From the balcony of my apartment, on Petchaburi Road near the intersection with Ratchadamri, I can see the Red Shirts gathering in front of Central World Plaza. They’re here, May 19th, for a peaceful rally to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the bloody confrontation between them and the Thai military that brought two months of tense anti-government protests to a devastating end.

All told, during those two months 92 people were killed, nearly 2,000 were injured, and hundreds (thousands?) of innocent non-participators working in the Ratchaprasong, Siam, and Pratunam areas either lost their jobs or had them suspended when arson attacks temporarily–in some cases permanently–closed down hotels, banks, shopping centers, restaurants, and shops. Street vendors suffered from the sharp decline in foot traffic of both foreigners and locals, and many were forced to move elsewhere. Tourism fell. The flames of long-lingering classism issues flared brightly.

There’s plenty of blame to go around for that awful May 19th disaster. The fuse of that powder keg explosion had been lit years before, slowly burning its way through government corruption, a bloodless military coup, and protests by the Yellow Shirts that begat reactionary protests by the Red Shirts. It’s a convoluted and beyond complicated conflict, one that’s since simmered down but, unfortunately, one I have my doubts will be resolved by the upcoming elections on July 3. That’s the hope, but I can already hear the losing party crying foul.

I watched Bangkok burn on a television at Colombo Airport in Sri Lanka. My Bangkok; my neighborhood; my home. The one I love so dearly, the one I’d left behind some 10 months prior after moving back to New York. I lived in Pratunam, as I do now, around the corner from where the Red Shirt protests began in earnest and steadily ratcheted up into sporadic bouts of destruction. Still, in a country where 95% of the population are peaceful Buddhists, I was convinced it’d never come to such a violent end. I was obviously wrong. The footage of gunfire and of burning buildings and of human loss that streamed across BBC that night brought me to tears. I was as sad as I was angry.

Shame on everybody involved in this mess. That day’s blood stains many hands; unfortunately neither side has really owned up or taken responsibility (much less admitted blame) for the events of May 19th. That certainly hasn’t helped facilitate any so-called reconciliation, but it feels too late for that anyway.

I’m not a Thai political commentator, nor somebody particularly well-educated on the nuances of this conflict. I feel like the Reds have a legitimate point; as corrupt and manipulative as Thaksin was and probably still is, he did accomplish quite a bit while in office. That doesn’t mean I’m a Red sympathizer: I don’t particularly care which politician or which party wins the election on July 3. Politics are politics are politics, especially in Thailand; there’s never a side that’s right and a side that’s wrong, one that’s good and one that’s bad. Like most expat observers, I simply want some measure of non-violent closure come July, for the sake of the Thai people.

Political strife is nothing new to this country, but this one conflict has festered for far too long. Enough. I know it’s not this simple, but it’s time to move on and make a color-coded Thailand nothing more than a painful memory.

Welcome to the Carnival of Cities blog carnival, where we tour the world in a single post, via submissions from a variety of different blogs, all about any aspect of one, single city (or fair-sized town.)

The previous edition was hosted on May 4 by Nerd’s Eye View and the June 1 edition will be over at Sophie’s World.

If you would like to host a future Carnival edition on your blog please contact me at Sheila “at” sheilascarborough “dot” com. Thanks!

Off we go….

Cities in the Americas

Austin, Texas, USA Pete&Kara presents Canoes, Margaritas and Sushi. Oh My! posted at Dispatches from a Winnebago, saying, “An Austin, TX birthday weekend: canoeing, jumping off a bridge, the strongest margaritas and the city’s best sushi!”

New York, New York, USA Lionel Martinez presents Media At Ground Zero posted at ZineTv, saying, “The impact of the news media coming to your town as seen by what happened at Ground Zero, New York City after the death of Osama Bin Laden.”

Boise, Idaho, USA Nancy Sathre-Vogel presents Falling in love with Boise posted at A Wayward Journey, saying, “After traveling the world for 34 years, I’ve come to the realization that Boise, Idaho is a pretty darn great place to live!”

Miami, Florida, USA Marina K. Villatoro presents South Beach, Miami Couple’s Escape posted at International Woman – It’s all about the Experience…, saying, “Enjoying Miami with my husband – a long needed couples getaway!”

Cashiers, North Carolina, USA Jennifer presents High Hampton Inn and Country Club – Cashiers, North Carolina posted at Two Kids and a Map, saying, “High Hampton is a lovely getaway in the mountains perfect for outdoor family adventures.”

Medellin, Columbia Jaemin Yi presents My Medellin Wrap-Up posted at Jaemin Yi | Travel, Creativity, and the Pursuit of Awesomeness, saying, “I’m a traveller in my mid-20′s and I just spent a month living in Medellin, Colombia. I had an amazing experience creating Reggaeton music, learning how to salsa dance, and even getting mugged at knifepoint. Would love to share my experience with some other travellers, especially if they’re interested in going to Colombia someday.”

Santa Barbara, California, USA suzanne cohen presents 30 Things to See in Santa Barbara posted at Santa Barbara Adventure Company.

Fort Worth, Texas, USA I wrote Travel Post Friday: the Paris Coffee Shop posted at Sheila’s Guide To The Good Stuff, saying, “Nothing to do with Paris, France but everything to do with finding cool local places.”

Allendale, Michigan, USA Dominique King presents Photo Friday: Metal marching band at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan posted at Midwest Guest, saying, “Public art is a very big part of the landscape at Grand Valley State University, and this multi-figure installment made of recycled scrap is one of my favorite pieces on the west Michigan campus.”

