Palisade was laid out by the (then) Central Pacific in February 1870, and initially rivaled Elko and Carlin to the east as a stage and freight hub. The Western Pacific was also built through here in the early 1900s, over strenuous objections by the Southern Pacific (the successor to the Central Pacific). In the 1920s, however, the lines sensibly came...

Every day, in nearly every town and village across southern Thailand, vendors prepare a huge variety of curries and other dishes, showcasing them in stainless steel pots and trays. These eateries are known in Thai as raan khaao kaeng, “rice and curry shops.”  Regardless of location, many claim a link with Nakhon Si Thammarat, most likely because...

On the southern Thai island of Ko Samui, there’s no lack of places to put one’s toes in the sand during a meal. But Bangpo Seafood is one of the few places where it’s possible to do this while also eating one of Thailand’s most intriguing microcuisines. Before it was a holiday destination, Ko Samui was a coconut farm, a remote outpost for a handful...

The town of Otumba in central Mexico was dying of thirst. A succession of droughts in the mid-1500s had devastated the crops and forced many Indigenous communities to abandon their ancestral farms and seek their fortune elsewhere. The situation was bleak. A village drying up and blowing away in the parched, incessant wind. But Padre Tembleque, a Franciscan...

On his walk home on the Scottish island of Tiree, a man came across a huge dog, its paw as big as the spread of his palm, near the hill of Kenavara. The black dog was resting on a sandbank near the shore, its thick fur wet with saltwater. The man hesitated, unsettled by the animal’s appearance, and decided to follow another path home. The next day,...

Akhtala Monastery, Pghindzahank, or "Copper Mine Monastery," is a 10th-century site in Armenia near the Georgian border. It was built on a plateau with very deep gorges, strategically positioned to defend the northwestern regions. The main church of Akhtala Monastery is named Surp Astvatsatsin and is renowned for its rare frescoes. Painted between...