Two oceans, thirty seas, one hundred thousand islands, best airlines world and much more - that's what awaits you in Southeast Asia! The countries of Southeast Asia attract with the opportunity to get everything at once in one trip. A wonderful climate, magnificent beaches, diving and surfing opportunities, sea cruises, exotic nature, unusual cuisine, ancient temples and palaces, noisy festivities, excellent shopping - the list can be continued for a long time.
Vietnam.
1. Stunningly beautiful landscape. A riot of colors. Year-round flowering nature. Beautiful beaches. Unusual beauty of ancient architectural monuments.
2. "Bait" for tourists: here is the best and the cheapest diving in the world.
3. Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) - a city of chaos, neon lights and friendly people.
4. Fabulous beauty, clean deserted beaches and low prices. As if everything was created for the perfect holiday!
5. Vietnam is one of the most mysterious and amazing countries South-East Asia. There is no sweltering heat here, the sun is soft and gentle, the air is humid and clean, the water is clear and inviting - in Vietnam there is everything you need to relax, in order to escape from the daily hustle and bustle and be filled with a charge of vivacity and energy.
6. For those who appreciate natural beauty there is the very popular West Lake, Xuan Huong Lake, Kamchi Waterfalls, Thong Nyat Park, where the Flower Festival is regularly held, Chua Mot Kot Pagoda, Love Valley.
7. Vietnamese cuisine has absorbed the traditions of French cuisine - this is felt by the abundance of pâtés and cheeses that can be bought everywhere. A minimum of fats, a maximum of fresh vegetables and fruits, and seafood make Vietnamese food popular not only among sophisticated gourmets, but also among fans of a healthy diet.
8. Phan Thiet is very popular resort Vietnam. Phan Thiet is great for family vacation. This is a quiet and comfortable resort. With sandy beaches and beautiful comfortable hotels.
9. Nha Trang is one of the best places recreation in the country. The city itself is also known as medical resort: there is a clinic for mud therapy and treatment of joints and diseases of the musculoskeletal system with mineral water, as well as some skin diseases, diseases of the nervous system, lungs and bronchi.
10. Phu Quoc is the most big Island in Vietnam, an area equal to Singapore. Beautiful sandy beaches, planted with coconut palms, are framed here by virgin tropical forests. There are two large pearl plantations on the island - Japanese and American, so Phu Quoc is often called the "Pearl Island".
Indonesia.
1. Among the mind-boggling number of islands that form Indonesia (and there are 17,508 of them!), only about 6,000 are actually inhabited. The largest islands of Indonesia are Java, Sumatra, New Guinea(New Guinea), Sulawesi and Kalimantan.
2. Bali has long been the most popular destination in Indonesia. Beautiful landscapes of this picturesque corner attract tourists and nature lovers from all continents of the globe. Tourists expect a lot of interesting things here. The greatest demand is cultural events and dancing, fine leatherwork, and foot-tapping music.
3. Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world.
4. Another feature of Indonesia is that this country has a very diverse culture, its inhabitants speak 580 languages and dialects.
5. Java Island - world famous temple complexes Borobudur (the third largest Buddhist temple in the world - Borobudur (VIII century) near Yogyakarta. Its height is 34 m, and its area is 12.3 thousand sq. M.) and Prambanan.
6. Komodo - it is part of Komodo national park of global importance. Founded in 1980, the park covers three large volcanic islands (Komodo, Rinca and Padar). The largest land lizard on the planet lives here - the famous Komodo dragon, or monitor lizard (Varanus komodoensis), which here number several hundred individuals.
7. Flores Islands. The most famous volcano of Flores is the Kelimutu volcano, whose height is 1.639 m. Its three crater lake change color from time to time and it is not yet fully understood what exactly leads to this change.
8. Ubud - old City in the central mountainous part of the island of Bali, located 10 km north of Denpasar at an altitude of 600 m above sea level. Ubud is considered cultural center islands. Here it is a large number of museums.
9. Sumatra - there are many active volcanoes on the island and near it.
10. The island of Kalimantan (also Borneo) is a large island (the third largest in the world), the only island in the world divided between three recognized states: Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.
Malaysia.
