So, here you have Asia: the biggest continent on this planet with a whole alphabet soup
of countries and cultures for you to experience.
If you have already or plan on making the trip, you might seriously feel like you’ve
stepped into a whole new world!
Well, if you saw that movie Avatar, you’ll be convinced you’re on another planet!
But first, let’s start with one for my fellow foodies…
1.
Out-of-this-world flavors Can I interest you in a bag of cherry-blossom-flavored
Lays chips?
How about a wasabi KitKat bar?
Green tea Oreos?
If you were ever curious about all the possible flavors your favorite snacks come in, then
the Far East is your destination!
Just be sure to wash all that down with some yogurt-flavored Pepsi if you’re in Japan!
2.
Sleeping people anywhere While you’re munching on some strange snacks
over in Japan, don’t be shocked to see people grabbing a power nap in random public places
– on a street bench, in the subway, even at work!
This sleeping on the job isn’t seen in a negative or weird light.
In fact, it even has a name: inemuri, which translates to “sleeping while present.”
And it’s seen as a sign of dedication to one’s work.
Hmm, I wonder if I could get my boss on the inemuri train too… (wait a minute I am my
boss..zzzz)
3.
One-of-a-kind animals Asia has some of the most interesting animal
species that can only be found on this continent.
Take the Indian sloth bear, for instance.
Is it a sloth, is it a bear, who knows!?
Actually, it is a bear, but don’t worry if one crosses your path while you’re exploring
the Indian subcontinent: these guys prefer a diet of fruit, ants, and termites to, like…
you!
There’s also the Proboscis monkey (with a face only a mother could love!) that lives
on the island of Borneo in Indonesia, which is in Southeast Asia.
4.
And some equally strange-looking plants….
Indonesia is also home to some bizarre flora.
Ever seen a corpse flower?
Ever smelled one?
Eh, trust me, you don’t want to.
All I’ll say is that these giant plants’ “aroma” is what earned them the morbid
nickname.
A real jaw-dropper is the 10-foot-tall, 15-foot-wide, and 100-pound Titan Arum.
Then there’s the 3-foot-wide Rafflesia, which literally looks like something out of
the Mario world…
5.
Lowest and highest points on land If your bucket list includes standing on both
the highest and lowest points on Earth, head to Asia and knock ‘em both out in one go.
The great Mount Everest in the Himalayas, as you may know, is the highest peak on the
planet, rising above sea level at a staggering 29,029 feet.
As for the lowest of the low, no, the Challenger Deep doesn’t count!
I’m talking about the lowest place on land, and it’s the Dead Sea, which is between
the West Bank and Israel.
(Hey, the Middle East is part of Western Asia, so I’ll count it!)
Anyway, it’s over 1,400 feet below sea level!
6.
Some bizarre inventions Asia has some weird inventions that you might
be interested in owning.
Japan’s Toyota-i-road is a combination of a car and a motorcycle.
This little futuristic transportation device can fit into any parking space without trouble,
and I’m sure it’ll be a head turner wherever you go.
It’s also electric, so no need for gas money!
Some other kooky (yet seemingly practical!) inventions from the Land of the Rising Sun
are eyedrop funnels, what can only be described as a butter mincer, and a fold-out pillow
dictionary!
(Hey, to make one of those inemuri naps a little more comfortable wherever you decide
to catch some zzz’s!)
7.
Hotels with robot staff Gonna have to head to Japan for this bizarre
sight as well.
The Henn-na Hotel in Tokyo will also have you feeling like you’re in the year 3000.
This is the only hotel in the world with a staff that’s mostly made up of robots!
And don’t worry about having to learn to speak “Robot” – all the staff know pretty
much all major world languages.
They also have a robot dinosaur for the kiddies!
My only question is, can they DO the robot?
8.
Pandora on Earth Avatar: the sci-fi/fantasy film that had all
of us with our eyes bulging out of our heads and saying, “Oooh, the colors!” back in
2009.
