This footage captures the moment hundreds of sky lanterns are released into the skies above Chiang Mai, Thailand. The ultralight paper body fills with hot gas and sends each lantern soaring skyward, the suspended flame propelling its glowing form into the night.

The theme “linking cultures” has been chosen for the 2011 World Tourism Day (to be celebrated on September 27). Often, in an area with indigenous populations, or people who are original to the land, one of the greatest assets is traditional culture. Through mindfully operated cultural tours, indigenous groups have something a great deal to offer – and to gain! – from exchanges with tourists. Here we share a roundup of some of our favourite indigenous culture tours.

New Year’s Day is a time to bid farewell to the year that was and greet the year that will be with joy and hope for positive change. It is celebrated all over the world and often welcomed with a bang (literally). In the Western world, festive New Year’s events occur on the 1st of January, the first day of the Gregorian calendar. However, for millions of people on the other side of the world, the New Year is ushered in on different days of the year, often in keeping with the lunar calendar.

Before jetting off on an exotic culinary adventure, it pays to read up on a country’s favourite regional fare. After all, when it comes to food, every culture has its own version of what constitutes a tasty snack. To help, we’ve rounded up a collection of some of the world’s most uncanny edibles, from fried spiders to local lizards and great big mouthwatering worms! Adventurous eaters beware: not everything tastes like chicken and one man’s pet may be another man’s delicacy.