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Paula Taylor on Lisa Weekly in Denim from YeinJee's Asian Blog

Theme song is one of my favourite classical pieces, the Pachelbel’s Canon.

[video via garfieH@Youtube]

You Can Shine, beautiful Thai commercial from YeinJee's Asian Blog

The Miss Tiffany’s Universe is an annual beauty contest for Thai transvestites which is broadcast live on National Thai television with an average of 15 million viewers.

The event aims to promote Pattaya as a major tourist destination as well as promoting a positive transvestite image to the local and international public.

Thailand is probably the most social tolerable nation towards transvestites (albeit not legally). I don’t think there’s any other country that came close to being as acceptance as the Thais in this matter.

Miss Tiffany’s Universe, Thailand from YeinJee's Asian Blog

Australia – Rafael Nadal won first Australian Open crown, defeating Roger Federer [ATP]

China – Birth defects soar due to environmental pollution; a baby is born with physical defects every 30 secs in China [Chinadaily]

Enviromental – Many effects of climate change are irreversible [BBC]

Iraq – A fibreglass-and-copper monument (pic) is built in honour of the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at Bush during a news conference [Youtube]

Japan – PM Taro Aso has announced a 1.5 trillion yen (USD17bn) aid package to help Asian countries weather the economic downturn [BBC]

North Korea – North Korea is scrapping all pacts with South Korea and warned that the downward relations has pushed the peninsula to the brink of war [Reuters]

South Korea – Asiana Airlines, Korea’s second-largest air carrier, is named Airline of the Year by ATW (Air Transport World) magazine [ATW]

Thailand – Deja vu… tens of thousands of protesters held a rally in Bangkok calling on the new Thai government to resign [Youtube]

General roundup (February 1, 2009) from YeinJee's Asian Blog

The Miele Guide 2008/2009 edition evaluates restaurants in 16 Asian countries… Brunei, Cambodia, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

The top 20 restaurants according to the Miele Guide 2008/2009…

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Miele Guide 2008/2009 – Asia’s top 20 restaurants from YeinJee's Asian Blog

Love the chorus and Palmy’s voice…

Palmy – Pain music video from YeinJee's Asian Blog

The above phrase is the full name of Krung Thep, Thai’s capital city which is more commonly known as Bangkok among foreigners. For this, Bangkok is recognised by Guinness World of Records as the capital city with the longest name.

The translation… “The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukam.” [via Wikipedia]

It took about 12 seconds to pronounce the name (as per this video)… amazed?

Capital city with the longest name from YeinJee's Asian Blog

Everyday hundreds of people would visit the Wat Prommanee temple in Nakhon Nayok, about 100km northeast of Bangkok, to participate in the ritual. The devotees would lie in coffins for a few minutes while the monks chant some prayers… and then rise from the coffins believing that they are cleansed of their past and ready for a new life [more on IHT]

The temple has been running the ceremony for more than three years, and its popularity seems to be ever growing with up to 700 visitors per day during weekends. The attendees would pay 100-180 bath (~ USD3-5) to partake in the ceremony.

Speaking of superstition.

Coffin ritual for a ‘new life’ in Thailand from YeinJee's Asian Blog

Mae Kompong

Mae Kompong is a village in Chiang Mai Province. Once a poppy growing area, but now home to a small community of forest dwellers who cultivate tea and coffee plantations.

Mae Kompong is also home to the Treetop eco-tourism village where visitors can take an exhilarating flight (with zip line and slide) through a 1500 year-old rainforest in the “Flight of the Gibbon” adventure…

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Amazing Race Asia 3 – Ep 2 – Chiangmai to HCMC from YeinJee's Asian Blog

I know most of the regulars here are not watching this show (or not able to), thus I’m not going to bore you with the details… but will share some Asian cultures and places that are featured in the race instead.

Tuk-Tuk

The race started at the Rama 1 Monument in Bangkok… the first feature that came onto scene was the famous auto-rickshaws commonly known as ‘Tuk Tuk’ in Thailand.

Similar auto-rickshaws can also be found in other South Asian countries, but Thai’s Tuk Tuk is probably the most iconic version. Little known fact though, is that Tuk Tuk was originated from Japan and was brought into Thailand in late 1950s. Most of the Tuk Tuk these days are local made.

Tuk Tuk in Bangkok (Image from Heinrich Damm)

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Amazing Race Asia 3 – Ep 1 – Bangkok to Chiangmai from YeinJee's Asian Blog

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The Amazing Race Asia – Season 3 from YeinJee's Asian Blog

WSC is getting bigger every year with thousands of cosplayers from around the world joining the party; it’s becoming so popular that the Japanese government is officially endorsing it.

