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SE Asia (Page 12)

Is the Fountain of Youth in Thailand? 1965’s Miss Universe still looks pretty incredible

Preston Phro
Oct 27, 2014
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Perceptions of beauty pageants in modern society have definitely changed since the 1960s. While we’re sure that there are plenty of varying opinions out there regarding beauty pageants’ place in modern society, we can certainly get behind the idea that there’s more to a person than how physically attractive they are. That said, we’re sure that for winners of the pageants, like Apasra Hongsakula here, who was 18 when she won Miss Universe in 1965, the shows are source of tremendous pride and happiness.

But winning an international beauty contest isn’t the only thing that separates Apasra from the rest of us ugly shmoes–if recent photos are any indication, she’s been practically reliving her glory days for the last 47 years, since the 1965 Miss Universe still looks like Miss Universe today even at the age of 67!

SE Asia
(Apasra Hongsakula • beauty pageant • Thailand)

Bangkok has its own magical moving emporium stuffed with snacks, candies and toys!

Hayashi 'Fang' Hougi
Oct 26, 2014

Once upon a time in Bangkok, there was a magical moving emporium that only opened its doors to a lucky few. Inside, those who were permitted to enter could feast on every kind of sweet treat imaginable, and when they stepped out of this cave of wonders, they found themselves in a completely different place.

You might think this to be a fairy tale or the stuff of urban legend, but Thai native Kittiphun Khongawatkiat was lucky enough to chance upon this amazing taxi filled to the brim with snacks and candies and took some snaps to prove its existence.

SE Asia
(snacks • taxi • Taxi Driver • Thailand)

Sun + Magnifying glass = Art? One man’s unique “painting” style will blow your mind

Audrey Akcasu
Oct 21, 2014

Do you remember when you were a little kid and you used a magnifying glass to look at bugs and leaves? Do you remember when you realized that if you caught the sunlight in the magnifying glass in just the right way you could set the bugs and leaves on fire?

Austronesian artist Jordan Mang-osan (not to be confused with Mango-san) is also using the sun to burn things at this home in the Philippines, but instead of frying bugs, he’s creating massive works of art.

SE Asia
(art • fire • Philippines • pyrography)

Come for the toilets, stay for the food and fun at Bangkok’s airport-themed mall “Terminal 21”

Master Blaster
Oct 16, 2014

Asia is full of wonderful travel destinations. With a mix of rich history and rapid development, it’s far from a boring place to visit. However, the burning question on any traveler’s mind has got to be “Where can I see the greatest toilets of Asia?”

Well, that’s a subjective title but we’d like to submit a shopping center in Thailand’s capital Bangkok as a contender. The huge complex is called Terminal 21 and boasts over six floors of shops and eateries. There’s a lot of fun to be had here but the main attraction has got to be the internationally themed restrooms.

SE Asia
(Bangkok • Thailand • toilet • travel)

Thai schoolgirl uniforms poised to edge out traditional Japanese ones in Japan?

Mike
Oct 13, 2014

It looks like Japanese girls can’t get enough of schoolgirl uniforms these days. Once loathed by their wearers as stuffy, boring and a symbol of conformity (pretty much kryptonite to teenagers), Japanese girls have – over the last few decades – come to embrace the schoolgirl uniform as a sexy, fashionable and customizable wardrobe choice in and out of the classroom.

The problem, though: It looks like it isn’t Japanese schoolgirl uniforms that girls really want nowadays. What they really want are Thai schoolgirl uniforms.

Internet, Japan, SE Asia
(cosplay • culture • education • fashion • School uniform)

Filipino actor transforms into celebrity women with a little help from his friends

ロケットニュース24
Oct 12, 2014

We’ve demonstrated the power of makeup before, so it’s fair to say that we’re believers in its mystical ability to transform wearers. That said not every makeup experiment will work perfectly–or at all–but we do still enjoy seeing the attempts. While it can be used to help people change their appearance almost entirely, makeup can only stretch reality so far. But just what are the limits?

Well, if you’re Paolo Ballesteros, an actor and comedian popular in the Philippines, not many! Check out his numerous transformations into popular female celebrities using only makeup, wigs, and contact lenses below and see what can be done with some well-placed blush.

SE Asia
(celebrities • makeup • Philippines • transformation)

Thai video claiming corruption at the 2014 Asia Games goes viral

Krista Rogers
Oct 8, 2014

Readers in the West may not have heard much about it, but the 17th Asian Games were held between September 19 and October 4 in Incheon, South Korea. As the largest multi-sporting event after the Olympics, the Asian Games bring together athletes from all across the Asian continent only once every four years. By the end of this year’s competition, China had racked up the highest medal count, followed by host South Korea and Japan. However, this year’s Games were also plagued by rampant rumors of suspicious refereeing, fixed matches, and host country favoritism, leaving many nations with a bitter aftertaste upon their conclusion.

