asia to the Portuguese and rewarded them with a trade monopoly for newly discovered areas.<br/><br/> After Vasco da Gama arrived at Calicut on the coast of Kerala in India in 1498, the trade became prosperous. In 1510, the Portuguese wrested Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur and finally established themselves in Goa. By 1544, they conquered the districts of Bardez and Salcette in Goa.<br/><br/> In 1534, the Archdiocese of Goa was established. Soon missionaries of the newly founded Society of Jesus were sent to Goa, which lead to conversion of many locals to Christianity. In 1542, Francis Xavier, co-founder of the Society of Jesus, arrived in Goa.
In the 15th century, the Portuguese explored the sea route to India and Pope Nicholas V enacted the Papal bull Romanus Pontifex. This bull granted the patronage of the propagation of the Christian faith in Asia to the Portuguese and rewarded them with a trade monopoly for newly discovered areas.<br/><br/> After Vasco da Gama arrived at Calicut on the coast of Kerala in India in 1498, the trade became prosperous. In 1510, the Portuguese wrested Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur and finally established themselves in Goa. By 1544, they conquered the districts of Bardez and Salcette in Goa.<br/><br/> In 1534, the Archdiocese of Goa was established. Soon missionaries of the newly founded Society of Jesus were sent to Goa, which lead to conversion of many locals to Christianity. In 1542, Francis Xavier, co-founder of the Society of Jesus, arrived in Goa.
The Western Ghats are a mountain range along the western side of India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world. It is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. The range runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain, called Konkan, along the Arabian Sea.
The Western Ghats are a mountain range along the western side of India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world. It is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. The range runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain, called Konkan, along the Arabian Sea.
The Western Ghats are a mountain range along the western side of India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world. It is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. The range runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain, called Konkan, along the Arabian Sea.
Areca is a genus of about 50 species of single-stemmed palms in the family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from Malaysia to the Solomon Islands.<br/><br/>The nut is commonly used in conjunction with betel leaf, a mild stimulant. The combination of this and tobacco is chewed in a quid.<br/><br/>Betel leaf is mostly consumed in Asia, and elsewhere in the world by some Asian emigrants, as betel quid or paan, with or without tobacco, in an addictive psycho-stimulating and euphoria-inducing formulation with adverse health effects.<br/><br/>Chewing areca nut is an increasingly rare custom in the modern world. Yet once, not so long ago, areca nut – taken with the leaf of the betel tree and lime paste – was widely consumed throughout South and Southeast Asia by people of all social classes, and was considered an essential part of daily life.<br/><br/>The seed of the monocot group of flowering plants, rice is a cereal grain that comes in two major strains: Oryza sativa or Asian rice, and Oryza glaberrima or African rice.<br/><br/>For a large portion of the world’s population, particularly those in Central, East and South Asia, rice is one of the most important and most widely consumed food sources.<br/><br/>Etymologically the word rice comes from the Old French 'ris', dated from around the mid-13th century. The Old French term itself is believed to have been derived from the Italian 'riso', which in turn came from the Latin word 'oriza', and the Latin word derived from the Greek 'oruza', from which all European words for rice originate.
Areca is a genus of about 50 species of single-stemmed palms in the family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from Malaysia to the Solomon Islands.<br/><br/>The nut is commonly used in conjunction with betel leaf, a mild stimulant. The combination of this and tobacco is chewed in a quid.<br/><br/>Betel leaf is mostly consumed in Asia, and elsewhere in the world by some Asian emigrants, as betel quid or paan, with or without tobacco, in an addictive psycho-stimulating and euphoria-inducing formulation with adverse health effects.<br/><br/>Chewing areca nut is an increasingly rare custom in the modern world. Yet once, not so long ago, areca nut – taken with the leaf of the betel tree and lime paste – was widely consumed throughout South and Southeast Asia by people of all social classes, and was considered an essential part of daily life.<br/><br/>The seed of the monocot group of flowering plants, rice is a cereal grain that comes in two major strains: Oryza sativa or Asian rice, and Oryza glaberrima or African rice.<br/><br/>For a large portion of the world’s population, particularly those in Central, East and South Asia, rice is one of the most important and most widely consumed food sources.<br/><br/>Etymologically the word rice comes from the Old French 'ris', dated from around the mid-13th century. The Old French term itself is believed to have been derived from the Italian 'riso', which in turn came from the Latin word 'oriza', and the Latin word derived from the Greek 'oruza', from which all European words for rice originate.
