Sleep

All over Asia I have witnessed an incredible ability of people to sleep almost anywhere. No matter what cramped situation, noisy location or downright dirty environment people have no problems in making themselves comfortable and getting some shut eye. Oh how I wish I could learn that ability.  Even on long haul flights of 12 hours I am the guy who is sitting straight up with eyes wide open while everyone around me is making the most of it.

The meat market above in Siem Reap was a great example where this lady simply slung up her hammock over the stall and got busy with the Zzzz's.

So whether it's a hammock a floor mat or a chair Asians are well experienced of getting horizontal if only for a short while. This lady above has neatly propped her legs up the wall and placed a straw fan over her eyes as shades.

And ... it doesn't really matter what you look like. Again the Asians have apparently no shame or worry about appearances ..... this old guy in Urumqi in West China has laid himself out in the middle of the town square and taken off his shoes to get comfy. Holy socks ...... not a problem. They call it ventilation!

This guy in Hangzhou, China has chosen a perfect spot in front of some grand old doors and complete with his "Nordic Casual Style" sleeping bag he can sleep throughout the cold winter night.

Or if you're a taxi driver, lorry driver or trishaw rider you have already the perfect place to stretch out and snooze as seen here with this trishaw rider in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Bamboo

Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family.

In bamboo, the internodal regions of the stem are hollow and the vascular bundles in the cross section are scattered throughout the stem instead of in a cylindrical arrangement. The dicotyledonous woody xylem is also absent. The absence of secondary growth wood causes the stems of monocots, even of palms and large bamboos, to be columnar rather than tapering.

Bamboos are some of the fastest growing plants in the world, as some species are capable of growing 100 cm (39 in.) or more per day due to a unique rhizome-dependent system. However, the growth rate is partially dependent on local soil and climatic conditions.

Bamboos are of notable economic and cultural significance in South Asia, South East Asia and East Asia, being used for building materials, as a food source, and as a versatile raw product.

Prambanan

Prambanan is a ninth century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Sustainer (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva). The temple compound is located approximately 18 km east of Yogyakarta city on the boundary between Yogyakarta and Central Java province.

The temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia, and is one of the largest Hindu temples in south-east Asia. It is characterised by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the towering 47m high central building inside a large complex of individual temples.

Papaya

This beautiful papaya tree was seen in Bali, Indonesia. The papaya (from Carib via Spanish), papaw or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, in the genus Carica. It is native to the tropics of the Americas, and was first cultivated in Mexico several centuries before the emergence of the Mesoamerican classic cultures.

It is a large tree-like plant, with a single stem growing from 5 to 10 metres (16 to 33 ft) tall, with spirally arranged leaves confined to the top of the trunk. The lower trunk is conspicuously scarred where leaves and fruit were borne. The leaves are large, 50–70 centimetres (20–28 in) diameter, deeply palmately lobed with 7 lobes. The tree is usually unbranched if unlopped. The flowers are similar in shape to the flowers of the Plumeria, but are much smaller and wax-like. They appear on the axils of the leaves, maturing into the large 15–45 centimetres (5.9–18 in) long, 10–30 centimetres (3.9–12 in) diameter fruit. The fruit is ripe when it feels soft (like a ripe avocado or a bit softer) and its skin has attained an amber to orange hue. It is the first fruit tree to have its genome deciphered.

Inside The Yurt Tent

Following on from yesterday's post with the yurt tent in Xianjiang, China here is a view inside the beautifully decorated home. Life on the Steppes can be hard: the winds blow fiercely, rain and snow in the winter months give way to often oppressive heat in the summer months. Living in such close proximity to so many animals, meanwhile, meant an equally close proximity to the waste products of those animals – that makes for a ripe and generally unpleasant smell as a constant companion. The Mongolian people who continue to live on the Steppes are hardy people indeed but they are aided by a remarkable companion – the yurt.
The yurt, otherwise known as the ger, is a felt tent that is capable of standing up to the rigours of the Steppes. Constructed of felt and wood, it is stable and solid, resistant to precipitation but capable of being opened up at several points to allow for a cooling breeze to pass through when required. The roof ring is perhaps the most important part, since this wooden construction must be well-wrought and have close fitting notches for the rafters to fit into without slipping. The rafters were originally saplings which are planted one end in the ground and the other in the designated notch in the roof ring. A variety of rafters bear the weight of the complete yurt and, should one or two break or falter, then the remaining rafters are sufficient to bear the weight. This makes the yurt very stable and, because there are no central supports or struts, the space inside is maximized. This is important because people, women especially, can spend a great deal of time inside the yurt and need space to organise their domestic activities. The rafters are further supported by a couple of wooden belly bands which curve all the way round the yurt, for additional strength.

