There are lessons to be learned from time-lapse photography about the beauty of slow travel. Park yourself somewhere and stay awhile. Be still. Go for long exposure. Reconsider time, stretch it, condense it and watch its flow. Leave a place with a long time-lapse memory of it rather than a handful of sporadic snapshot seconds. Here, we’ve asked our local partners from all over the world for time-lapse footage that moves them.

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.

We believe that the different forms of local transport are unique qualities of a place that, when experienced, are a vital part of a local travel experience. To know a place is to get around it the way local people do: cramming yourself into a chicken bus in South America, throwing caution to the wind in a tuk-tuk in Southeast Asia or boarding a ferry in Africa. We’re sure you will find these rides to be a brilliant bonding experience with locals.

Today is International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. Proclaimed by the United Nations, it’s a day on which, as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said, to “celebrate and recognise the stories, cultures and unique identities of indigenous peoples around the world.” The Travel Word is very proud to salute the cultural roots from which we have all sprung, roots that remain robust but require our admiration, care and protection.