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Remarkable for their military prowess, their receptivity to Christianity, and their intricate all-embracing kinship network, the Kachins are a hardy mountain people living in the remote hills of northern Burma and on the peripheries of India and China.<br/><br/> 'Kachin' is actually a Burmese word that does not exist in any of the local dialects. Each Kachin tribe has a different name for themselves and their neighbours, but no word to describe the whole group. There are the Jinghpaw (known as Jingpo in China and Singpho in India), the Maru, the Lashi, the Atsi (or Szi), the Lisu and the Rawang—but those represent linguistic groups rather than actual nationalities. Far more important bonds are formed by an intricate system of clans, which cuts across tribal barriers.<br/><br/> Every 'Kachin' belongs to one of five original families: Marip, Maran, Lahpai, N'Hkum and Lattaw. These clans are related in an all-embracing kinship network of extreme complexity. In practice, however, this system binds together the Kachins into a remarkably tight-knit society.
Oai No kata was born in Okazaki and was both beautiful and strong, although of low social status. One day while swimming in a river, a young man tried to bother her, but she quickly defeated him. According to the cartouche, even the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu praised her courage.<br/><br/> Toyohara Chikanobu (豊原周延) (1838–1912), better known to his contemporaries as Yōshū Chikanobu (楊洲周延), was a prolific woodblock artist of Japan's Meiji period. His works capture the transition from the age of the samurai to Meiji modernity.<br/><br/> In 1875 (Meiji 8), he decided to try to make a living as an artist. He travelled to Tokyo. He found work as an artist for the Kaishin Shimbun. In addition, he produced nishiki-e artworks. In his younger days, he had studied the Kanō school of painting; but his interest was drawn to ukiyo-e.<br/><br/> Like many ukiyo-e artists, Chikanobu turned his attention towards a great variety of subjects. His work ranged from Japanese mythology to depictions of the battlefields of his lifetime to women's fashions. As well as a number of the other artists of this period, he too portrayed kabuki actors in character, and is well-known for his impressions of the mie (formal pose) of kabuki productions.<br/><br/> Chikanobu was known as a master of bijinga, images of beautiful women, and for illustrating changes in women's fashion, including both traditional and Western clothing. His work illustrated the changes in coiffures and make-up across time. For example, in Chikanobu's images in Mirror of Ages (1897), the hair styles of the Tenmei era, 1781-1789 are distinguished from those of the Keio era, 1865-1867.
Bát Tràng porcelain and pottery is a type of ceramics made in the village of Bát Tràng, in the suburban outskirts of the northern Vietnamese city of Hanoi. The village is located in an area rich in clay suitable for making fine ceramics.<br/><br/> Bát Tràng ceramics are considered some of the best known porcelain products in Vietnam besides those of Chu Đậu, Đồng Nai, Phu Lang, and Ninh Thuận.<br/><br/> The history of china making in this village can be traced back as far as the 14th century AD. During the past centuries, Bát Tràng china products have travelled in European trading ships to all parts of the world.
Bát Tràng porcelain and pottery is a type of ceramics made in the village of Bát Tràng, in the suburban outskirts of the northern Vietnamese city of Hanoi. The village is located in an area rich in clay suitable for making fine ceramics.<br/><br/> Bát Tràng ceramics are considered some of the best known porcelain products in Vietnam besides those of Chu Đậu, Đồng Nai, Phu Lang, and Ninh Thuận.<br/><br/> The history of china making in this village can be traced back as far as the 14th century AD. During the past centuries, Bát Tràng china products have travelled in European trading ships to all parts of the world.
Before British colonisation in 1803, there were an estimated 3,000–15,000 Parlevar or native Tasmanians. As a result of colonial wars, mistreatment and starvation, the last of the full blooded Parelvar died in 1876.<br/><br/> Jean-François de Galoup, Comte de La Pérouse (August 23, 1741-1788) was a French explorer and naval officer. In 1785, the King of France commissioned La Perouse to head an expedition to explore the Pacific Ocean, to investigate whaling and fur prospects, and to establish French claims in this area. La Pérouse had admired the explorer James Cook, and wanted to continue his work.<br/><br/> La Perouse was assigned two 500-ton ships called the Astrolabe and the Boussole. His crew of 114 included sailors, scientists, a physicist, three draftsmen, three naturalists, clergymen, and a mathematician. They left France in August, 1785.<br/><br/> La Perouse mapped the west coast of North America in 1786, and visited Easter Island and Hawaii. His ships reached the west coast of Alaska in 1786 and did extensive mapping of the North American west coast from Alaska to Monterey, California.<br/><br/> Next La Pérouse landed at Botany Bay (Port Jackson), Australia, before heading for the Solomon Islands. La Pérouse took the opportunity to send his journals, some charts and also some letters back to Europe with a British naval ship. He wrote that he expected to be back in France by June 1789, however neither he, nor any of his men, were seen again. Fortunately the valuable written documents that he dispatched with the Sirius from the in-progress expedition were returned to Paris, where they were published posthumously.<br/><br/> Both of La Perouse's ships were lost in a storm close to the Solomons in 1788. No survivors were ever found.
