Travel and Adventure
On the Road
A Singaporean traveller shares a travelogue of his journey from Lanzhou to Dunhuang, offering a taste of what explorers can look forward to on the Asian Geographic Silk Road China Expedition in 2017.
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Heritage
No Land for Nomads
It’s seven in the morning, but the frosty Mongolian steppe is still pitch black. With a thick blanket of clouds covering the starry sky, darkness is pierced by the hundreds of eerie lights emanating from the eyes of a large sheep herd.
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Current Affairs, Heritage
Civilisations for Sale
Not many people in the Middle East have the freedom to enjoy art and marvel at their cultural history. This fear has been cultivated by certain doctrines which state that the admiration of artistic work is heretical. There is a link in some Middle Eastern cultures between statues and the worship of idols; the appreciation of statues is therefore often construed as blasphemous in some religious sects. The rampant looting of centuries-old artefacts and the ongoing destruction of thousands of years of antiquities have brought about a sense of deep loss and bewilderment for many people, in the Middle East, and abroad.
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On Assignment
Rituals of Remembrance
As the sun sets, a vanguard of boys enters the ceremonial grounds, shouldering large V-shaped objects covered in colourful plastic streamers and bells. They bounce up and down to set a beat while seated onlookers look towards the line of approaching Saisiyat tribespeople. As they begin to flood into the grounds, rocking their bodies as they step in time with the jangling bells, their haunting singing – energetic, but mournful – rises in volume.
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Heritage
The Land of Women
For well over a century, women of the South Korean island province of Jeju – “the Land of Women” – have made their living by freediving – ill-equipped – to the depths of the ocean to harvest seaweed and shellfish. Reaching depths of over 10 metres in chilly waters, and lasting between two to three minutes on a single gulp of air, over 100 times a day, the Hae-Nyeo, or “sea women”, are often seen as myth-like mermaids.
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Culture
Rebels with a Cause
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.
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Culture
Polygamy Inc.
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.
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Care, Culture
One Book at a Time
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.
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