The Xinjiang Horsemen

The Mongols, Turks, Huns, Tartars and Scythians are the best known of horsemen groups that have roamed the steppes of Central Asia and the ones that were most successfully expanding beyond their native realm and impacted the worlds they touched. The Mongols created the largest empire the world have ever known.

Horseman groups originated about 2,500 years ago and continue in various forms today. Throughout their long run they have maintained many of the customs, characteristics, martial arts and methods of organization that evolved millennia ago such spending living in yurt-style tents, drinking fermented mare’s milk, fighting from horseback and creating art forms that celebrate horses and animals of the steppe.

The home range of the early horsemen, the Eurasia steppe, is vast area of land that extends from the Carpathian mountains in Hungary to eastern Mongolia. 

Want to see what it looks like inside the yurt tent then visit my blog tomorrow.

One Asia - Celebrating The Images of Asia

Michael Yamashita inspired all the attendees at the One Asia "Images of Asia" Conference at Suntec in Singapore 23rd - 24th October with his wonderful stories of his 30 year career in photography. Michael is a renowned National Geographic photographer who has specialised in many Asian based stories. In two sessions he highlighted many of these stories and material from his books with some wonderful photographs and illuminated the background involved in the picture planning and setup.

Steve McCurry was meant to have also been at the event but unfortunately cancelled at the last moment leaving Michael to take the main headline spot.

Other photographers presenting included James Whitlow Delano, Manuel Librodo, Goh Kim Hui, Lester Ledesma, Gunther Deichmann, Michael Aw, William Tan, Evan Wong, Francis Lee, Yeo Wee han, Diego Garcia, Jeffrey Kong, Ralph Haering, Felix Goh, Nelson John, Andy Yeo and Aaron Wong. The event was organised by Asian Geographic magazine.

James Whitlow Delano

Andy Yeo, Asian Geographic PASSPORT Expeditions

Lunita Mendoza, Asian Geographic Editor

Customised Canon with bling!

Celebrity Photographers

Photo Competition Judging

Photo Competition Exhibition

 Adobe stand with attractive software offers

Canon IPF 8300 demo

 One Asia Registration Desk

Photo Competition Exhibition

Photo Competition Exhibition

 Michael Yamashita in action

Blue Canyon

Asia has many top class premier golf courses and one of my favourites is the Blue Canyon Country Club in Phuket, Thailand. The Blue Canyon Country Club rose to fame when the Canyon Course was selected for the 1994 Johnnie Walker Classic. This was followed by the 1996 Honda Invitational Tournament of the Omega Tour. The Canyon Course's reputation as Asia's best was reaffirmed in 1998 and again in 2007, when the Johnnie Walker Classic returned, making it the first golf course to ever host the tournament thrice in the JWC’s history.

Architect Yoshikazu Kato took great care to mould his design ideas for the Canyon Course around the natural environment of Phuket Island, making use of the natural woodlands, water features and topography of the land. The result is a striking, organic design giving a feeling of unperturbed spontaneity to the intimidating natural hazards and lush fairways.

The Canyon Course features 80 bunkers and water at 10 of its holes as well as plenty of narrow tree-lined fairways, several dog-legs, narrow landing areas and well guarded, slick Bermuda Tidwarf greens to challenge the most proficient of golfers.

The golf clubhouse commands one of the best views over the course that I have seen anywhere and what better way to finish a day's golf but to sit at the clubhouse terrace supping a cold Singha beer and eating some great local Thai food.

This panoramic HDR photograph was created from 7 separate RAW images taken with a Canon G9 camera, using AutopanoPro to create the panorama and Photomatix Pro to generate the final HDR image.