1. Malaysia is a country of smiles and unique, various delights that attract guests.
2. A charming land of warmth and kindness, in any corner of which you can get to know Real Asia and become its particle.
3. Ultra-modern architecture and unique nature.
4. The country is endowed with evergreen forests and beautiful coastal waters with unique wildlife and amazing flora and fauna for this part of the planet.
5. In Malaysia, you can choose whether to spend time in a modern city with its shops and places of entertainment, or lie under the sun on the white sand by the sea.
6. At your service ecotourism, mountaineering in the area of Mount Kinabulu, one of the highest peaks in the region.
7. You can watch the life of orangutans in Sepilok or go scuba diving in the Sipadan area.
8. Visit the most high building in the world business center Petrones.
9. Malaysia has something for everyone: historian, businessman, tourist, vacationer or city lover.
10. It is unique to remember spending a family vacation in Malaysia, about which the English writer Somerset Maugham, visiting Penang, wrote: "If you have not seen this place, you have not seen the world."
Thailand.
1. Picturesque nature, magnificent beaches, unconventional culture, genuine hospitality of the local population, unique religious buildings and ancient ruins - all this attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world like a magnet.
2. Thais are extremely polite, friendly and hospitable, especially towards visitors.
3. To date, Thailand has preserved the face of its unique culture. This is largely due to the fact that, unlike other countries in Southeast Asia, Thailand was never colonized by Europeans.
4 The list of the most valuable world heritage sites (UNESCO) includes five representatives of Thailand. This is about nature reserves and archaeological sites of the past.
5. The best transvestite shows in Southeast Asia. Theatrical performances, where transvestites act as actors. Some of them are participants in international beauty contests.
6. Thai cuisine is famous for its combination of four flavors - salty, sweet, sour and bitter. But if a tourist is afraid to eat rather peculiar Thai dishes, there are no problems: cuisines of almost all countries of the world are represented in Thailand.
7. Skyscrapers and antiquity, permissiveness and law-abidingness, low prices and super-infrastructure harmoniously coexist in Thailand. Having been there at least once, you will want to return there again and again.
8. Holidays in Thailand are a great opportunity to spend your holidays basking in white sandy beaches ocean under the dazzling sun.
9. Diving enthusiasts and professionals also gather in Thailand every year: the marine flora and fauna of the region is distinguished by an unforgettable riot of colors, so diving into the clear waters of the ocean and walking to the coral reefs will leave an indelible impression on the trip!
10. Thailand - a country of orchids and shimmering sapphires, clear rivers and impenetrable jungles.
Singapore.
1. In Singapore, you can make the purchases you have dreamed of all your life.
2. Singapore impresses with its variety of popular nightlife spots. Many clubs are located on the waterfront and in the tallest buildings in the country.
3. Singapore Night Safari is the world's first park specifically designed for watching animals at night.
4. Singapore Zoo is considered one of the best in the world.
5. The Fountain of Wealth was created according to the philosophy of Feng Shui and since 1998 is the largest in the world.
6. The tallest Ferris wheel in Asia, Singapore flyer, 165 meters high.
7. Botanical garden with 20,000 plants - Oceanarium - 2500 sea creatures of 250 varieties - 4D cinema.
8. architectural masterpiece the Esplanade theater and the huge Wild Wild Wet water park.
9. The Bird Park is one of the most beautiful parks in the world whose territory is inhabited by 8,000 birds of 600 species collected from all over the planet.
10. Today, Sentosa (Sentosa) remains the best resort in Singapore, tropical paradise, museums and a reserve rolled into one.
Philippines.
1. This is one of the few places on Earth where you understand that Magic word"exotic" has not yet lost its original meaning.
2. Four Philippine attractions at once appeared in the top ten contenders for a place in the list of seven new wonders of nature.
3. Rice terraces are an incredible and ancient creation of human hands, created more than 2000 years ago.
4. On the island of Bohol you will meet the smallest monkey in the world - the tarsier.
5. The beaches of the Philippine Islands are considered the best in the world.
6. Here you can meet whales during a boat trip, and the underwater world will amaze you with the variety of corals and living creatures inhabiting them.