Visit Tv-achi for more WCS info; Stephen’s Flickr set for more WSC cosplay photos

A cosplay contest was held in conjunction with the event since 2004. 14 teams from 13 countries participated in the 2008 contest; two teams from Japan and one each from Brazil, China, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Singapore, Thailand and USA.

The Brazilians won the contest this year.

World Cosplay Summit 2008 from YeinJee's Asian Blog

Don’t bother too much about the results though; their awards have always been dubious and it seems like the ‘tradition’ will continue to be preserved…

Favourite Music Artist Awards from Asia

Favourite Artist of Mainland China – Li Yu Chun
Favourite Artist of Hong Kong – Leo Ku
Favourite Artist of Indonesia – Yovie & Nuno
Favourite Artist of Korea – Super Junior
Favourite Artist of Malaysia – Nicholas Teo
Favourite Artist of Philippines – Chicosci
Favourite Artist of Singapore – Stefanie Sun
Favourite Artist of Taiwan – Show Lo
Favourite Artist of Thailand – TOR+ Saksit

International Music Awards

Favourite International Artist of Asia – Linkin Park
Best Hook-up – Timbaland feat. OneRepublic – “Apologize”
The Innovation Award – Radiohead
Breakthrough Artist – Leona Lewis
Video Star – 30 Seconds to Mars – “A Beautiful Lie”
Bring Da House Down – Muse – Muse Asia Tour (Jan 2007)
edc Style Award – Panic at the Disco
Knockout Award – The Click Five
Inspiration Award – Karen Mok

Watch some of the live performances on Mtv Asia.

MTV Asia Awards 2008 – winners from YeinJee's Asian Blog

World Drums Festival showcases traditional (and fusion) drum-shows from around the world. The 2008 series features performers from Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Venezuela. Not really covering every part of the world yet, but it’s an international show nonetheless, and a pretty good one.

Went to a road show at Berjaya Times Square on Wednesday with KC and took some pics; photo quality rather poor due to dim lighting and my limited photography skills…

World Drums Festival (Festival Gendang Sedunia) 2008 at Berjaya Time Square

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Kuala Lumpur World Drums Festival 2008 from YeinJee's Asian Blog

Dayana Mendoza, Miss Universe 2008 (Image from William)

Asians didn’t perform well in the 2008 contest with only one contestant making it into last 15. Riyo Mori from Japan was the 2007 winner, with another three Asians (India, Korea and Thailand) making it into the last 15 last year.

Dayana Mendoza, Miss Universe 2008 from YeinJee's Asian Blog

An old photo of Carina and Tony

The hottest rumour is that they would tie their knots on July 21 in a private wedding ceremony; while another suggests that the wedding would be held in October with truck-load of celebrity guests.

Wedding in Bhutan?

While July 21 seems almost certain as wedding date, the venue for the wedding is still a relative mystery… rumours shifted from Bali to a private island in Thailand, and now to Bhutan.

It’s reported that one of the invited guests, veteran entertainer Eric Tsang, has confirmed the location to be in Bhutan… so, it could very well be a perfect guess this time.

Both Tony and Carina are devoted Buddhist… and Bhutan, being a Buddhist country, seems like a logical choice for their wedding venue.

Besides, Bhutan is famous for its strict regulations on foreign visitors, which sounds like another good reasons to have celebrity weddings there… Tony and Carina won’t need to worry much about paparazzi, as unwanted media would find it difficult to be granted entries during that period.

Regardless of dates and venue, it’s good to see them getting married finally. Congrats.

Tony Leung and Carina Lau to wed in Bhutan? from YeinJee's Asian Blog

People having fun at Songkran Festival in Thailand (Image by jEdC)

Songkran is traditionally a time to pay respects to elders and to visit the temples. However, the tradition has been overshadowed in recent decades by the ‘throwing of water’ celebration with people roaming the streets with containers of water, water guns, or garden hose to drench each other and passers-by.

The throwing of water is originated as a way to pay respect to people by gently pouring a small amount of water on other people’s hands. It is also meant as a symbol of washing all of the bad things away from the previous year… but obviously it’s all about fun these days.

The water throwing has become a major tourist attraction in Thailand every year, with travellers from around the world joining the water splashing festival.

Songkran from YeinJee's Asian Blog

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Paula Taylor – Canon digicams and gadgets CF from YeinJee's Asian Blog