Category: Asia
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108 | Architecture :: Shanghai, China, 2014
A different perspective of the Oriental Pearl (which I’ve already written about), I love that it combines the overall Reflection theme with this week’s architecture theme!
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101 | Masks :: Hanoi, Vietnam, 2012
Found this wall of masks where everyone’s eyes looked closed! Not stereotyping Asians at all… 😛
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100 | Masks :: Harbin, China, 2013
When I first saw this, it reminded me of the movie 9. But this wasn’t the cute and helpless creature out to save the world. I was at the Unit 731 Museum in Harbin, the location of an Imperial Japanese military compound used for the research and development of chemical and biological weapons. At least…
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099 | Masks :: Bali, Indonesia, 2013
Stealing the caption for today: Although Barong masks have become popular items among foreign collectors, to the Balinese they are much more than objects of aesthetic merit. Every Balinese village has a Barong that it considers its guardian. The Barong mask is a means of both giving the spirit tangible form and harnessing its energy.…
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097 | Masks :: Jiufen, Taiwan, 2015
Jiufen is a small tourist town in Taiwan known for its delicious food, and it has all kinds of random tourist traps… I mean attractions, like this masks museum. All the masks are rather ugly, but each one is given a name, and this particular one is named Jeremy Lin. I’m really curious whether there…
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095 | Faith :: Tibet, China, 2012
At the Sera Monastery in Lhasa, you can watch Tibetan monks debate in the afternoons. It’s a lively affair, with the challenger standing, stating his argument as either a syllogism or a consequence, and ending each question with a dramatic clap and a stomp of his feet. The defenders sit quietly, contemplate the argument, then…
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094 | Faith :: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2012
The official religion of Malaysia is Islam, but given the multicultural mix of the population, the country is relatively tolerant towards other religions. It was not my intention, but I got a glimpse of the religious diversity of Kuala Lumpur, when I started the day meditating at the National Mosque, dropped by the Buddhist Kuan…
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093 | Faith :: Nikko, Japan, 2012
If you’ve ever been to Japan, you’ve probably seen these pieces of paper hanging on trees, racks, strings, you name it. I initially had the idea these were wishes people had written for themselves hoping to come true, only to find out later they are bad luck fortunes people want to leave at the shrine/temple.…