Roasted pigs in costumes were paraded on the feast of St. John the Baptist in the hundred year old practise in the Philippines. Festival goers also got to sample the roasted suckling pigs (lechón), a famous Filipino delicacy, for free…
Nakizumo (lit. crying sumo) is a traditional Japanese festival with 400-years of history. The event, believed to bring good health to the babies, is held annually in temples across Japan where the kids would face-off each other to see who’s crying the soonest (and loudest)…
The above video [credits to garyjpn@youtube for the upload] is probably from Hiroshima in 2009; there are other slightly different format in other places, including in Tokyo where some real sumo wrestlers were involved.
City of Kuala Lumpur in 1961. Video by Michael Rogge, (former) banker and cinematographer from Netherlands who was stationed in Asia in 1950s…
There’s a huge video collection of Rogge during his stay in Japan and Hong Kong from 1949 to 1961, which I absolutely adore… it’s a valuable cultural heritage imo. You can check all his works on his Youtube channel.
Found this website, Taipics.com which shares a large archive of old Taiwan photos. Sharing a few of my favourites here; check the site for more if it’s of your interest…
The 2nd Falconry Festival was held on March 21st at a village in Akqi County, Xinjiang, China. Hundred of falcon tamers, mainly Kyrgyz people, performed various demonstrations during the event.
Falconry (hunting with eagles/falcons) has a long history in the region; Kyrgyz nomads have been hunting with golden eagles for thousand of years. The eagles are known as Berkut in local language, and the activity is called Berkutchi.
Hina Matsuri (雛祭り – doll festival), or Girls’ Day is a traditional Japanese festival held on March 3rd annually to celebrate the girls’ healthy growth.
Cha Ca La Vong is a restaurant in Hanoi famous for its grilled fish (Cha Ca) dish which was created some 130 years ago. The restaurant/dish is so famous that the street is named after it, and it’s featured in almost every single Hanoi’s travel guide.
There’s one problem though, as some other restaurants are riding on its fame with similar name and menu to take advantage of naive foreign travellers, and I was one of the fallen prey of the conspiracy during my Hanoi trip in July 2008…
Seollal (설날), or Korean New Year, is the first day of the Lunar Calendar and one of the two most important traditional Korean holidays (the other is Chuseok).
