From late-January to mid-February, China, South Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia, and many other Asian countries celebrate the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival. The holiday sees the world's largest annual human migration as hundreds of millions of people take a journey back home, bringing the global economy to a halt and causing a crazy traffic load. It is an annual headache for retailers and importers overseas who rely on Asia as all factories shut down. While all countries that celebrate New Year emphasize family reunions, specific celebrations and rituals encompassing the holiday are unique in each nation.
Father abandoned child, wife husband, one brother another; for this illness seemed to strike through the breath and sight. And so they died. And none could be found to bury the dead for money or friendship. Members of a household brought their dead to a ditch as best they could, without priest, without divine offices ... great pits were dug and piled deep with the multitude of dead. And they died by the hundreds both day and night ... And as soon as those ditches were filled more were dug ... And I, Agnolo di Tura ... buried my five children with my own hands. And there were also those who were so sparsely covered with earth that the dogs dragged them forth and devoured many bodies throughout the city. There was no one who wept for any death, for all awaited death. And so many died that all believed it was the end of the world.
When Portuguese sailors observed the island of Taiwan in the 16th century, they called it ‘Formosa,’ which means ‘beautiful island’. No words or images can best describe and prove how beautiful Taiwan really is, as it is best experienced and explored when you’re actually there. To enjoy a more immersive experience, consider booking one of those custom Taiwan private tours. That way, the itinerary can be tailored according to the activities and experiences you want.
Vietnam is a country that is full of tourist destinations, stunning scenery, exciting natural wonders, delicious food, and relaxing experiences—and the best way to enjoy your holiday here is to book a Vietnam private tour. If you want to experience everything Vietnam has to offer, then a private tour can give you that satisfaction. And yes—it’s well worth the money. Some people worry about costs when in fact, a custom tour can offer so much more value.
Are you planning to participate and watch the nation'sbiggest national holiday, Naadam? You may want to consider buying a Mongolia vacation package instead of taking the DIY route. Trips@Asia will help you pick destinations where you can taste and experience this traditional festival best. They will even arrange everything, including your itinerary, accommodation, domestic flights, private transportation, transfers, entrance fees, and meals so you can stay comfortable while enjoying the trip.
If there is any country in the world that will still surprise even the most well-travelled travelers, that’s Mongolia. So, if you are still pondering whether or not you should book a Mongolia vacation package, you better make up your mind now. This landlocked nation is slowly opening its gates to more tourists and is beginning to attract people from all over the world. Book that vacation while you can still see the untouched and preserved beauty of this part of the world.
As the landlocked country opens up to the world, Mongolia is attracting more and more people to its beauty and uniqueness. There are various Mongolia vacation packages that promote the colorful culture and distinct way of life of the nomads. A trip to this country is surely worth investing in. If you are pondering what experiences you will enjoy when you visit, then take a look at the following popular Mongolia vacation packages.
Bhutan is a landlocked country that stretches between the Himalayan southern slopes to the north and the southern savannas and grasslands. Known as the ‘world’s happiest country’, its culture is predominantly influenced by Tibet, with the official language being Tibetan dialect and the religion as Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan feudalism has also greatly influenced the history of Bhutan, and the fortified monasteries known as Dzongs still stand and are being used today. The best way to experience everything the country has to offer is with custom Bhutan private tours.
Hiking Tours Asia – Enjoy Exciting & Exclusive Destinations in Asia
For the adventurous and nature-lover, hiking is a great way to discover and explore many different places. It makes reaching your destination feel more rewarding after an exciting journey traversing varied terrain. So, if you are looking to discover Asia in a different way, consider booking a hiking tour with a reputable and trustworthy travel company. Hiking tours in Asia will take you through some of the most exclusive and exciting destinations in the continent. Amazing trails and paths with breathtaking sights and memorable sounds await you and your companions with custom tour packages available to ensure that all the places you want to see can be covered.
Cultural Tours in Asia – Insight into the Way of Life of the Local People
There is nothing like Asian culture, especially when you have the opportunity to behold the one-of-a-kind art, learn every country’s cultural perceptions, and get to know the way of life of the people. For a better way to get acquainted with the Asian state of mind, consider signing up for custom cultural tours in Asia. A tour package could take you through Asia’s art scene and bring you to see and learn about iconic cultural monuments. The objective of these trips is to provide an insight into the culture, understand its origins, and how it translates into the daily life of both rural and city folk.