In response to the multiple stories of alleged corruption, one irate Thai viewer created a parody video to vent his frustrations. As of this writing, the video, with its scornful lyrics yet surprisingly bubbly nature, has been replayed over 2 million times on YouTube, despite having been published less than a week ago. Judging by the comments, it seems the rest of the world seems to sympathize with its message…

Global, Internet, Korea, SE Asia
(Asia • Asian Games • badminton • boxing • controversy • refereeing • scandal • soccer • Thailand • wrestling • YouTube)

Creative mum brings amazing character bentos to the dinner table

Oona McGee
Sep 30, 2014

While some of us may recall our childhood lunches as a series of soggy sandwiches in boring brown paper bags, two lucky children in Singapore are bound to look back on all their meals as miniature worlds of cute and delicious fun.

It’s all thanks to their mother, who decided to expand her skills beyond the humble bento lunchbox, and bring the cute to any meal of the day. Check out her amazing collection of healthy meals after the jump. It’s the best collection we’ve seen yet!

Internet, SE Asia
(anime • bento • cute • kyaraben • manga)

Korean cosmetic surgery show treats two Thai women to free procedures

Krista Rogers
Sep 15, 2014

Yeah, yeah, here comes another article about plastic surgery in South Korea. But this time there’s an international twist to it–the story is about two Thai women who received plastic surgery on a Korean TV program.

As reported by Coconuts Bangkok, the September 4 episode of Korean show Let Me In featured a pair of Thai women who received several cosmetic surgery treatments for free and which followed the entire surgerical process from start to finish. The women’s transformed faces were revealed to the public for the first time at the end of the episode. How do you think their procedures turned out?

Korea, SE Asia
(cosmetic surgery • Korea • Let Me In • plastic surgery • Thailand • TV show • women)

A look inside the “Ghost Tower” of Bangkok, Thailand’s abandoned skyscraper

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Sep 14, 2014

What is now known as the “Ghost Tower” was dreamed up once upon a time in the 1990s when Thailand’s economy was rapidly expanding. Originally meant to be called the Sathorn Unique, the skyscraper was envisioned as one of many luxury apartments that were to populate the bustling Bangkok cityscape. However, the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis had other plans, halting construction and causing developers to abandon the project altogether. Now the Sathorn Unique stands as a ghostly reminder of what could have been and a perilous playground for intrepid travelers.

SE Asia
(abandoned buildings • Bangkok • Ghost Tower • Sathorn Unique)

IKEA Malaysia’s lookalike contest has fans cosplaying as lamps, alarm clocks and more【Photos】

Joan Coello
Sep 12, 2014

Swedish furniture giant IKEA has never been short of creative ideas, be they for furniture or campaigns to catch our attention. IKEA Singapore previously featured the element of cosplay in their advertising, demonstrating their ability to transform a cosplayer’s cluttered mess into an organized, stylish room with their storage systems.

This time, their Malaysian counterparts have incorporated elements of cosplay into one of their marketing stints, and on top of that, they have encouraged their shoppers to join in. They’ve brought low-budget cosplay to a new light – cosplaying as IKEA products!

SE Asia
(cosplay • ikea • look-alike • low-budget • Malaysia)

School textbook is withdrawn after “teacher” on the front is recognized as Japanese adult video star

Fran W
Sep 12, 2014

Gone are the days when schoolbooks were made up of pages and pages of text. Today’s textbooks are just as likely to be filled with glossy, colourful images to engage and entertain students. This Thai textbook publisher, however, has come under fire for apparently sourcing an image from the internet to use on a book’s front cover – which turned out to be a photo of a Japanese adult video star.

SE Asia
(mistake • publishing • textbook • Thailand)

Adorable three-year-old Filipino boy absolutely kills it on the drums【Videos】

Cara Clegg
Sep 10, 2014

Martin Cruz hails from Iselin New Jersey, is a killer at playing church music on the drums, and is just three years old! Watch four videos of this little guy owning that kit after the jump.

Internet, SE Asia, USA
(children • drummer • drumming • talented • video)

Stray dogs head to convenience stores in Thailand, receive free rabies shots and flea care

Oona McGee
Sep 8, 2014

If you’ve ever experienced an Asian summer, you’ll know how unbearably hot and humid it can be. In Thailand, where summer temperatures often stay above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees F) and can reach 100% humidity, keeping body temperatures down becomes a priority not only for people, but for our furry friends as well.