Palmyra was an ancient city in Syria. It was an important city in central Syria, located in an oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus and 180 km southwest of the Euphrates at Deir ez-Zor. It had long been a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the Syrian desert and was known as the Bride of the Desert. The earliest documented reference to the city by its Semitic name Tadmor, Tadmur or Tudmur (which means "the town that repels" in Amorite and "the indomitable town" in Aramaic) is recorded in Babylonian tablets found in Mari.
Pondicherry was the capital of the former French territories in India. Besides Pondi itself – acquired from a local ruler in 1674 – these included Chandernagore in Bengal (1690); Mahé in Kerala (1725); Yanam in Andhra Pradesh (1731); and Karaikal in Tamil Nadu (1739). Chandernagore was returned to India three years after independence, in 1951, and was absorbed into West Bengal. Returned to India in 1956, the remaining four territories were constituted as the Union Territory of Pondicherry in 1962.<br/><br/> Today Karaikal, Yanam and Mahé are all small seaside resort towns, known chiefly for their cheap beer made possible by Pondicherry's light alcohol taxes. Karaikal, on the Coromandel Coast 100 kilometres south of Pondicherry, is similar to rural Pondi – a prosperous, Tamil-speaking enclave renowned for the abundance of its rice harvests. Yanam, located on the coast of Andhra Pradesh more than 600 kilometres north of Madras, is a tiny, Telugu-speaking town on a branch of the Godavari River. Mahé, on the Malabar Coast of northern Kerala is a quaint, picturesque town, named for its founder, Count Mahé de La Bourdonnais.<br/><br/> In September 2006, the territory changed its official name from Pondicherry to the vernacular original, Puducherry, which means 'New village'.
Narathiwat is a quiet, secluded little town of around 40,000 people, one of the smallest provincial capitals in Thailand. Many of the town's buildings are wooden structures, clustered along two parallel streets by the bank of the Bang Nara River.<br/><br/> Narathiwat is one of the few points where the Thai and Malay Worlds meet and mingle with that of the Overseas Chinese. This has resulted in an intriguingly complex social system, where Thai-speaking Buddhists control the bureaucracy, ethnic Chinese manage the urban economy, and Malay-speaking Muslims farm the countryside and fish the seas.
Angkor Wat was built for King Suryavarman II (ruled 1113-50) in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the Angkor site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist.<br/><br/> It is the world's largest religious building. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture.<br/><br/> It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers.
Angkor Wat was built for King Suryavarman II (ruled 1113-50) in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the Angkor site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist.<br/><br/> It is the world's largest religious building. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture.<br/><br/> It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers.
Tavik Frantisek Simon (1877–1942), was a Czech painter, etcher, and woodcut artist. Although based mainly in Europe, his extensive travels took him to Morocco, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), India, and Japan, images of all of which appear in his artistic work. He died in Prague in 1942. Largely ignored during the Communist era in Czechoslovakia, his work has received greater attention in recent years.
The Qur’an (literally “the recitation”) is the main religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur’an to be the verbal divine guidance and moral direction for mankind. Muslims also consider the original Arabic verbal text to be the final revelation of God. Muslims believe that the Qur’an was revealed from God to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel from 610 to 632 CE, the year of the Prophet’s death. Muhammad recited the Qur’an to his thousands of followers, who recited it until they had memorized it. He also dictated it to his scribes (Muhammad was illiterate) who wrote down its verses during his lifetime. Shortly after Muhammad's death the Qur’an was established textually into a single book form by the order of the first Caliph Abu Bakr.