7. Manila is home to Asia's largest mall.
8. Prices in the Philippines for services and goods will pleasantly surprise you.
9. The Philippines is the third largest English-speaking country in the world and the only Christian state in Asia.
10. Russian citizens do not need a visa to visit the Philippines.
Myanmar.
1. Myanmar is a country not yet spoiled by tourism and tourists, and therefore it is unusually hospitable
2. Myanmar has the largest concentration of Buddhist historical sites in the world
3. About half of the country's population are monks. Monks in Myanmar are incredibly revered
4. On the mountain lake Inle, you will plunge into the world of people who built their dwellings and temples on the water, living according to other laws, unusual for Europeans, in another time dimension
5. Here you will find incredibly friendly and helpful people, not to mention the attendants
6. Yangon - the capital of Myanmar, is considered the cleanest city in Southeast Asia from an environmental point of view
7. Due to the low attendance of the country, the sea and beaches here are pristine
8. You will spend an indecently small amount on all purchases, visits to restaurants and souvenirs.
9. In Myanmar, namely in Mandalay, you will see the largest book in the world, which monks need 450 days to read
10. Only in Myanmar you will have a rest from mobile phone calls! There is almost no cell service!
Sri Lanka.
1. The symbol of Sri Lanka is the world-famous Ceylon tea. Sri Lanka ranks 2nd in the world in tea exports.
2. Sri Lanka is the center of world Buddhism. The atmosphere of benevolence and peace that reigns in this country is the result of the deep centuries-old influence of Buddhist teachings on the worldview and lifestyle of the Sri Lankans.
3. Sri Lanka can rightfully be proud of any of its incomprehensible landscapes - from golden beaches, caressed Indian Ocean to numerous ridges and slopes that form terraces, rice fields and dense forests.
4. Sri Lanka has been famous for its spices for many centuries. The Spice Garden in Matale gives you the opportunity to see how cinnamon, cardamom, pepper and other exotic plants are grown.
5. There are more than a hundred waterfalls in Sri Lanka. One of the most high waterfalls in the world with a single jet, this is the 212-meter waterfall "Bridal Veil".
6. The largest cave temple in South Asia is the stone temple of the sleeping Buddha. The temple houses the largest collection of Buddha statues, many of which are over 2000 years old. 73 of them are covered with gold.
7. Newlyweds from all over the world spend an unforgettable honeymoon in Sri Lanka, and exotic wedding ceremonies organized in hotels make this important event in life special.
8. More and more tourists come to Sri Lanka to improve their health. The most ancient methods of treatment of Ayurveda and aromatherapy, tested by time and improved by modern technologies, relieve stress, fatigue and discomfort, increase the resistance of the human body to diseases, and give a strong rejuvenating effect.
9. Of the 130 world historical treasures protected by UNESCO, seven are located on this amazing island
10. The whole world knows the traditional Sri Lankan spices, fragrant tea of all kinds, exotic fruits, gems, batik and, of course, the warmth of the friendly owners of the island. You will have the opportunity to try wonderful traditional dishes, including the delicious "curry" - specially prepared meat or vegetables with spices and rice.
Nepal.
1. In Kathmandu - the capital of Nepal - there are 7 sites that UNESCO has included in the list of world heritage sites, including the Buddhist temples of Boudhanath and Swayambhunath.
2. If you tip the local hermits - Sadhus, then in return you will receive a blessing - a red dot on the forehead, called tikka.
3. Most of the streets in Nepalese cities do not have names, so it is quite easy to get lost there.
4. Cars and motorcycles are banned in some cities in Nepal.
5. Most of the world's mountains above 8 kilometers are in Nepal - this attracts climbers and rafters from all over the world.
6. One of the most honorable professions in Nepal is a potter. There is even a special caste of potters.
7. Nepal proudly calls itself "the only Hindu kingdom in the world": 86.5% of the population are Hindus.
TWO-FACED VIETNAM
I leave Hanoi early in the morning. The sun has just risen. But the streets are crammed with thousands (!) of motorbikes....
Travel around the world in a minute.
Probably everyone would like to have the opportunity to sweep around the world and absorb the beauty of nature from all over the world....