Whether it’s your first or nth time visiting South Korea, you may want to experience the country in a more intimate way with a private tour. Korea private tours are popular with discerning travelers looking to travel more comfortably without the stress. Traveling this way will give you more opportunities to immerse yourself into the amazing culture through personalized activities and the places you want to see and experience, without the uninteresting stops. Moreover, it will give you more control over what to see and do, whether you’re traveling alone, with a small group, or with a special someone.
The Best Asia Hiking Tours That You Must Try
Asia is home to a plethora of national landmarks and highest mountains on the planet, making it a very popular destination for adventure junkies. If you love trekking, then you should join an Asia hiking tour. Exploring this continent by foot is simply the best. It allows you to discover its culture and will make you appreciate your journey even more. This list includes some of the must-try hiking destinations on the continent and explains why people from around the globe travel thousands of miles to hit the trails there.
Champa: The Forgotten Kingdom of Vietnam
The Kingdom of Champa appeared out of nowhere and disappeared as if it had never been here. It left behind a rich cultural heritage, including thousands of relics, temples, and monuments across Vietnam and Cambodia, two of Asia's most popular destinations. Yet, many who traveled in the region heard very little, if anything, about this kingdom.
Tibet: A Century-long Struggle for Independence
By the end of the 19th century, China's influence began to diminish in Tibet after the British took over neighboring India. With the Qing dynasty on the verge of collapse, British India sent a frontier commission to Tibet in 1903 to establish diplomatic ties, or more bluntly, to conquer the region.
Mysteries behind the Nepalese royal massacre
On June 2, 2001, news of a tragic event spread across Nepal that soon threw the whole country into chaos. Ambulances transported 15 members of the royal family from the Narayanhiti Palace to the military hospital the night before. Nine, including King Birendra, his wife, and two children, were shot dead. Crown Prince Dipendra was formally proclaimed king while in a coma, but died just three days later. His death marked the extinction of the main branch of the royal family.
Sherpas: Heroes of the Himalayas
On May 29th, 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary became known as the first person to stand atop Mount Everest. However, he was not alone at the top of the world! Since then, over 4,000 climbers have successfully summited the mountain. We learn about the challenges they overcame in their quest to reach the world's highest peak through interviews, books, and movies. However, many of us never heard about the men who made these dangerous journeys possible- the Sherpas of the Himalayas!
Chinese Muslims: Hui and Uyghur people
Islam is an officially recognized religion of China. The traders along the Silk Road brought the faith to the country, which spread quickly among its people. Today, about 25 million Muslims live in the country, which represents 1.6 percent of its population.
Is Dalai Lama Leader of Tibet?
On March 17 of 1959, three squads, each consisting of 10 men, slipped through the walls of Norbulingka while everyone slept. Among them was the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, disguised as a soldier. He turned around and looked at Norbulingka, his summer palace. Then 23, he probably didn't know he would never see it again.
Cambodian Genocide: Pol Pot's reign of terror
In the 2000s, I visited Tuol Song or Hill of Poisonous Trees. The walls of this old school, located on a hilltop, were adorned with pictures of Cambodians tortured to death. While I was looking at their gloomy faces, the laughter of an American girl disturbed my focus. The contrast between the suffering of the victims and her cheerfulness filled my eyes with tears.
South Korea: Miracle on the Han River
On the morning of May 16, 1961, South Koreans woke up to political turmoil. The army took the hills around the capital with tanks and artillery, threatening to fire government installations. They had soon installed General Park Chung-hee as a de facto ruler. What awaited the new leader was a torn-down nation, suffering through the aftermath of the Korean War that claimed the lives of 2 million people and left millions in poverty.
In a sign of their increasingly close ties, China and Nepal have agreed at last on the height of Mount Everest, after more than a decade of disagreement and dispute. Earlier this month, the two countries made a joint announcement regarding the new measure of the world's highest peak, which sits at Nepal's border with China in the Himalayas. A recent statement declared that Everest is currently standing at 8,848.86 meters or about 29,032 feet. In the aftermath of a dreadful 2015 earthquake, geologists speculated that several Himalayan peaks, including Mount Everest, have possibly shrunk. However, the new measurement is nearly a meter higher than the formerly accepted altitude.
Earlier this month, leaders from 15 Asia-Pacific nations signed a historic deal that would reduce trade barriers in an area covering a third of the world population and a similar share of the global economy. The new free-trade zone is larger than the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement and the European Union. Economists estimate it can add $200 billion annually to the global economy by 2030. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) brings together China, Japan, and South Korea in a trade deal for the first time while also including 10 Southeast Asian countries – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Australia and New Zealand are the only non-Asian partners on board, while the US sits on the sidelines.