Zanzibar (from Arabic: زنجبار‎ ZanjibÄr, from Persian: زنگبار‎ ZangibÄr'Coast of Blacks'; zangi [black-skinned] + bÄr [coast]) is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania in East Africa. It is composed of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 kilometres (16–31 mi) off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar), and Pemba.<br/><br/> The capital of Zanzibar, located on the island of Unguja, is Zanzibar City. Its historic centre, known as Stone Town, is a World Heritage Site and is claimed to be the only functioning ancient town in East Africa.<br/><br/> Zanzibar's main industries are spices, raffia, and tourism. In particular, the islands produce cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and black pepper. For this reason, the islands, together with Tanzania's Mafia Island, are sometimes called the Spice Islands (a term also associated with the Maluku Islands in Indonesia).
Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.<br/><br/> The atolls, formed of great rings of coral based on the submarine Laccadive-Chagos ridge, vary greatly in size. Some are only a few kilometres square, but in the far south the great atoll of Suvadiva is sixty-five kilometres across, and has a central lagoon of more than 2000 square kilometres. The northern and central atolls are separated from each other by comparatively narrow channels of deep water, but in the south Suvadiva is cut off by the eighty-kilometre-wide One-and-a-half-Degree Channel. Addu Atoll is still more isolated, being separated from the atoll of Suvadiva by the seventy-kilometre-wide Equatorial Channel.
Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.<br/><br/> The atolls, formed of great rings of coral based on the submarine Laccadive-Chagos ridge, vary greatly in size. Some are only a few kilometres square, but in the far south the great atoll of Suvadiva is sixty-five kilometres across, and has a central lagoon of more than 2000 square kilometres. The northern and central atolls are separated from each other by comparatively narrow channels of deep water, but in the south Suvadiva is cut off by the eighty-kilometre-wide One-and-a-half-Degree Channel. Addu Atoll is still more isolated, being separated from the atoll of Suvadiva by the seventy-kilometre-wide Equatorial Channel.
Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.<br/><br/> The atolls, formed of great rings of coral based on the submarine Laccadive-Chagos ridge, vary greatly in size. Some are only a few kilometres square, but in the far south the great atoll of Suvadiva is sixty-five kilometres across, and has a central lagoon of more than 2000 square kilometres. The northern and central atolls are separated from each other by comparatively narrow channels of deep water, but in the south Suvadiva is cut off by the eighty-kilometre-wide One-and-a-half-Degree Channel. Addu Atoll is still more isolated, being separated from the atoll of Suvadiva by the seventy-kilometre-wide Equatorial Channel.
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes 25° N and 25° S.<br/><br/> Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.<br/><br/> The atolls, formed of great rings of coral based on the submarine Laccadive-Chagos ridge, vary greatly in size. Some are only a few kilometres square, but in the far south the great atoll of Suvadiva is sixty-five kilometres across, and has a central lagoon of more than 2000 square kilometres. The northern and central atolls are separated from each other by comparatively narrow channels of deep water, but in the south Suvadiva is cut off by the eighty-kilometre-wide One-and-a-half-Degree Channel. Addu Atoll is still more isolated, being separated from the atoll of Suvadiva by the seventy-kilometre-wide Equatorial Channel.
Hat Rai Leh divides into two beaches, East and West. The former, Rai Leh East, is rather muddy at low tide, and people staying here tend to frequent Rai Leh West. Hat Rai Leh West is sandier and generally more attractive.<br/><br/> Krabi Province is made up of more than 5,000 sq km of jungle-covered hills and sharp, jagged karst outcrops, as well as more than 100km of luxuriant, pristine coastline and around 200 islands in the neighbouring Andaman Sea.<br/><br/> About 40 per cent of the provincial population is Muslim, the remainder being predominantly Buddhist. This is a clear indication that Krabi sits astride the invisible dividing line between Buddhist Thailand and the four southern provinces—Satun, Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani—which are predominantly Muslim. Far from causing any sort of problem, this adds immensely to the cultural width and diversity of the province, blending mosques with temples, Malay cooking traditions with Thai cuisine, and giving the province a pleasantly relaxed multi-cultural feel.
