FantAsia

I have a friend who gets lost in Punggol but is extremely adept at navigating the grid-like streets and avenues of New York City.

And it disturbs me that sometimes, we know so much about the 1st World that is America and Europe, and yet ignore our own little neighbourhood that is SE Asia. Is Hollywood to blame? Perhaps. I mean Los Angeles is surely better known and appreciated than say, Udon Thani in the boondocks of Siam.



I've made somewhat of an early New Year resolution to learn more about my own backyard. And the more I read photo-journalistic articles, either on the net or in my lastest copy of Asian GEOgraphic, the more I realise I have a long way to go somewhat before truly recognising the beauty and wonder that is our very own continent.

The newspapers are already rife with the blood-shed, political instability and poverty of this region which always seems to be in some calamity or another.

So lets take a step back and look at things from the softer side. A side that tells us of the beauty of hiking the Annapurna ranges, what it means to be Straits-Chinese, North Vietnam's poor and obscure hill tribes or the fast-fading mix of old and new at the Temple Plains of Bagan, Myanmar.

Lets rediscover this Fantasia.