Allison Heiliczer witnesses the Tamil festival of Thaipusam — commonly celebrated in India — just outside of Kuala Lampur.I RECENTLY ATTENDED the Thaipusam festival in Kuala Lumpur, at the Batu Caves. This day is celebrated mostly by the Tamils during the Tamil month of Thai on the full moon. It celebrates the birth of the god of war and victory, Murugan.

Photo by peapodsquadmomHoliday Season is flu season and vaccines have been in short supply. If you’re in the United States and looking for information about where to get vaccinated, look no further.The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has set up and in partnership with Google, the CDC and state and local health departments, they’ve included a flu shot locator map along with their website’s search function to list locations and resources by state.

Five Matador readers will win tickets to see Andrew McCarthy host the Project Explorer Thailand launch party this October.When I was asked if I’d be interested in serving on the Board of Directors of Project Explorer, I knew a bit about the organization — we’d profiled it on Matador last year — but I didn’t really know what it meant to serve on the board of a non-profit.

The story of disaster from Pakistan’s Hunza Valley continues.BACK IN MARCH, MATADOR Abroad intern Heather Carreiro brought us Update: Pakistan’s Karakoram Highway Blocked by Major Landslide. The massive slide piled into a natural dam on the Hunza River, blocking its flow and creating a large lake that stretched seven miles up-valley.

Jeannie Mark fills us in on where in the world it’s still en vogue to be a smoker.EVER HEARD OF SEX tourism? What I engage in is an equally, if not despised pastime – smoke tourism. It’s not uncommon for me to fly into Bangkok, seek out a 7-11, plant down baht, and demand 7 packs right there. Call me a rebel chasing smoking bans across continents, but smoking outside of my native country is not only thrilling, but also damn cheap.

Matador Contributor David DeFranza gives a raw, honest review of this travel journal-turned-paperback.This review will not begin with a description of the book’s cover, the title page, or the table of contents, and it will not end with an evaluation of the index.I will not start by telling you I received the envelope in the mail and I will not end by illustrating the room from which I now type.