San Francisco, California, USA Donna West presents San Francisco Sightseeing Tradition: Sourdough Bread posted at Fun Tour Guru, saying, “Looking in depth at the local stories of people connected to cities while sightseeing – many connected as entrepreneur stories – I have two recent – one with cable car museum and this one on sourdough”

Cities in Australia and New Zealand

Brisbane, Australia Zhu presents Brisbane and Surfers Paradise posted at Correr Es Mi Destino, saying, “Brisbane was our first large city since Sydney and we arrived by Greyhound under pouring rain. Bad weather is less frustrating in the city than at the beach, we thought, and at least in Brisbane we could shelter in one of the numerous malls if we needed to.”

Cities in Europe

Paris, France Quiet Wanderings presents A Stroll in Paris posted at Quiet Wanderings.

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Wales Anne-Sophie Redisch presents The longest place name in the world? posted at Sophie’s World, saying, “Ever heard of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch? Now try saying that three times fast. Or just once, even.”

London, England Katie Sorene presents 6 London Myths Exposed posted at Travel Blog – Tripbase, saying, “Persistent rain, bad teeth and terrible food – this post reveals the most popular myths about London and why you shouldn’t believe them.”

That concludes this Carnival edition, and thank you for visiting.

Please submit your (ONE, non-spammy) blog post to the next edition of the Carnival of Cities using our carnival submission form.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

(If you like this post, please consider subscribing to the blog via RSS feed or by email – the email signup box is at the top of the right sidebar near the Search box. Thanks!)

My favorite museums seem to share a sense of community and connection. I find that often in the ways they tell their stories, ways that invite me to think, to reflect, to see things a little differently. Such as with this piece, which is in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, Scotland. Sophie Cave is the artist.

May is international museum month. It’s a fine time to pay your favorite museum a return visit, or explore a new one. Or both.

photograph was taken with permission of Glasgow Museums. thank you for respecting this.

want to keep up with ideas on museums, and other travel advenures? consider
subscribing to Perceptive Travel’s RSS feed.

“Sublime” is a word that’s frequently used to describe the taste of a delicious confection, often chocolate, or to express the exquisiteness of a tropical island that looks like a screen saver. It is commonly used to describe a peak experience and in fact it is derived from words that mean “up to the lintel”, or up to the top.

In the 18^th century, British writers and philosophers were known to  describe their feelings as “sublime”, upon seeing the Alps for the first time during the travel ritual known as “The Grand Tour”

But there is a very important element to the sublime that is very often missed today: a deep sense of danger, one that is either entirely obvious, or just chewing around the edges of your subconscious. Edmund Burke, one of the primary thinkers on the sublime, describes the feeling state as all encompassing, a state of astonishment – “the mind is entirely filled with its object” – which happens because “all emotions are suspended in some degree of horror.”

The horror – or the terror, if you will – comes from an either conscious or unconscious understanding your own mortality, your insignificance, and the limits of your own understanding and comprehension. But this is also delightful, because at the very moment of contemplation, you are not in any actual danger – so you are physically calm, yet aware of your own mortality.

Contemplating the ocean evokes a sense of the sublime. You know that endless water with its waves and undercurrents can get you, if it wants to,  you can’t see the boundaries of it, not at the horizon, not down below. But at the moment, on the beach, you’re just fine. A pack of lions, seen from a remove in a Land Rover on safari, evokes the sublime. It could kill you, it is unpredictable, but at this very moment you are safe. And, as the Brits discovered in the 18th century,  mountains are a reliably source of the sublime, too, with their treacherous avalanches and temperature differences.

If it is bigger than us, stronger than us, and unbendable to our will – if it’s something that we have trouble understanding, and especially if we can’t see its full boundaries, if the light is growing dim and some of it is obscured from our view, it is a good candidate to evoke the sublime.

_{Photos: San Cassiano in the Italian Alps; Bandon, Oregon. By Alison Stein Wellner}

Everyone knows about Hearst Castle at San Simeon, California but few realize that there is another, just as extraordinary,  ‘castle’ down the road in Cambria.

This castle, known as Nitt Witt Ridge, was built by Arthur Harold Beal, who, having bought two and a half acres of hillside land in 1928, set about carving out terraces with a pick and shovel and creating a ‘castle’ made from junk.

No one really knows what spurred Albert in his building frenzy, although it’s thought that there was a woman (and a broken heart) involved.

Being the town’s garbage collector during the 1940’s and 1950’s provided Albert (also known as Captain Nit Witt or Der Tinkerpaw) with plenty of building material.

Wandering around the house, it’s pretty clear he had some favorite building supplies – beer cans, toilets, abalone shells, car parts, and even, apparently, some broken tiles thrown away by the Hearst building crew.

Albert is long gone but his building legacy, considered a California State Historical Landmark, will live on.

Depending on your point of view, Nitt Witt Ridge is either a brilliant example of folk art or a jumbled collection of junk.

Or was he just ‘green’ before his time…

Tours of Nitt Witt Ridge are available by contacting the owners (Michael and Stacey O’Malley) on 805-927-2690.

For more on what to do in Cambria, check out What a Trip’s Insider Tips to Cambria.

(Disclosure: the writer was hosted by san luis obispo county visitors & conference bureau on her visit to Cambria, staying at the FogCatcher Inn)