Unlike the Tibetans or Muslim Uyghurs, China’s ethnic Mongol population has long been seen as a stereotypical “model minority”, due to the lack of visible instances of interethnic conflict. Earlier this month, however, Chinese Mongols, most of whom reside in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, have strongly protested in opposition to Beijing’s plans to reduce the prominence of the Mongolian language. The government plans to replace Mongolian with Mandarin as the primary medium of teaching for math, history, politics, and literature, although Mongolian language lessons will continue.
Serving as the official seat of 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Forbidden City holds the world's most extensive collection of Chinese art, consisting of roughly 1.8 million items. Yet the most valuable imperial relics, considered as an epitome of Chinese fine art, are found in Taiwan. Nearly 90 percent of Taipei's National Palace Museum collection was accumulated by the emperors themselves, despite the collection being only a third as big as that of Beijing.
The Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), often referred to as the Khmer Rouge, ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. In the course of the four years of its reign, Khmer Rouge enacted one of the worst mass killings of the 20th century. The party introduced policies that overlooked human rights and quickly turned the country into a huge detention center, which later became a graveyard for an estimated two million people.
The Altai Mountains, one of the most secluded areas in the world, covers a vast area of over 16,000 kilometers, forming an impregnable barrier against globalization with its permanently snow-covered peaks that rise above 4,500m. This land of undiscovered beauty and wilderness is home to the Kazakhs, who have been preserving the ancient tradition of falconry to these days. Although falconry is still popular in many countries, including the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia, hunting with golden eagles is exclusively a Kazakh practice.
In a modern world where celebrities like Justin Bieber and Beyonce are idolized, the 14th Dalai Lama has managed to become an icon, recognized all over the world as a spokesman for Buddhism. Due to his phenomenal rise to stardom, people often mistake him as THE Dalai Lama. As a matter of fact, most of us don’t know that he is the most recent in a historical linage of spiritual leaders of the Gelug sect in Tibetan Buddhism. Historically, Sonyam Gyatso, the third Dalai Lama was the first one to bear the title in his lifetime. The title Dalai Lama, meaning “Ocean of Wisdom”, was granted to him in 1578 by Altan Khan, a descendant of Genghis Khan who was ruling a large chunk of Central Asia at the time. Since then, till now, his two predecessors and all successors have been carrying the notorious title.
Hailed as the Land of the Thunder Dragon, Bhutan is the only independent country in the world, where Tibetan Buddhism is an official religion of the state. Opening to the outside world only in the 1970s, television and the internet did not come to Bhutan until 1999. Hence, it comes as no surprise that the core values of this small Himalayan nation are strongly influenced by Buddhist ideology.
China’s paramount leader Xi Jinping said "Over the past 70 years, the Chinese people, with perseverance and strenuous efforts, have achieved rapid development which owes the world. Harsh poverty, which has haunted the Chinese people for thousands of years, will soon become a thing of the past, a great miracle in human history!" on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the country. But the country’s grandeur history tells a whole different story!
The Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is considered as a geostrategic success evenly matched to the building of the Panama channel. The railway is featured in the Guinness Book of Records for its total length, the number of stations and for the fastest pace of construction, taking only 26 years to complete. By its main route, passengers can travel 9,289 km from Moscow to Vladivostok in just seven days. Its secondary branch, known as the Trans-Mongolian, follows an ancient tea-caravan route from Russia’s capital to Beijing.
After wandering for days, a man found himself near a large peepul tree. He decided to sit beneath it and meditate upon his questions. Before long, he felt as if he was floating in space, seeing the world from far, far away. He saw himself. And then, he found an answer. This man would come to be known as Buddha. The answers he found would develop into a religion that amassed half a billion believers worldwide, changing its true color in the process.
Buddhists committed to the path to enlightenment (nirvana) must equip themselves with wisdom (prajña) and compassion (karuṇā). Wisdom allows the practitioner to see past external appearances and understand the reason behind one's suffering, while compassion helps them empathize with others.
Earth’s biggest and the most populous continent is Asia. It has a population of 4.5 billion and covers 44,579,000 square kilometers (17,212,000 sq mi) including parts of Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkey. Within its regions, a great variety of ethnicity, culture, environment,economy and political systems exist. The Asian Tigers are now shaping the world’s future and thriving to be the next superpowers of the globe. But, on the other hand, there are also many countries that are heavily affected by nagging poverty and rotten corruption.
