GEO Reports

Massage is an ancient technique in Thailand and an integral part of daily life, practiced at home and in hospitals. In the Northern city of Chiang Mai there are hundreds of schools teaching Thai massage where professional masseurs learn their trade.

Since 2004, the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao has been home to a dolphin therapy centre. Five dolphins help patients, young and old, to regain a taste for life. However, the effectiveness and seriousness of this treatment is criticised by some in the scientific community.

Called Rapa Nui by its inhabitants, Easter Island is the most isolated island in the world. February is when the Tapati celebrations take place, a week-long festival with some thirty sporting and cultural events which islanders take part in. The highlight is a local twist on a triathlon in which participants paddle, run and swim.

Food trucks are everywhere in New York, especially in Astoria, Queens, a district that symbolises the American melting pot more than any other: Nowhere else is there such linguistic and cultural diversity. The result is a rich food culture with culinary specialities from all over the world.

In the north-east Indian state of Assam, relations between elephants and humans are characterised by conflict. Over 30 million Asomiya share the land with around 5,700 elephants. Tensions therefore seem inevitable. But now, for the first time, there are plans for humans and animals to live in harmony.

Every day, Janne Aikio travels long distances to look after the elderly, most of whom are Sami. A population whose daily life is punctuated by ancestral activities. To ensure that, even in old age, the Sámi can remain in their familiar surroundings, the Finnish government is doing its utmost to ensure that they remain at home for as long as possible.