Clever canines know to beat the heat by hanging outside local convenience stores, where there’s shade, a cold surface to lie on, and best of all, a steady flow of traffic to open the automatic doors, releasing precious, steady gusts of cool, conditioned air. But there’s more…

SE Asia
(7-Eleven • convenience stores • dogs • health • pets)

Going Bananas for Bananart on Banana Day! Students create a “bananamation” movie【Video】

KK Miller
Aug 27, 2014

We know what you are thinking: “Really? There’s a Banana Day?” In Japan there is! It comes from the date “August 7” and the way you can pronounce “8” (ba) and “7” (nana) in Japanese. The two of them read together become Banana Day, an informal holiday where the amazing powers of bananas are reviewed and admired, which is mostly achieved through nutritional campaigns that teach you fun facts like “bananas are high in potassium” and “they are good for giving you a quick boost of energy”.

In fact, an elementary school in Kanagawa Prefecture took advantage of Banana Day to squeeze in a nutrition class and, surprisingly, the kids didn’t go bananas because they had to go to school during summer vacation. Instead, the students took the day to its most artistic and clever form yet by creating a stunning video that all banana lovers should watch.

Japan, SE Asia
(art • August 7 • Banana Day • creative • End Cape • feel good • fun • heart-warming • Philippines)

Philippine netizens do the makeup transformation meme to mixed results

Mike
Aug 26, 2014

Memes tend to come and go (other than the almighty Shibe Doge), sometimes blink-and-you’ll-miss-it fast, so it’s always a little hard to keep track of what’s really popular and cool on the Internet and what isn’t. Right now, the meme of the nanosecond is “Makeup Transformation,” where Net users pose for a few photos in a tiled frame putting makeup on, and are then “miraculously” transformed into a celebrity, or a movie or video game character.

So quick is the turnaround on Internet memes that by the time people in the Philippines caught on to the Makeup Transformation phenom, it was already pretty much played out – despite it only having been in vogue for, like, a day or two in the U.S. For what it’s worth, Philippine netizens are doing a pretty good job of keeping the meme going, despite stupid people like this writer having basically no idea who most of the transformations are supposed to be.

Internet, SE Asia
(funny • internet • memes • photos • twitter)

New ad from Thailand about a mother’s love will inspire you and bring you to tears【Video】

Oona McGee
Aug 26, 2014

Life insurance commercials from Thailand have been doing the rounds on social media lately, impressing everybody with their beautiful images and moving storylines. Now there’s a new ad from Thailand pulling at our heartstrings, but this time it has nothing to do with life insurance – this is a touching message from the makers of a fibre food beverage.

The short clip shows us the benefits of weight loss, by focusing on the true story of a mother who was determined to lose weight – not for herself but for her son. Why? Make sure you’ve got some tissues handy because the reason will touch your heart.

SE Asia
(family • love • Thai ad • Thailand • video)

Enjoy some Shan cuisine with a side order of caterpillars at Tokyo’s Nong Inlay restaurant

Master Blaster
Aug 17, 2014

Recent studies have been suggesting that the human race would be far better off adopting an insect diet in order to preserve the environment. However, anytime we see a culture who partakes in edible insects they always look incredibly unappetizing.

Why is insect the one food that people refuse to cut up when eating? When I order a salad the restaurant doesn’t toss a head of lettuce on my table, and yet order a plate of crickets and it’d be a miracle if they even pull the antennae off before serving.

Still, if mass insect consumption is on the horizon and chefs refuse to make them not look like insects while eating, we’re going to have to get used to it. That’s exactly why a couple of our writers, Felix Sayaka and Ikuko Kawamura went down to Nong Inlay in Shinjuku to try out some caterpillars along with some other dishes out of the Shan State of Myanmar.

Japan, SE Asia
(bamboo borer • food • insect • Myanmar • Shan)

Bomb-diffusing cop is also finalist in male beauty pageant, looks gorgeous both in and out of uniform

Cara Clegg
Aug 17, 2014

Is this the best-looking guy in the Philippines? You might think he’s an actor from some detective drama, but he’s actually a real life cop, and now also a male beauty pageant participant. The muscular man in uniform (and often out of it) has captured hearts across the Philippines and is currently enjoying a burst of celebrity, although he swears show business isn’t for him.

SE Asia
(beauty pageant • hot guys • male models • Philippines • police)

Table tennis greats serve up incredible 41-shot rally at Commonwealth Games

Cara Clegg
Aug 12, 2014

The 2014 Commonwealth Games were held in Glasgow from July 23 to August 3 with 71 nations competing in 18 different sports, table tennis among them. If you’ve never watched table tennis before, then you might be forgiven for thinking that it’s not particularly exciting. Think again.