Asia certainly has a huge impact on western world in many ways, but despite this, we see only a small part of what is really happening there. Face to face, we will understand that we know nothing about this amazing part of the world, it continues to be a mystery to us behind seven locks. TravelAsk wants to introduce you to some of Asia's centuries-old traditions and modern trends that will leave you scratching your head. Here are 10 of the most unusual facts about Asia.
Universal birthday
Vietnamese New Year is a birthday for everyone.
The Vietnamese New Year (or Tet) is celebrated annually at the end of winter and lasts for several days. It starts on the first day lunar calendar. In addition to many other traditions of this holiday, it is considered a birthday. Just like the Koreans, the Vietnamese calculate their age by the number of lunar new years they have experienced. So the child will officially be one year old on his first Tet, even if he was born a few days before it.
thailand watering festival
The Thai New Year (Songkran) is celebrated from 13 to 15 April and is the oldest festival that marks the change of the year and the Thai "astrological transition". The main ritual during the celebration is pouring each other with a mixture of water, flour or talc. Initially, the celebration had a spiritual meaning: people poured water on the statues of the Buddha, and then collected the water that flowed from the statues and poured it on their relatives and friends for good luck. Nowadays, this ritual is performed with the help of water pistols, from which everyone who passes by is watered.
The largest shopping center
In 2005, Chinese billionaire Alex Hu Guirong began building the world's largest shopping mall in Dongguan. Seven million square feet has space for 2,350 stores, not to mention a full-size indoor roller coaster, a 1.3-mile waterway (complete with gondolas), and an 82-foot replica. Arc de Triomphe. The only problem is that no one wanted to open their store in this center. From 2005 to the present, only about 1% has been employed retail space. One of the biggest reasons for this failure is the location of the mall: Dongguan has only 10 million people, most of whom are poor factory workers.
Merry Christmas!
North Korea celebrates its own version of Christmas.
North Korea does not celebrate Christmas in the traditional sense. Instead of the Christmas holidays, North Koreans celebrate the birth of Kim Jong Il's mother, who was born on December 24th. On December 27, celebrations are held here on the occasion of Constitution Day, and on New Year's Eve, marches are held to the tomb of Kim Il Sung, where the body of the leader rests in incorruptible form.
China has only one time zone
Although China is located in 5 time zones, since the Chinese civil war 1949, there is only one national time zone. This was done in order to give the population a sense of unity and cohesion. When the sun rises in Beijing at 6 a.m., the Western Territories do not see daylight for another 2 hours, so they have created their own unofficial time zone. The Chinese government does not recognize him.
It's illegal to be fat in Japan
The Japanese are considered the thinnest industrialized nation in the world, and all because it is illegal to be fat here! Japanese laws require that a man over 40 must not exceed 85 cm in circumference. Women are given a little more freedom: their waist must not exceed 90 cm. official version, thin people are healthier, thus the law is aimed at combating high level cholesterol and hypertension. People who break this law must be counseled and put on a government-approved diet. And companies that employ a large number of overweight people are required to pay fines. This money will be transferred to the health fund: for the medical care of the elderly.
world population
Throwing children - for good luck
In the holy mountains in India, newborns are subjected to a ritual that is supposed to bring good luck, courage and health to the child. Children are carried to the top of a 50-meter tower and then thrown down onto a stretched cloth held by monks. This Muslim custom has been practiced for over 500 years and continues to this day. While many people are horrified by the ritual, locals claim no one has been hurt yet.
Watch your hands
Hindus eat with their right hand, dry themselves with their left.
One of the most interesting customs in India is that the locals only eat with their right hand. The fact is that the toilets here do not use toilet paper, they pour some water into their left hand and use it to dry themselves. In India, it is quite difficult to find a restroom with toilet paper, except for hotels and restaurants catering to Western customers. It is also considered offensive to do anything with the left hand, such as handing over money or holding it out in greeting.
Chinese children
Chinese children are named after events.
In 1992, China applied to host the 2000 Olympic Games. That same year, 680 Chinese people named their newborn babies Aoyun (literally translated as "Olympic Games"). Over 4,000 people gave their children this name over the next 15 years. According to the Chinese registry, other common names are "Defending China" and "Building a Nation". Some children are called "Space travel.
