Blogs of the World

Malaysia to New Zealand

Colours of my life comes to us from Malaysia via New Zealand and is “where faith, fashion, food and photography collide”. It’s written by Shahirah Elaiza, originally from Kuala Lumpur but now living in New Zealand.

Read these posts to see more about New Zealand through Malaysian eyes.

And for a taste of Kuala Lumpur check these holiday photos. We’ve posted before about Malaysia’s multicultural influences and here is proof – check the post about shopping in Indian mosque street which according to Shahirah is ‘somewhere in between India and Malaysia’.

Read more:
Malaysian blogs on Blogs of the World
New Zealand blogs on Blogs of the World
Cultural quiz: Is it easy to learn Malaysian culture?

From our contributors: 2 August

Here’s the weekly roundup of articles posted by our contributors on their personal blogs:

Carmen, our contributor from Romania, brings us a Bucharest artisan

Mike, our contributor from Japan, attended the Shinugu Matsuri (Festival) in Okinawa:

This weekend an event that happens only once every two years takes place in Ada, a coastal village in the northeast area of Okinawa, Japan.  It’s called the Shinugu Matsuri (Festival) but, there won’t be any of the trappings you’d see at most festivals.

Anu, our contributor from India, writes about a curious monument she came across in Gulab Bhag:

Following a butterfly, we moved away from the well trodden path, and suddenly, right in front of us was a marble edifice. Curious, we moved closer, and both of us were stunned!

Jenna, our contributor from Poland, takes us on a visit to a glass studio in southern Poland and muses about art:

The youngest son’s wife was able to speak about the various sources of her husband’s inspiration: traveling, diving, books, animals, National Geographic specials. But when I asked her about the philosophy behind the art, she was quiet.

Glimpse Myanmar

Dawn blogs from Yangon, Myanmar (Burma) and her blog is appropriately called A Glimpse of my Life.

The latest post, photos taken while runnning errands, shows some beautiful scenes from downtown Yangon. Or, you can check what she’s cooking: crab curry anyone? Last week, Dawn wrote about a Sunday afternoon trip to a football match – Myanmar vs Mongolia!

Finally, Mother’s love is a reminder that not everyone lives the same life:

The mother let me take a photo of her cute daughter. But what she said later made me sad. She said, “I wish that this little baby was born into a family like yours instead of a poor person like me.”

Blog via Global Voices

Read more:
More blogs from Asia on Blogs of the World
Where in the world is Mongolia?
Eating to keep cool in the Thai summer

From our contributors: 26 July

Here’s another list of posts written by our contributors this week. Good reading!

Carmen, our contributor from Romania, brigs us a snapshot of Bucharest in summer.

“Every weekend of July & August, at Via Sport, Kiseleff Blv. in Bucharest is closed for cars and opened for people who like play sports: tennis, basketball, cycling, etc.”

From the archives of Jason‘s blog (our contributor from USA – West Coast): Quilting Bee in the Andes. [Bolivia]

“I later learned that the contest wasn’t about speed; it was about quality and village involvement. Each of the villages we support had a few months to weave a manta (Andean blanket)…”

Jenna, our contributor from Poland, writes about a chapel built in a salt mine in The Art of Salt.

This chapel is also over 100 meters underground, accessible via 54 flights of wooden planks stacked as steps that zigzag vertically down a narrow shaft, straight into the Earth’s throat. The room is also almost carved entirely, inside out, from a giant block of salt.

Qusay on Saudi Arabia today

Qusay is a Saudi Arabian engineer from Jeddah, and his blog Qusay Today is a mixture of Saudi culture, news and politics.

Topics are varied, ranging from award winning Saudi photographers to thoughts on Faith versus tradition in Islam.

Saudi Arabia has been in the news recently because some women have defied the driving ban which affects women there, and Qusay’s analysis of the Western media reactions is also interesting to read.

Read more:
Saudi Arabian blogs on Blogs of the World
What’s the future of Arabic dialects?
Iran as you don’t see it on the news

From our contributors: 19 July

Another week, another roundup of articles posted by our contributors on their blogs with subjects ranging from prehistoric cave paintings in India to Ocean Day in Japan.

Anu, our contributor from India, visits the prehistoric cave paintings of Anegundi. These fascinating paintings provide a glimpse into the life of our Neolithic ancestors.

“Imagine living like our ancestors, having to struggle for every meal, every piece of covering, even for a roof over the head, not to mention the dangers lurking around every corner! And yet they persevered, though it took centuries for things to change, for them to evolve!”

 
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