Culture

You should be careful which books you give your daughters, because you never know what irrepressible, adventurous spirit they might engender. For Freya Stark (1893–1993), the desire to escape and explore was sown on her ninth birthday when she was given One Thousand and One Nights, the famous collection of Arabian tales.

The aboriginal dialect of the tiny island of Taiwan is the ancestor of one-fifth of the world’s languages, researchers say   Few will associate primarily Mandarin-speaking,...

Text & Photos  by Angelia Tan It’s an old island here in Koh Samui. Situated on the east coast of Thailand, the history told takes...

Article extracted from Asian Geographic Issue 02/2020 (141) Text: Shreya Acharya It is durable and strong, warm and cosy, and lasts up to hundreds of years....

The bloody sport has been outlawed in Indonesia, but in Bali, matches go on in temples and villages 

Sporting competitions conjure images of athletic prowess and physical feats, with all the fanfare hiding the deft political manoeuvring required to bring these events to life. A closer inspection of the Asian Games reveals a political tapestry reflective of the deeply complex relations of the member states.

During Holy Week, Filipinos practice Visita Iglesia — the act of visiting and praying in at least seven churches that was introduced to the Philippines by Augustinian missionaries in the 1560s. AG takes a look at three popular pilgrimage sites the local Christian and Catholics visit in the Philippines.

Text & photos by Sophie Ibbotson & Max-Lovell-Hoare It is often said that Islam does not permit the portrayal of living things in art but,...