Hat Rai Leh divides into two beaches, East and West. The former, Rai Leh East, is rather muddy at low tide, and people staying here tend to frequent Rai Leh West. Hat Rai Leh West is sandier and generally more attractive.<br/><br/> Krabi Province is made up of more than 5,000 sq km of jungle-covered hills and sharp, jagged karst outcrops, as well as more than 100km of luxuriant, pristine coastline and around 200 islands in the neighbouring Andaman Sea.<br/><br/> About 40 per cent of the provincial population is Muslim, the remainder being predominantly Buddhist. This is a clear indication that Krabi sits astride the invisible dividing line between Buddhist Thailand and the four southern provinces—Satun, Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani—which are predominantly Muslim. Far from causing any sort of problem, this adds immensely to the cultural width and diversity of the province, blending mosques with temples, Malay cooking traditions with Thai cuisine, and giving the province a pleasantly relaxed multi-cultural feel.
Krabi Province is made up of more than 5,000 sq km of jungle-covered hills and sharp, jagged karst outcrops, as well as more than 100km of luxuriant, pristine coastline and around 200 islands in the neighbouring Andaman Sea.<br/><br/> About 40 per cent of the provincial population is Muslim, the remainder being predominantly Buddhist. This is a clear indication that Krabi sits astride the invisible dividing line between Buddhist Thailand and the four southern provinces—Satun, Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani—which are predominantly Muslim. Far from causing any sort of problem, this adds immensely to the cultural width and diversity of the province, blending mosques with temples, Malay cooking traditions with Thai cuisine, and giving the province a pleasantly relaxed multi-cultural feel.
Krabi Province is made up of more than 5,000 sq km of jungle-covered hills and sharp, jagged karst outcrops, as well as more than 100km of luxuriant, pristine coastline and around 200 islands in the neighbouring Andaman Sea.<br/><br/> About 40 per cent of the provincial population is Muslim, the remainder being predominantly Buddhist. This is a clear indication that Krabi sits astride the invisible dividing line between Buddhist Thailand and the four southern provinces—Satun, Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani—which are predominantly Muslim. Far from causing any sort of problem, this adds immensely to the cultural width and diversity of the province, blending mosques with temples, Malay cooking traditions with Thai cuisine, and giving the province a pleasantly relaxed multi-cultural feel.
Areca is a genus of about 50 species of single-stemmed palms in the family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from Malaysia to the Solomon Islands.<br/><br/> The nut is commonly used in conjunction with betel leaf, a mild stimulant. The combination of this and tobacco is chewed in a quid.
This little-visited waterfowl park is part of the larger Thale Sap Songkhla Wildlife Refuge, taking up most of Thale Sap Lake. The Thai Royal Forestry Department has so far identified 44 familes, 127 genus, and 219 distinct species of birds in the area, including bitterns, egrets and herons. The best time to visit is between December and March.
This little-visited waterfowl park is part of the larger Thale Sap Songkhla Wildlife Refuge, taking up most of Thale Sap Lake. The Thai Royal Forestry Department has so far identified 44 familes, 127 genus, and 219 distinct species of birds in the area, including bitterns, egrets and herons. The best time to visit is between December and March.
This little-visited waterfowl park is part of the larger Thale Sap Songkhla Wildlife Refuge, taking up most of Thale Sap Lake. The Thai Royal Forestry Department has so far identified 44 familes, 127 genus, and 219 distinct species of birds in the area, including bitterns, egrets and herons. The best time to visit is between December and March.
This little-visited waterfowl park is part of the larger Thale Sap Songkhla Wildlife Refuge, taking up most of Thale Sap Lake. The Thai Royal Forestry Department has so far identified 44 familes, 127 genus, and 219 distinct species of birds in the area, including bitterns, egrets and herons. The best time to visit is between December and March.