1. Asia is the largest continent in terms of area and population. The area of Asia exceeds the area of the Moon (44 million 500 thousand sq. km. and 37 million sq. km., respectively).
2. Asia has a population of 4 billion, or more than 60% of the world's population. If all these people stand next to each other, holding hands, they will circle the globe more than 100 times at the equator.
3. More than half of Asia's population lives in two countries - China (1.3 million people) and India (1.1 million people). India is expected to surpass China in terms of population in 20 years.
4. The borders of Asia extend from the Suez Canal and Ural mountains in the west to the Caucasus Mountains, the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea in the south. In the south, Asia is washed by the Indian Ocean, in the north by the Arctic Ocean, and in the Far East by the Pacific Ocean.
5. Asia can be divided into seven subcontinents:
1). central Asia– Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan;
2). East Asia - China, Mongolia, Taiwan, North and South Korea;
3). Northern Asia - Russia;
4). Indian subcontinent - India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka;
5). Southeast Asia- Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos;
6). Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam;
7). Southwest Asia - Turkey, Iran, Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon.
6. The three leading economic powers in Asia are China, Japan and India. They are ranked second, third and fourth respectively. However, the population of tiny Japan is less than 1/10 of the population of China or India. However, the Asian economy lags behind the economy North America and Europe.
7. The three dominant financial centers in Asia are Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore.
8. The predominant religions in Asia are Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism/Taoism and Islam.
9. The extreme western point of Asia - Cape Baba (Baba), it is located in the north-west of Turkey.
10. Extreme north point Asia - Cape Chelyuskin in Siberia.
11. The width of Asia is 8,527 km.
12. Asia has the highest and most low points on Earth: Mount Everest (8,848 m above sea level) and the Dead Sea (395 m below sea level).
13. Asia is the cradle of human civilization, which originated in the interfluve of the Tigris and Euphrates.
14. The ten longest rivers in Asia:
1). Yangtze (Chang Jiang) - 6,300 km,
2). Yellow River (Huang He) - 5,464 km,
3). Lena - 4,400 km,
4). Mekong (Mekong) - 4 350 km,
5). Irtysh - 4,248 km,
6). Yenisei - 4,090 km,
7). Ob - 3,650 km,
8). Lower Tunguska - 2,989 km,
9). Indus - 2,900 km,
10). Brahmaputra - 2900 km.
If all these rivers are connected to each other, they will circle the globe along the equator.
15. Top ten high mountains peaks of Asia:
1). Everest (Everest) - 8 848 m, Nepal-Tibet,
2). K2 - 8611 m, Pakistan-China,
3). Kangchenjunga - 8,586 m, Nepal-Sikkim (India),
4). Lhotse (Lhotse) - 8 516 m, Nepal-Tibet (China),
5). Makalu - 8462 m, Nepal-Tibet (China),
6). Cho Oyu - 8201 m, Nepal-Tibet (China),
7). Dhaulagiri - 8167 m, Nepal,
8). Manaslu - 8156 m, Nepal,
9). Nanga Parbat - 8 125 m, Pakistan,
10). Annapurna 8091 m, Nepal.
If all these vertices are placed one on top of the other, they will reach space. For comparison, Mount Fuji, at 3,776 meters, is more than twice as tall as the lowest peak on this list.
Asia has had a great influence on the rest of the world, but despite everything that people have adopted from there, few people understand at least a fraction of what is happening in this diverse part of the world. From centuries old traditions to modern trends that will make you scratch your head in surprise - below are 10 unusual facts about Asia.
10. Universal birthday
Fact: New Year in Vietnam - the birthday of the entire population
Vietnamese New Year or Tet (Tet) is celebrated annually in the second half of winter and lasts for several days. The beginning of the holiday is the first day of the lunar calendar, falling at the end of January or the beginning of February.
Among other traditions, Tet - New Year - is also considered a birthday celebration. Like the Koreans, the Vietnamese measure age by the number of Lunar New Years lived, so a child will officially be one year old on their first Tet, even if they were born a few days before the celebration.
9Thailand's Water Gun Festival
Since we have already talked about the traditions associated with the New Year, the Thai New Year is celebrated from April 13th to 15th. The festival is known as Songkran (Songkran), which means "astrological transition". The main entertainment during the festival is pouring people with a mixture of water and flour or talc.
