Asian Geographic Magazines

Punk hardly needs an introduction. Music, fashion and lifestyle converge in this unique subculture, known for its wild Mohawk hairstyles, spikes and piercings, black leather and “emo” disposition. In Asia, a continent whose many different cultures tend to share a deep-seated appreciation for cultural traditionalism, you would be forgiven for thinking that punk barely registers in the social strata in the more conservative parts of the region.

Driving through the streets of the commuter town of Rawang, 30 kilometres north of Malaysia’s capital city Kuala Lumpur, Azlina Jamaluddin is more than eager to challenge any criticism of polygamous marriage. A born-again Muslim and self-proclaimed “working woman”, the 48-year-old dentist ascribes her professional success and personal growth to polygamy. “I can work, I have more time for myself and I don’t need to take care of my children all the time, as the other wives share the childrearing responsibilities with me,” she shares.

On the frontline of combating global illiteracy is the award-winning organisation Room to Read, founded in 2000 by former Microsoft executive, John Wood, Erin Ganju and Dinesh Shrestha.

Sukhothai translates to “dawn of happiness” our guide, Tong, tells us with an appropriately wide grin as we pull out of the airport on a steaming, cloudless day in February. It’s the end of the dry season, and a milky Thai iced tea (Cha Yen ชาเย็น) – a shock of saccharine, foamy orange – goes down a treat. The lazy yawns I've been stifling since the early morning wake-up are swiftly substituted with a caffeine and condensed milk-induced buzz.

Coming from the ultra-modern megalopolis of Shanghai, nobody would believe that a four-hour bus ride through eight-lane expressways, followed by a bumpy, mostly unpaved road would lead to the Chinese version of Hollywood. Hengdian, a city of around 200,000 people in the eastern part of Zhejiang Province is where, astonishingly, around 20 percent of all Chinese movies and TV series are filmed.

The Orient Express has the literary cache, and India’s Palace on Wheels has the opulence, but the greatest train journey on Earth is without doubt the Trans-Siberian Railway. For more than 100 years, locomotives – first steam trains, then diesel and electric engines – have run the 9,289 kilometres between Moscow and Vladivostok on the Sea of Japan. The world’s longest railway crosses seven time zones and the journey takes at least a week to complete.

It may not be the most efficient mode of travelling long distances, but for a charity awareness ride, a tuk-tuk expedition turns heads and helps to make real change.

A caravan of camels crossing the desert is the romanticised epitome of the Silk Road. Where were they going? What were they carrying? Why were they even journeying at all?