Features

by Lei Chatfield, Contributing Editor

Imagine: nomadic yurts, incredibly beautiful tiled mosques, medieval architecture and an ultramodern city created by a dictator “president” with portraits of him and his family at every turn. This mosaic is Central Asia.

Kyrgyzstan

There’s something magical about Kyrgyzstan. On our first evening in Bishkek, we were treated to a double dose of Kyrgyz culture at a local restaurant. First there was a special performance of a Kyrgyz epic legend by a master manaschi (storyteller). We were very privileged, as this is a fading art form...

—by Beverly Shaver, El Cerrito, CA

Almost every visitor to Asia at one time or another passes through Singapore, be it on a shore excursion from a cruise ship or while changing planes. We did not plan to linger as we arrived there on our way home following a 2-week, September ’04 ramble through eastern Malaysia, given the few antiquities and the super-modern urban environment there. We likely would have spent the night before our departure in our hotel room had it not been for the concierge.

That lively gentleman, Mr. Sultaya, spotted an appliqued bearcat on my flight jacket...