Initially, the celebration was associated with a spiritual background. Water was poured on Buddha statues, after which people collected the flowing water and poured it on their loved ones "for good luck." Now this is a common entertainment, during which you can buy a water gun on every corner, and no one is protected from dousing.
8. The biggest mall
Fact: The largest mall in the world is abandoned
In 2005, Chinese billionaire Alex Hu Guirong began building the world's largest shopping mall in Dongguan, China. The 650,000 square meter area allowed the New South China Mall to accommodate some 2,350 boutiques - not to mention a full-fledged rollercoaster ride located inside, a 2-kilometer canal (together with gondolas) and 25 meter replica of the Arc de Triomphe.
There was only one problem - no one wanted to open shops there. From 2005 to now, only 1 percent of the mall's area has ever been used. The rest of the 643,845 square meters is just gathering dust, and the only people who work there are the guards who drive the squatters away.
There are several reasons why the mall failed so badly, but the main one is its location - there are only 10 million people in Dongguan, most of them poor factory workers, and it takes several hours to get to the mall.
7. Merry Christmas
Fact: North Koreans celebrate their own version of Christmas
In North Korea, Christmas is not celebrated. More precisely, the Christmas holiday there is more like military operations than a celebration. Instead of celebrating Christmas, which is celebrated in Western countries, North Korea celebrates the birth of mother Kim Jong Il, who was born on December 24th.
The North Korean government has long watched over the religious groups that exist in their territory - in 2002, they even tortured a woman for helping several Christians flee the country. Since then, they have continued to demonize and censor as much Western influence as possible, including the establishment of several patriotic holidays in the Christmas area. In addition to the birth of Kim Jong Il's mother, the people of North Korea celebrate Constitution Day on December 27th, and on New Year's Day they hold parades at the burial site of Kim Il Sung, who started the Korean War.
6. China has one time zone
China is about 5200 kilometers wide, which would be enough to use five different time zones. Despite this, since the Civil War of 1949, China has had one time zone for the entire country.
The reason for this is political: China is a huge state, and after 20 years of civil war, the new Chinese government People's Republic wanted to give the population a sense of unity. Unfortunately, this also meant that if in Beijing the sunrise happened at 6 am, then the western territories, such as Xinjiang, autonomous region, waited for dawn for another two hours.
This system still works, although the Xinjiang administration got tired of it and set their own unofficial time zone, which is 2 hours behind China Standard Time. The Chinese government does not recognize this decision.
5. It's illegal to be fat in Japan.
Japan on this moment considered to be the thinnest industrial society in the world and for good reason - being fat is against the law. According to Japanese law, the waist circumference of a man over the age of 40 should not exceed 85 centimeters. Women are given a small indulgence - their waist should not exceed 90 cm.
Why? The official explanation is that thin people are healthier and this law is meant to fight high cholesterol and high blood pressure. People who exceed the legal waist circumference are required to attend counseling and adhere to government-approved diets, and companies that employ large numbers of overweight people are required to pay a fine that goes towards health care for the elderly.
4. Population of the Earth
Fact: China and India make up a third of the world's population
It is widely known that China is densely populated, but the population of the country is still surprising. The population of just one province, Sichuan, exceeds the combined population of Greece, Portugal, the Netherlands, Guatemala, Austria, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia and Canada - and it is only the fourth largest province in the country.
The populations of India and China make up a third of the world's population - in 2012, the population of these two countries reached 2.5 billion people. Moreover, all these people live in an area just slightly larger than the area of the United States.
3. Throwing children "for good luck"
In a temple located in the mountains of the Solapur region in India, newborns are subjected to a ritual that is supposed to bring good luck, health and courage to the child. Children are brought to the top of the 15-meter tower, from where they are thrown down onto a stretched cloth held by the monks at the foot of the tower.
This Muslim tradition is more than 500 years old and is still followed today. Although many people hear about the ritual with horror, the villagers of Musti claim that there has not been a single injury in the entire existence of this tradition.
2. Watch your hands
Fact: Hindus eat with their right hand, wipe themselves with their left.
