Life

Xiao Mo and her husband A Hou and the specially rigged camper van they are using to explore China's Highway 318. "This route goes through 30 degrees north latitude," says A Hou. "As I am turning 30 this year, we thought it would be a special way to celebrate." (Photo courtesy of Xiao Mo and A Hou)
Life

A hipster road trip through China in the year of COVID

Being unable to travel abroad triggered an urge to explore China from the inside

19 October 2020
Hunzai tourist guide Aziza, left, with a foreign traveler in Pakistan's Hunza Valley. Female-run businesses are on the rise in the South Asian country. (Courtesy of Root Network)
Life

Hunza Valley women challenge Pakistani patriarchy

In tourist-dependent Gilgit-Baltistan, female-run businesses are spreading

17 October 2020
Frustrated by incessant Zoom meetings? There are memes to cope with that, too. (Image by meme artist Hari Krishnan)
Tea Leaves

Laughter in a time of crisis

Memes help us deal with the horror of the COVID-19 pandemic

14 October 2020
The Gurez Valley, viewed from the top of Razdan Pass. Located high in the Himalayas about 2,400 meters above sea level, the valley is cut off from November through April. (Photo by Safina Nabi)
Life

Gurez, the Kashmir valley at the top of the world

Learning to savor solitude without loneliness

14 October 2020
Hanoi residents regularly wore masks outside because of pollution even before the coronavirus arrived in Vietnam.
Coronavirus

Pollution masks help Vietnam ward off coronavirus

Longtime environmental challenge brings unlikely upside in pandemic era

9 October 2020
Holidaymakers take to the beach on China's Hainan Island in August. 
Life

The rise of revenge travel

Pent-up travel angst finding predictable outlets as travelers throw off the shackles

9 October 2020
The Everton Supporters Club of Malaysia usually gathers at a bar in Kuala Lumpur when matches are aired, but the bar has been closed during the COVID-19 outbreak. (Photo by Lynn Choo)
Tea Leaves

Watching sports is just not the same

In Asia and England, soccer fans face the same loss of shared experience

7 October 2020
Serving up kawaii: Employees at Maidreamin, a maid cafe in Bangkok, show off their cat pose. (Photo by Yukako Ono)
Life

Thais seek to re-create the 'real Japan'

Love affair with Japanese culture intensifies amid thirst for authenticity

2 October 2020
Separated saffron stigmas are collected on a plate next to the flowers during the drying process in the Kashmiri village of Pampore, the "saffron capital of India." 
Life

Red gold: The rich tradition of Kashmiri saffron

1 kg of the prized spice can fetch as much as $4,000

30 September 2020
Actress Yuko Takeuchi appeared in both films and television during her career.
Life

Fans across Asia mourn Japanese actress Yuko Takeuchi's death

Agency confirms passing of film and TV star known for her big smile

28 September 2020
For the many temples that were already struggling to get by, the new coronavirus made the situation even worse.
Coronavirus

Japan's Buddhist temples struggle as pandemic drags on

Falling offerings and fraying social bonds have some considering closure

27 September 2020
Floating lanterns in Thailand's Yee Peng festival have been blamed for house fires and canceled flights.
Life

Thailand's famed festival of lights causes headaches for pilots

Visitors grew 30% last year, highlighting issues with lucrative celebration

24 September 2020
From Left: U.S. President Donald Trump, new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Trump rival Joe Biden are all over 70. Chinese President Xi Jinping, meanwhile, is a mere 67. (Source Reuters and Nikkei)
Tea Leaves

In US politics, the old rules get older

Could Asia lead the world into a more youthful new age?

23 September 2020
High fashion, low impact: Designer Anita Dongre's ethically produced creations have been worn by the likes of Hillary Clinton and Britain’s Duchess of Cambridge. (Courtesy of Anita Dongre)
Life

India embraces sustainable fashion

Pandemic accelerates changing trends in style and substance

23 September 2020
Kashmiri journalists display laptops and placards during a protest demanding restoration of internet service in Srinagar, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, on Nov. 12, 2019.
Tea Leaves

Dodging India's media curbs in Kashmir

Under government pressure, self-censorship is growing in troubled region

14 September 2020
Clear sake has taken a page from the computer chipmaking industry, relying on other companies to make its luxury-brand beverage while marketing through its own website and social media.
Food & Beverage

Startups rewrite rules of traditional Japanese sake

Upstart brewers look to expand beverage's global appeal via new taste and tech

12 September 2020
Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park was central Bangkok's first new park in three decades when it was completed in 2017. The design captures rainfall for flood control and dry season irrigation. (Courtesy of Landprocess)
Life

Bangkok's green movement branches out

After years of neglect, plans for more parks and trees are taking root in Thai metropolis

11 September 2020
This public restroom in Tokyo's Jingudori Parkw was designed by world-class architect Tadao Ando. (Photo by Seiya Tsuji)
Arts

In Tokyo, public toilets are works of art

World-class architects design uniquely shaped and see-through park restrooms

10 September 2020
A trainer for the F45 Fitness chain leads a virtual class in Hong Kong. (Courtesy of F45 Fitness)
Life

Asia's boom in virtual fitness may lack endurance

Online exercise is popular but will the sector outlast the pandemic?

9 September 2020
Chao Phraya Sky Park was built by refurbishing a bridge that was neglected for about three decades. (Photo by Yohei Matsumura)
Travel & Leisure

Bangkok sky park raises tourism hopes for post-pandemic Thailand

Chao Phraya footbridge offers new landmark and stunning views

9 September 2020
James Asquith, record-setting globe-trotter and founder of travel startup Holiday Swap, moves trough yet another airport in August. The pandemic, he says, might force people to "reassess why they travel, where they go, and why.” 
Life

Globe-trotter looks beyond pandemic era

Travel ‘addict’ forges ahead while others see a shuttered world

4 September 2020
Panning for gold in a fast-running stream in Nundle, Australia. (Geoff Hiscock)
Life

The Australian gold rush that never ended

Fossicking for the next 'flash in the pan' as the pandemic pushes up prices

2 September 2020
Mae Prae, 32, stands near the gate of Mae Rim Long Neck Village, a privately owned village in northern Thailand where women from the Red Karen hill tribe earn money from tourists eager to see their elongated, brass-ringed necks. With the pandemic, however, tourism money has dried up. (Vincenzo Floramo)
Life

Pandemic worsens plight of Thailand's 'long-necked' women

Myanmar refugees suffer as tourism dries up

28 August 2020
The bestseller shelf at a major bookstore in Tokyo in August. (Photo by Edward M. Gómez)
Tea Leaves

As pandemic drags on, it's self-help time in Japan

Bookstores abound with advice on how to improve one's life, outlook and skills

26 August 2020
Crewmen are shown fighting fires on the deck of the CV-3 USS Saratoga which was badly damaged and set ablaze after being hit several times by Japanese bomber planes in kamikaze attacks off the island of Iwo Jima in World War II. 
Society

Sharing true stories of kamikaze pilots with the world

US museums seek balance through firsthand accounts of Japanese suicide bombers

22 August 2020