Asian Geographic - 01.01.2018

{ EDITOR’S NOTE}

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language

and next year’s words await another voice.

And to make an end is to make a beginning”

T.S. Eliot

ASIAN Geographic can be found on board and at the

following locations

Festivals can be deeply spiritual and ritualistic, or merely frivolous and
fanciful. They range from rambunctious to riotous to reflective. They can also
be romantic, nostalgic – even melancholy. Some ancient practices appear
archaic and macabrely out of place in contemporary contexts; several are
hard to stomach. Some are in danger of dying out completely, whereas others
have metamorphosed, taking on modern influences and idiosyncrasies.
Asia’s festivals can really be summed up in one word: diverse. From east
to west, the region boasts a smorgasbord of the weird, the wonderful, and
the downright bizarre. But whatever their flavour, festivals offer a fantastic
means of immersing oneself in a foreign community’s culture. In keeping
with Passport’s mission to equip the modern traveller with a comprehensive
guide to Asia, we’ve covered as many bases as possible, with a calendar and
listings of some of the festival highlights in the region – and you’re invited.
Journey to Mongolia for the riotous Naadam festival, which gives the
Olympics a run for its money in terms of its fierce competitive edge, with
three Genghis Khan-approved traditional sports (p26). Visit the Surin
Elephant Roundup, which has its origins in Thailand’s royal hunts in the
Ayutthaya period (p40). In the Philippines, Easter takes a turn for the queasy
as Catholic devotees re-enact the crucifixion in all its gory glory (p48).
The high stakes continue at Myanmar’s Taunggyi Fire Balloon Festival,
where homemade exploding fireworks douse the audience in showers of
sparks – for some, the danger is half the fun (p56). Take a turn to the Pushkar
Camel Fair in India, the largest of its kind in the world (p70), and in Central
Asia, get into the spirit of the widespread Nowruz celebrations (p86).
It is also with sadness that I say my farewells to the magazine, with this
being my last issue. ASIAN Geographic was honoured to take home seven
awards at this year’s Media Publishers Association of Singapore gala dinner
(see the scoop on p110), so I’d like to congratulate and thank the
team for all their hard work, creativity and commitment over the last year.
Wishing all our readers a festive, fabulous year ahead – and safe travels!

Image © Miguel Candela

ALEX W. CAMPBELL

AIRlINES & lOuNgES

ClubS & SOCIETIES

TOuRISM bOARDS

Other AsiAn GeOGrAphic MAGAzines pte Ltd pubLicAti Ons & events:

NewsstaNd distributioN

ASIAN Geographic can be found in the following countries. If you have

difficulty finding us on newsstands, please contact our distributors:

ChinA And hOnG KOnG Times Publishing (HK) Ltd; indOnESiA Java

Books; PhiliPPinES Alpha Stream Marketing; MAlAySiA Pansing

Marketing Sdn Bhd; SinGAPOrE Singapore Press Holdings Ltd;

ThAilAnd Asia Books Co Ltd

media correspoNdeNts

indiA, Sri lAnKA RMA Media, Faredoon KUKA • [email protected]

nEPAl, BAnGlAdESh Media South Asia (P) Ltd • [email protected]

ThAilAnd Radius • [email protected]

ChinA Hainan Periscope Social Media Company • [email protected]

JAPAn Keiichi ARANTANI • [email protected]

a

hOTElS & RESORTS

COMMERCIAl CENTRES

CAFÉS & RESTAuRANTS

ATTRACTIONS

BEIJING/SHENZHEN/

HONG KONG