'The architect ponders what went went wrong in comunications between the drawing board and the finished rainforest retreat.'

Text by Ian Hall Photos by Ian Hall and Serena Lamb The forest around Borneo Rainforest Lodge (BRL) is home to an extraordinarily high density of orang-utans. More than 30 individuals are being monitored in a research program lead by the Wildlife Research Center (WRC) of Kyoto University. Wild orang-utans are very good for nature tourism and I reckon that during a three night stay at the Lodge there is an even chance of seeing at least one of those fellas. The WRC research program now has a new purpose built home at BRL thanks...

Text by Ian Hall Photos by Emran Taib, Melissa Cornejo and Ian Hall See original post on Wild Asia's RTA blog. Responsible tourism at its best can allow us to trial a lifestyle that may counter the ecological crisis and bring us closer to nature. At Nikoi Island in Indonesia guests are separated from their air conditioning and consumer gadgets and provided instead with a low-energy beach front house without walls. The luxury here is to be able to smell the sea from your room, to be able to hear the insects as you sleep and enjoy...

Arkitrek are proud to be associated with Wild Asia's Responsible Tourism (RT) Awards 2009. Ian Hall has been invited to join the judging panel which will decide this year's winners from a shortlist of 8 accommodation operators throughout Asia. Wild Asia targets accommodation owners because these are the people who have made a commitment to a place. With this 'rooted-ness' comes a long term view that is essential for social and environmental sustainability. Responsible tourism is an evolution of the term 'eco-tourism'. The words...

One month after my last visit, I arrived on Mantanani and was delighted to see the site strewn with impeccable driftwood logs. Albi and his team had scoured the coast and dragged their choice finds through the sea back to the camp site. Some of the logs still lay tethered at the high water line while others where being diligently planed smooth to resemble nothing like driftwood. My romantic dreams of water weathered, silvered and twisted timbers would have to be adjusted, another casualty of the cultural conditioning that...