Asia: Home of Natural Beauties and Heritage

Sophia Tan

 There are so many things that people would be interested in visiting different places in Asia. Some of these would be their culture, traditions, what they eat, their taste in fashion, music and the people themselves. But of course, it is indeed very interesting to visit places that marked the history and are still seen nowadays. Hongkong is well known for its shopping, dining and entertainment and for having it’s own Disneyland. China on the other hand, is famous worldwide for it’s Great Wall. This has become a worldwide tourist attraction rich for its historical and cultural background. Never missed the Mt.Fuji in Japan because it is one of the must see places if you want to visit the country. You can still see some of the imperial palaces and temples built by their ancestors. Some of the exciting things you can do are watching a sumo match, eating sake and sushi and of course, climbing Mt. Fuji. Just a trivia Japan is considered to be the skinniest industrialized country in the world because it’s against their law to be fat. Thailand has still a great number of Buddhist temples that many tourists can visit. You can also enjoy watching Muay Thai fights in Muay Thai stadiums. The country has been known as the home of many beautiful beaches like Phuket, Samui, Pattaya and Hua Hin. And last but not the least, the Philippines rich for its natural beauties including the ever famous Banaue Rice Terraces, the perfect cone of Mt. Mayon and its finest beaches like Boracay, Palawan and Pagudpod. The country is very famous for its festivals, traditions, sports and politics. Aside from what has been mentioned, there are still other things that people may be interested in Asia and some of these are yet to be discovered.

img source: http://www.asiaimpressions.com/articles/interesting-facts-about-asia.html

A Tale of Two Cities

Traffic enforcers in Bangkok are always ready to bring special scissors in order to trim the umbilical cords of new born babies in the city’s street every year to mothers who go into labor on their ways to the hospital. This scenario is not surprising since the capital city is very well-known for traffic jams. The cars which are million in numbers keep on moving slowly and carefully along bumper-to-bumper on streets that were once canals. This includes those tuk-tuks or auto rickshaws, and motorcycle taxis that loop in and out boundless lines of cars.

The traffic system would have fallen down in the past if not because of public transportation. Among the eleven million people, there are seven million registered vehicles in the record. The Skytrain is one of the best public transportation that contributes in the improvement of traffic congestion. It started the operation in the year 1998 by Siemens and it is located in a long bridgelike structure which ranges from twelve to thirty meters. The Skytrain operates for about two-minute period during rush hours which has a total of six hundred thousand passengers. It runs from downtown Bangkok to the north, southeast, and southwest, serving thirty two stations.

The major cities of Asia like Bangkok and the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, are developing every year for about six percent which made them Asia’s powerful economic countries. However, there is a disadvantage. Even though the standard speed of Bangkok’s traffic has increased from less than ten kilometers per hour at ultimate times in 1998 to 18 kilometers per hour in present time that is still a critical. It may still get bad since the World Bank anticipates a sixty percent growth of Thais living in big cities by the year 20150.

H. Breuer

Maya Herras

Earphones on, volume up; Just a minute of listening to the first song on the CD and you’ll already be hooked—hungry to hear what else Up Dharma Down’s Capacities have in store.

Four years after releasing Bipolar, the award-winning Filipino rock band presented the public with their latest album last November 2012. Hundreds of fans lined up just to have their copies signed by UDD’s members—Armi Millare, Paul Yap, Ean Mayor and Carlos Tanada—eager to listen to their fresh, new tracks.

Capacities, unlike the past two albums (Bipolar, 2008 and Fragmented, 2006), is less electric and more 80’s synth-pop—while preserving the band’s signature sound.

A good example of this is Turn it well, the first track off the album, containing synth beats synchronized with several guitar riffs—perfect for a long drive or for trips to the seaside.

Luna, Thinker and Indak are both relaxing from start-to-finish—guaranteed to take the stress away after a long workday; while Night Drops and Kulang  both  have an  electric, clubby feel.  

Tadhana, Parks and Feelings are full of heartfelt and beautifully written lyrics—reaching out to relate to the listener, without losing their upbeat vibe.

Up Dharma Down describes their new album as more “radio-friendly”—being less of art and more of 70’s and 80’s pop.

A few fans have said that they preferred more of UDD’s electric, futuristic sound—while most have described Capacities as part of the band’s maturity—exploring more concepts and sounds rather than sticking to just one method. Either way, UDD has created yet another masterpiece—being the definition of venturing into wider places, while keeping their feet on the ground.

(Source: http://siopaotonicsnaps.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/udd-2-2.jpg?w=640&h=426)