They say Maramures people are “Romania’s Celts”.

Lately, they have almost “invaded” Bucharest; there is no week without a fair where they are invited.

And they impress us with their beautifully handmade traditional costumes. And their particular type of dance, resembling a little with the Irish one. So full of colour and energy.

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When I lived in the more rural area of Eastern Province in Zambia there was a nearby hospital that regularly had volunteers from abroad. We would often see them walking down the road, enjoying the sunshine in their shorts or mini-skirts.

One day a Zambian colleague came and asked why so many white women he saw would cover the top parts of their body but would show their legs and thighs in short skirts. This was not an unreasonable query for someone who comes from a culture where breastfeeding openly is not an issue but where if you are female you must keep everything covered from your midriff down to below your thighs. In Zambia this area of the body is seen as the erotic area and shouldn’t be shown, not even in trousers.

Ladies of the village sporting their chitenges

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Deserters from the troops deployed at the outposts of the Spanish Empire? Spanish émigrés? Moorish refugees fleeing from the Inquisition? Nobody knows for certain. The origins of the Gaucho remain shrouded in mystery.

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Ask any tourists what image they have of Pattaya and you’ll be met with something along the line of cheap beers and girls. And the city knows it. That’s why over the recent years Chonburi City (which Pattaya is a part of) has come up with a variety of attractions that you don’t need neon lights to enjoy. However, the newly built mega-malls, wax museum, ocean-view movie theater and theme park hotels are no match to what Pattaya’s Floating Market has to offer.

Floating markets are common in Thailand. Think Venice, but instead of the canals full of leisure gondolas, the Thai version is filled with wooden boats that double as floating shophouses, selling everything from a bowl of noodles to Thai desserts and souvenirs.

But what makes Pattaya’s one so special is that, despite being very commercialized where vendors are paid tenants and not your neighborhood cooking mamas, it does make a refreshing sight in this party beach town with its traditional Thai-style architecture, old-school waterside coffee shops, Thailand’s famous spicy boat noodles and rows of shacks offering snacks and gifts for locals and curious tourists.

The full name is Four Region Floating Market, which reflects the concept of bringing things from all corners of Thailand to one spot. Here you can try Northern spicy sausage from Chiang Mai, favorite som tum papaya salad from Northeast Isaan, arrays of curries from the South, and Central’s signature wicker handicrafts and funky hippie fashions.

Besides the goodies, there are also elephant shows, traditional performances, boat rides along its makeshift canals, and even a little extreme adventure on its rope obstacle course over the water.

The place is huge, you can easily waste away your afternoon, and money, here. And unlike other tourist attractions in Pattaya that aim to drain your wallet even before you set foot inside, the entrance to the floating market is absolutely free.

Pattaya Four Region Floating Market

451/304 Moo 12, Sukhumvit-Pattaya Road

Tel: (+66) 3870 6340

www.pattayafloatingmarket.com

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Remixing Thai folk music: Morlam DJ

Thanks to the internet you don’t need to travel to see what people are wearing in other parts of the world. Here are five sites to take in the different street styles on five continents.

North America: New York, USA

The king of street fashion blogs for many people is The Sartorialist. He has been photographing stylish New Yorkers since 2005, and The Sartorialist is now a design influence in its own right.

Europe: Poland

Pretty and stylish Lula Street shows that Poles have plenty of individuality when it comes to dressing.

Africa: Johannesburg, South Africa

Nontsikelelo ‘Lolo’ Veleko lives and works in Johannesburg. She featured young South Africans from the streets of Johannesburg in her series “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder”. See some of the portraits on Afronova.

Asia: Tokyo, Japan

We’ve written before about the original fashions on display in Tokyo. But different districts of Tokyo have a distinctive style of their own. On Tokyo street style you can find fashions from Harajuku, Shibuya, Omotesando, Daikanyama and Ginza.

South America: Buenos Aires, Argentina

On the Corner shows colourful and alternative fashion found on the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Agostina, a 23 year old cook, from On the Corner

Do you have a favourite site for street fashion that we haven’t included here? Share it with us in the comments.

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Fashion freedom in Japan

The traditional dress of Japan is the kimono and if you take a walk around Tokyo these days you will still see someone wearing kimono now and again, normally an older person.

Younger Japanese people are more likely to be wearing western style clothes, and in districts like Shibuya and Harajuku there are some very original styles on display.

In her blog Tokyo Kawaii etc Kirin says that Japanese fashion is “free from rules or fixed ideas”. In this post she talks about foreigners who go to Japan to enjoy Japanese fashion freedom. There’s also a video if you understand Japanese.

Nihon Sun captured some great photos of young fashionistas like the two below, out and about in Shibuya, Tokyo. Go here to look at the rest of the photos.

Image credit: Nihon Sun

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Street style from Finland
Japan rediscovers healthy food

When was the last time you took a pair of shoes to the cobbler?

According to this article from BBC News, more and more Americans are rediscovering the advantages of repairing their shoes instead of buying a new pair.

Will she mend them when they get old?

Repairing worn out shoes is a lot cheaper than replacing them, and so this is one business which is benefitting from the current economic situation. It’s good for the environment too, although probably not as good for shoe makers.