This little-visited waterfowl park is part of the larger Thale Sap Songkhla Wildlife Refuge, taking up most of Thale Sap Lake. The Thai Royal Forestry Department has so far identified 44 familes, 127 genus, and 219 distinct species of birds in the area, including bitterns, egrets and herons. The best time to visit is between December and March.
This little-visited waterfowl park is part of the larger Thale Sap Songkhla Wildlife Refuge, taking up most of Thale Sap Lake. The Thai Royal Forestry Department has so far identified 44 familes, 127 genus, and 219 distinct species of birds in the area, including bitterns, egrets and herons. The best time to visit is between December and March.
This little-visited waterfowl park is part of the larger Thale Sap Songkhla Wildlife Refuge, taking up most of Thale Sap Lake. The Thai Royal Forestry Department has so far identified 44 familes, 127 genus, and 219 distinct species of birds in the area, including bitterns, egrets and herons. The best time to visit is between December and March.
Ko Phangan is 15 km (9.5 miles) north of Ko Samui, and, at 168 sq km (65 sq miles) about two-thirds of its size. The island has the same tropical combination of white, sandy beaches, accessible coral reefs and rugged, jungled interior.<br/><br/> Once the haunt of budget travelers escaping from more expensive Ko Samui, it is today slowly moving more upmarket. Still, the island remains much less developed for international tourism than Ko Samui, due in part to its isolation and in part to its poor infrastructural system. The roads, in particular, remain poor, with many places along the coast only accessible by sea or by pickup truck or motorbike along badly maintained trails.
The Samui Archipelago was first ‘discovered’ as a budget traveler’s paradise back in the 1970s, but has since moved considerably upmarket. Together with Phuket, the main island of the group, Ko Samui, is Thailand’s premier beach resort, and is truly a lovely island.<br/><br/> The chief seaside destinations are Chaweng Beach on the island’s east coast and Lamai on the south coast. The island is ringed by a well-maintained metalled road, and the hilly interior is simply packed with more coconut trees than it seems possible to imagine.
The Samui Archipelago was first ‘discovered’ as a budget traveler’s paradise back in the 1970s, but has since moved considerably upmarket. Together with Phuket, the main island of the group, Ko Samui, is Thailand’s premier beach resort, and is truly a lovely island.<br/><br/> The chief seaside destinations are Chaweng Beach on the island’s east coast and Lamai on the south coast. The island is ringed by a well-maintained metalled road, and the hilly interior is simply packed with more coconut trees than it seems possible to imagine.
The Samui Archipelago was first ‘discovered’ as a budget traveler’s paradise back in the 1970s, but has since moved considerably upmarket. Together with Phuket, the main island of the group, Ko Samui, is Thailand’s premier beach resort, and is truly a lovely island.<br/><br/> The chief seaside destinations are Chaweng Beach on the island’s east coast and Lamai on the south coast. The island is ringed by a well-maintained metalled road, and the hilly interior is simply packed with more coconut trees than it seems possible to imagine.
The Samui Archipelago was first ‘discovered’ as a budget traveler’s paradise back in the 1970s, but has since moved considerably upmarket. Together with Phuket, the main island of the group, Ko Samui, is Thailand’s premier beach resort, and is truly a lovely island.<br/><br/> The chief seaside destinations are Chaweng Beach on the island’s east coast and Lamai on the south coast. The island is ringed by a well-maintained metalled road, and the hilly interior is simply packed with more coconut trees than it seems possible to imagine.
The coconut palm, or Cocos nucifera, is valued not just for its beauty, but also as a lucrative cash crop. Cultivated throughout the South Seas and Indian Ocean regions, it provides food, drink, shelter, transport, fuel, medicine, and even clothing for millions of people.<br/><br/> The coconut palm lives for around 60 years, and produces around 70-80 nuts annually. The trees are sometimes 40-50 meters (130-160 feet) high.