About Kathleen Fung

I grew up within the duality of two heritages: Asian and eastern European, two nearly opposite cultures. My father was born in China and came here to study medicine, bringing his Buddhist beliefs and deeply ingrained Chinese traditions.

My mother was both Polish and Chinese but raised in a strict eastern European Catholic household. From infancy, I experienced the yin and yang of a bicultural family that included chopsticks and forks at the table, a crucifix and a Buddhist altar in the dining room, and three languages all thrown into the mix.

Being socialized into a triple culture (American, eastern European, and Asian) helped me embrace cultural differences and respect people regardless of their race, religion, or social standing. As I traveled, I began to learn about the artistic expressions of different cultures. Traveling into obscure regions of the world like West Papua introduced me to the Asmat’s rich primitive art. Sailing across the Indonesian archipelago to remote islands opened a new understanding of textile art and symbology. West Africa’s diverse tribal cultures opened new doors to understanding art rooted in mysticism, rituals, and rites of passage. In Bhutan, a small kingdom in the Himalayas, my passion for their royal arts and craft has taken me to some of the most remote corners of the country. Travelers who join me on these expeditions learn about different cultures in ways that draw upon my own cross-cultural background. Today Far Fung Places' philosophy of travel continues to embrace understanding and learning through cultural and artistic diversity.

Acknowledgements

An amazing group of talented people teamed up to help me on this website. My thanks to Kati Torda, Nomoda Ebenizer Djaba (Cedi), Noah Katcha, Karchung, Peter Boakye and his family, Mrs. Peden and Lemey Lopen in Bhutan for their deep knowledge of their art, and Louise Hale, for her generous contribution to the techniques of cotton weaving. To my special collaborator, Lori Chobanian, who designed and helped develop the website; Dennis Keser, creative director for Far Fung Places (and my husband.); Peggy Nauts, our amazing editor; David Casuto, my consultant for presentations; and Susann Rivera for the website’s name: artsintravel, and our travel company’s name-Far Fung Places.