Episode list

During Part 1 of Joseph's Mekong River voyage through Cambodia and Vietnam he travels from the temple mountains of Angkor and its UNESCO World Heritage sites, to the river towns and villages of the Mekong river valley. Along the way he explores the country's history and spiritual roots in its ancient Buddhist pagodas and monasteries. On visits to weaving, stonecutter and silversmith villages, he celebrates the Cambodian people's creativity and resilience. In Cambodia's sprawling countryside against a backdrop of farmland and rice fields he comes face to face with Cambodia's tragic past in the killings fields of the Khmer Rouge genocide. As the first part of our journey concludes, Joseph is poised to enter the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh as he continues to go with the Mekong's flow on to Vietnam and the Mekong River Delta.

We see preparations, gatherings and celebrations on some of Taiwan's islands for Matsu, the goddess of the sea, who is inside, outside, pretty much everywhere in Taiwan. Every year 1,000,000+ people come from all over the world to participate and be blessed during the 200 mile pilgrimage.

Joseph travels to Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, along the Irrawaddy River, where he engages in an exploration of golden pagodas, local markets (naturally), working villages and historic sites.

We visit San Antonio and the various TexMex Christmas traditions. Then off to Venice, California for the Christmas canal races. Next we are whisked away to Montreux, Switzerland to be with the people at the market and to Rochers-de-Naye high into the Alps to visit Pere Noël in Santa's Village and then to Lausanne noted for the International Olympic Committee, and then to a German market in Basel. Merry Christmas from around the world.

Joseph visits some beautiful natural parks, of which there are many in Taiwan, he visits some scenic areas and hot springs. 60% of this small island nation is forested. A local chef harvests many edible sea creatures. Taiwan has over 600 bird species and there is an annual bird-watching contest, people from all around the world attend.