The Chakri Dynasty (also known as the House of Chakri) is the current ruling royal house of the Kingdom of Thailand, The dynasty has ruled Thailand since the founding of the Ratthanakosin era and the city of Bangkok in 1782, following the end of King Taksin of Thonburi's reign, when the capital of Siam shifted to Bangkok. The Royal house was founded by King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, an Ayutthayan military leader. The current head of the dynasty is King Bhumibol Adulyadej who has ruled since 1946. The Heir Apparent to the throne is Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. The House's dynastic seat is the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
Miho no Matsubara (三保の松原 Miho Pine Grove) is a scenic area on the Miho Peninsula in Shimizu Ward of Shizuoka City, Japan. Its seven-kilometre seashore is lined with pine trees.<br/><br/> It is the location of the legend upon which the Noh drama Hagoromo is based; on the second Saturday and Sunday of October, the city of Shizuoka holds a Hagoromo Festival and a performance of the Noh drama takes place near the pine tree of the legend.<br/><br/> In 2013 the pine groves were added to the World Heritage List as part of the Fujisan Cultural Site.
The Irrawaddy River or Ayeyarwady River (also spelt Ayeyarwaddy) is a river that flows from north to south through Burma (Myanmar). It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Originating from the confluence of the N'mai and Mali rivers, it flows relatively straight North-South before emptying through the Irrawaddy Delta into the Andaman Sea. Its drainage area of about 255,081 km² covers a large part of Burma. After Rudyard Kipling's poem, it is sometimes referred to as 'The Road to Mandalay'.<br/><br/> As early as the sixth century the river was used for trade and transport. Having developed an extensive network of irrigation canals, the river became important to the British Empire after it had colonised Burma. The river is still as vital today, as a considerable amount of (export) goods and traffic moves by river. Rice is produced in the Irrawaddy Delta, irrigated by water from the river.<br/><br/> In 2007, Burma's military government signed an agreement for the construction of seven dams, yielding a total 13,360 kW, in the N'mai and Mali Rivers, including the 3,600 kW Myitsone Dam at the confluence of both rivers. Environmental organisations have raised concerns about the ecological impacts on the river's biodiverse ecosystems. Animals potentially impacted include the threatened Irrawaddy Dolphin.
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.
Ko Tao or Turtle Island, located in the midst of the Gulf of Thailand, was named by early settlers for the island’s hump-backed, turtle-like shape, though it is also a significant breeding ground for both Hawksbill and Green Turtles.<br/><br/> The economy of the island, which was once uninhabited except for transient fishermen, now revolves almost exclusively around tourism and scuba diving. The rapid development of tourism in recent years has had a negative impact on turtle breeding, but since 2004 the Royal Thai Navy in conjunction with a cooperative of local dive centers has sponsored the reintroduction of hundreds of juvenile turtles to Ko Tao’s ecosystem.<br/><br/> The island is about 21 sq km (8 sq miles) in area, and the main settlement, on the western side of the island, is Ban Mae Hat. Most of the island is rugged, with dense forest inland, quiet coves along the relatively difficult-to-reach east coast, and a fine sweep of sandy beach along the western shore.
Ko Tao or Turtle Island, located in the midst of the Gulf of Thailand, was named by early settlers for the island’s hump-backed, turtle-like shape, though it is also a significant breeding ground for both Hawksbill and Green Turtles.<br/><br/> The economy of the island, which was once uninhabited except for transient fishermen, now revolves almost exclusively around tourism and scuba diving. The rapid development of tourism in recent years has had a negative impact on turtle breeding, but since 2004 the Royal Thai Navy in conjunction with a cooperative of local dive centers has sponsored the reintroduction of hundreds of juvenile turtles to Ko Tao’s ecosystem.<br/><br/> The island is about 21 sq km (8 sq miles) in area, and the main settlement, on the western side of the island, is Ban Mae Hat. Most of the island is rugged, with dense forest inland, quiet coves along the relatively difficult-to-reach east coast, and a fine sweep of sandy beach along the western shore.
Phuket, at 810sq km Thailand's largest island, lies in the Andaman Sea just off the coast of Phang-nga Province. Joined to the mainland by a wide causeway it has developed into the most luxurious and exquisite beach resort in Thailand.<br/><br/> In centuries past Phuket was an important trading post on the eastern shore of the Bay of Bengal, handling shipping and dealing with sailors from the Arab and Malay Worlds, India, Burma (Myanmar), China and, of course, Siam. By the 16th century the island was also well known to Europeans, as first Portuguese and Dutch, then English and French sailed to its fabled shores.<br/><br/> The island enjoyed an unprecedented surge in wealth when tin was found in large quantities in the nearby shallows. Miners and businessmen flocked to the island from the provinces of south China, adding a considerable Sinitic element to the island's already mixed population.<br/><br/> It was not until around 1975, however, that Phuket's potential for tourism was finally realised. A sweep of warm, sandy beaches line the western, Andaman Coast.