One of the most interesting customs in India is that they only eat with their right hand. The reason is that when they go to the toilet, toilet paper is not used - they collect some water in their left hand and wipe themselves with it. Apart from hotels and restaurants catering to Western tourists, there are very few toilet paper-equipped toilets throughout the country - why use paper when you have a great left hand, right?
In addition to not eating with the left hand, it is considered offensive to do almost anything imaginable with the left hand, including handing over money or shaking hands in greeting.
1. Chinese children
Fact: Chinese children are named after events
In 1992, China submitted its bid to host the 2000 Olympic Games. That same year, 680 Chinese people named their newborns Aoyun, which translates to "Olympic Games." More than 4,000 people named their children by that name over the next 15 years, and when China was announced to host the 2008 Olympics, there was an additional surge in use of the name. It is not unusual for Chinese parents to name their children after important events or political movements.
This is just one of the methods of choosing names in China - there are others, but according to Chinese registry offices, names such as "Defend China" or "Raise the country" are in the top of common names. Some children are even simply referred to by the glorious name "Space Journey" and there are currently 300,000 "Civilizations" living in the country. It's the same as if people in Russia called their children "Putin for President" or simply "Russia".
The area of Asia, together with the islands, exceeds 44 million square kilometers. Together with Europe, they form a single continent - Eurasia. There are more than 50 states on the territory of Asia, and they are all so different: India, China, Philippines, Russia, Uzbekistan. Each of them has its own customs and practices.
The term "Asia" itself comes from the ancient Greek language. Greek mythology, like any other, personified the phenomena of nature and the world. The name Asiya was borne by one of the oceanids, the wife of Prometheus. Hence the name of the mainland. By the time of Herodotus, this name was firmly entrenched behind the mainland, and the Scythians who lived beyond the Caspian Sea were called Asians.
2. So attractive and different
Asia itself is very diverse and contrasting: there are deserts and forests, steppes and mountains, jungles and tundra. It is in Asia that the highest mountain on the planet - Everest and the lowest place on land - the Dead Sea are located. The climate here is different: warm and humid in the south, cold in Siberia.
There is also a striking difference in culture, religion and the level of the economy.
So, for example, there are civilizations here, the history of which goes back thousands of years: Chinese, Japanese, Indian. It was here, on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, that the very first states were born. Today in Asia there are countries with highly developed technologies(for example, Japan), and there are those where the inhabitants still lead a nomadic lifestyle (for example, the inhabitants of the Andaman Islands). Here are the most luxurious and rich cities, as well as the most terrible and poor slums.
And even women in Asia for every taste. So, in Muslim countries, they do not even show their faces, and in Thailand the number of prostitutes per Thai is greater than in any other state.
3. Interesting Facts about Asia
Fact #1_. It is in Asia that the largest reserves of gold, oil and other minerals are located.
Fact #2_. 60% of the world's population lives in Asia.
Fact #3_. Asia Square more area Moon.
Asia is not only the motherland ancient civilizations, but also the largest structure made by human hands - the Great Wall of China.
Fact #5_. The Middle East is considered the birthplace of Islam, but it is in Asia that most Muslims live.
Fact #6_. One of the most densely populated countries in the world is located in this part of the world. This is Bangladesh. Here 85% Muslims.
Fact #7_. The ten highest mountains are located in Asia.
There is a forecast that by 2025, 7 of the 10 largest cities in the world will be located in this part of the world.
Fact #9_. Real goddess girls live in Nepal. They are called Kumari.
Fact #10_. Asia is dominated by three religions: Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism.
Fact #11_. In some Asian languages, green and blue do not differ lexically. So, in Japan, until the twentieth century, one word was used to designate them - “aoi”.
Fact #12_. The cow is considered a sacred animal in most Asian countries.
Fact #13_. Many countries have their own unusual laws and regulations. For example, in Japan it is officially forbidden to be fat. The waist of a man should not exceed 85 centimeters, and women - 90 centimeters. This is prescribed by law. This is because thin people are healthier. Therefore, if a Japanese suddenly gets fat, he needs to follow a diet, and a company that employs a lot of overweight people must pay a fine.
Fact #14_. Asia is the fastest growing continent.
