From their office in the “gem district” of Bangkok, which begins around Silom Soi 11 and stretches down to the banks of the Chao Phraya River, Liz Smailes meets with GIA, Graduate Gemologist, (Gemological Institute of America) Mark Power and his business partner and jewelry designer Laurie Hardoon Adulayavichitr. With a vast amount of the world’s colored gemstones passing through Bangkok at some point in their process from the mining, cutting, grading, trading and setting, Thailand has long been known as a major market for colored gemstones, and the world capital of ruby and sapphire. Many a traveler to Thailand has been subjected to the notorious gem scams, which usually begin with a street approach around Bangkok’s Grand Palace or Wat Pho, but that scam only thrives on the existence of the real deal. Where to find the real deal? ...

Songkram Jutjarat has a love of dogs, he takes them off the streets and away from the danger of landing on plates in Thai and Vietnamese eateries - he tells Traversing the Orient it’s a tough battle. Amid loud growling and gnashing teeth, dog catchers round up the homeless hounds in Thailand’s Lopburi and sell them to the butcher’s knife in Vietnam. Any­where from 40 to 80 dogs at a time are crammed into trucks, their destiny priced at around US$10 a portion, unless the trucks cross paths with the Thai police first. A legal spot fine of a mere US$60 per truckload sees the thieves release the stolen dogs, only to return another day or move on to another territory. Songkram Jutjarat – nickname Golf - is from Lopburi, for the last ten years he has co-run/owned a small restaurant called Mali in Bangkok’s Sathorn Soi 1 district. Three years ago ...

Tom Cockrem explores a religious festival that blends icons of Catholicism with the ancient tribal traditions of the Ati-Ati people History in the Philippines is never far removed from the people’s daily lives. It’s intrinsic in their artworks, reli­gion, cinema, and especially their festivals. It is doubtful that any country in the world puts as many days aside for celebratory events as do the Filipinos. And they do it in grand style, with an energy and passion that can leave the visiting observer literally breathless with excitement and with awe; as I discovered in Iloilo on the central Visayan island of Panay. This was my second visit to Iloilo. The first time I came to do the city plazas and their churches – grand old Spanish colonial survivors. This time I had one of those festivals in mind – the Dinagyang. ...

Sunshine Lichauco de Leon takes a look at the work of critically acclaimed Filipino photographer Emmanuel Santos. His latest body of work, fittingly for this festive season, sets Biblical images against a modern backdrop In a world where it’s easy to focus on the things that divide and separate us, photographer Emmanuel Santos has tried to emphasize some of what we can share in common.  The Angels revealed in his collection of photos inspire thought, feeling, imagination and make you want to believe in things you can’t see. Emmanuel Santos’s latest work, THE PASSING OF LIGHT- Book of Illuminations, consists of photos of the 72 angels that represent the 72 different names of God, as mentioned in the Book of Exodus of the Old Testament. Shot in 21 countries ...