If you ever wanted to step foot into Pandora (that’s where the story took place, as a
refresher), just head to China!
The Zhangjiajie National Forest Park has the Southern Sky Column, which was actually officially
renamed Avatar Mountain after the movie’s release!
An astounding 3,500 feet tall, this sandstone pillar covered in greenery was one of the
inspirations for the movie.
So, art imitating life then imitating art?
Fascinating!
9.
Not your run-of-the-mill adventure activities Hey, instead of admiring Avatar Mountain from
afar, why not give ‘er a climb?
That same national park has an exhilarating Glass Skywalk on its Tianmen Mountain.
Now, just imagine, you’re 4,700 feet up in the air walking around on a 3-foot-wide
bridge on the side of a mountain with only 2-inch-thick glass panels stopping you from
a loooong fall!
And, ya know, the thing about glass is that it’s clear…so…you can see everything
below you!
No, not interested?
Then you probably don’t wanna hear about SkyCycle in the Philippines.
Not unless you’d like to ride a bicycle on a tight wire 60 feet above the ground!
Nope, I’ll be skipping both of those, thanks.
10.
Perfect marriage of nature and technology These two concepts are almost always understood
as stark opposites.
But if you step into Asia, you’ll be questioning everything you knew about technology and nature.
In China, there’s a perfectly trimmed juniper tree garden that, when looked at from above,
turns out to be a QR code!
And get this: it actually works when you scan it!
Well, if you take an aerial shot of the garden, turn up the brightness on the picture, and
then scan the photo, it’ll take you to the official site of China’s most popular messaging
app!
11.
Only one time zone Ok, at first glance, this might not sound
so bizarre.
I mean, time zones, really?
But think about it: China is one of the largest countries in the world, and you’d expect
it to have at least 5 time zones, right?
But it only has one, and that’s Beijing Time!
So, every city in this country is on the exact same schedule.
It sounds really convenient, especially if you wanna make a long-distance call to a friend
on the other side of the country.
But imagine: in some areas, people get up and go to work only to see the sunrise at
lunchtime!
That’s weird.
12.
Teeth-blackening Whereas most countries in the West spend a
lot of time and money trying to make their teeth look whiter, some Asian cultures do
the opposite!
Teeth-blackening is mostly practiced in small communities in Southeast Asia and Oceania,
and it used to be pretty popular in Japan and some parts of China.
But they don’t do this to rebel against that bandwagon pursuit of the Hollywood smile.
No, the practice actually serves a useful purpose!
It’s an effective way to protect teeth from decay and preserves them for longer.
Plus, it has deep cultural meaning.
It might look odd to outsiders, but they see it as a sign of health and beauty!
Hey, I can respect that!
13.
Longest bridge in the world Heading back to China, let’s look at the
world’s longest bridge.
That would be the Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge.
Simply looking at this thing twists your brain, so just imagine riding along its mind-blowing
stretch of over 100 miles!
It’s part of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, so if you wanna see this bad boy
for yourself, you’ll need to take a train trip going to or from Shanghai and Nanjing.
Oh yeah, and you’ll be about 100 feet up in the air, so don’t look down!
14.
The fountain of youth And finally, probably the most undeniable
fact that Asia is some sort of different universe must be the strange way aging works over there.
That is, it seems to go a lot slower than in other parts of the world, mine included!
I mean, have you seen Taiwanese interior designer Lure Hsu?
What about Singaporean professional photographer Chuando Tan?
They’re both undeniably gorgeous people, but get this: she’s going on 44 and he’s
53!
Well, “middle-aged” is a whole different concept over there since a lot of Asian countries
have extremely long lifespans.
Japan itself has the most centenarians (that’s people who’ve celebrated their 100th birthday)
per capita.
It probably comes down to their healthy diet and active lifestyle, but if there is a fountain
of youth, I’m willing to bet it’s somewhere over in Asia!
So you – yeah you there, which of the places I mentioned would you like to see first, and
can you add any more examples to the list?
Let me know down in the comments!
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