Tea Leaves

21 August 2024
The friendship bridge spanning the Tiau River serves as an important commercial lifeline between the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram and western Myanmar's Chin state. 
Electronicos Fantasticos founder Ei Wada rocks out on a converted fan. The collective's members range from primary school kids to engineers at appliance companies. 
Tea Leaves

Japan's reverence for past gives new musical meaning to old appliances

Improbable avant-garde artists' collective Electronicos Fantasticos celebrates a retro-future

7 August 2024
People take photos of characters from the Japanese manga series “Chiikawa” at a pop-up store in Hong Kong. (Photo by Echo Wong)
Tea Leaves

China's stressed young people find solace in Japanese manga

Struggles facing ‘Chiikawa’ characters resonate with youth amid economic slowdown

31 July 2024
A boat plies the river in the Sundarbans National Park -- the world's largest mangrove forest. Located in the delta formed by the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, the forest is described by UNESCO as "one of the most biologically productive of all natural ecosystems." (Photo by Charukesi Ramadurai)
Tea Leaves

Tiger spotting among the mangroves

A conservation lesson in South Asia's forested Sundarbans region

24 July 2024
Viewers are served up insights on the world of Japanese school lunches in the recently released movie "Oishii Kyushoku 3," which unofficially translates to "Yummy School Lunch 3."  (2024 Oishii Kyushoku Production Committee) 
Tea Leaves

Learning from Japan's 'yummy' school lunches

The enduring tradition of 'kyushoku' levels the playground for pupils

17 July 2024
Noodle master Tan Kue Kim, wearing his trademark Rolex watch, fries up fare for a customer in January. He died the following month. (Photo by Dylan Loh)
Tea Leaves

Singapore hawkers highlight generational challenge to famed culinary traditions

Young cooks dip spoons into street food trade as older chefs pass on

10 July 2024
Shanghai's Lujiazui business district symbolizes both China's rapid economic rise and the challenges it faces. 
Tea Leaves

Goodbye Shanghai: reflections on five years at China's gateway

Covering tech, pandemic and social issues in commercial hub yields insights into national trajectory

5 July 2024
Japanese naval curry stands out for its dense sauce and spicy kick. (All photos by Stephen Mansfield)
Tea Leaves

Patriotism and curry meet Japan's naval traditions

British-Indian contribution to naval culinary tradition feeds national spirit

26 June 2024
Not all Malaysians are happy that bak kut teh, a pork-heavy dish brought to the country over a century ago by Chinese immigrants, has been recognized as a national treasure. (All photos by Norman Goh)
Tea Leaves

Malaysian soup row provides recipe for harmony

Controversy over 'bak kut teh' underlines need for compromise and respect

19 June 2024
Young men play in the Tanintharyi River in Tagu, Tanintharyi Region, Myanmar, in March. Despite the ever-present threat of violence from an increasingly desperate military regime, daily life continues in many resistance strongholds. (All photos by Valeria Mongelli)
Tea Leaves

Life lessons from airstrikes in resistance-controlled Myanmar

In Tanintharyi, civilians learn to wait and cope with bombing campaigns

12 June 2024
Japanese poet and novelist Takashi Hiraide's cat Uzuki strikes a literary pose. Hiraide's bestselling novel "The Guest Cat" is available in 25 languages. (Courtesy of Takashi Hiraide)
Tea Leaves

How Japan's 'cat lit' lures fans abroad

Books about felines leave an outsize pawprint at home and abroad

5 June 2024
A forlorn sculpture stands guard against roadworks in the Heide sculpture garden in the Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg. (All photos by J.J. Rose)
Tea Leaves

Shedding light, and dust, on Australia's European art

Historic artists' retreat near Melbourne threatened by giant roadworks

29 May 2024
Radio Ceylon's oldest transmitter is pictured in this classic studio setup. The station, now called the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corp., was launched by British colonial authorities in Colombo in December 1925. (All photos courtesy of the author)
Tea Leaves

How Radio Ceylon became an Asian institution

Sri Lankan station played a major role in building links with India

22 May 2024
Curries vary by type and flavor not only from country to country, but from home to home. (All photos by Meenakshi J)
Tea Leaves

Global curry trail crosses continents

Variations of the traditional Tamil dish have conquered the culinary world

15 May 2024
For the past six years, A.M. Emran has been offering heritage dining experiences to the public in his family's colonial-era mansion in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. (All photos by Faisal Mahmud)
Tea Leaves

Bangladesh eatery takes diners back to future

Dhaka's only heritage dining place shows the city's potential for tourism

8 May 2024
An illuminated sign uses Arabic script to advertise an indoor night market in Bangkok's Nana district, a popular area for Middle Eastern visitors, on April 20. (Photo by Adryel Talamantes)
Tea Leaves

Saudis bask in Bangkok's mojo

Middle Eastern visitors flock to Thai capital and balmy beach resorts after diplomatic deal

24 April 2024
Grandmaster Kazufusa Hosho, in full Noh regalia, poses in front of the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan. (All photos by Isao Nishiyama)
Tea Leaves

Why Japan's Noh theater is cool in Azerbaijan

Groundbreaking performance in Baku gets a Broadway-style ovation

17 April 2024
Indian, Chinese and Malay dishes share equal billing on the menu at mamak restaurants -- eateries run by Tamil Muslims in Malaysia. (All photos by Joseph Rachman)
Tea Leaves

How food crosses Malaysia's ethno-religious boundaries

Loved by all, 'mamak' restaurants provide comfort food and respite from politics and identity issues

10 April 2024
Schoolgirls in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, in northwestern Sumatra. The province is making efforts to bring in tourists after long being off travelers' radar. (Photo by Marco Ferrarese)
Tea Leaves

How tourism can soften hard-line Aceh

Indonesia's most buttoned-up province opens up, somewhat, to visitors

3 April 2024
Bakarwali horses enjoy tranquility in the lush pastures near a nomadic settlement in Aru, a village in India-administered Kashmir. (Photo by Syed Jazib Ali)
Tea Leaves

Nomadic culture on the Himalayan front line

Climate change, conflict and development threaten Bakarwal tribe's existence

27 March 2024
A man takes a pooch for a promenade in Seoul. Most South Koreans no longer see dogs as a source of food. (Photo by Ahn Seong-bok)
Tea Leaves

Time to take dog meat off the table

South Koreans now see canines as companions, not food

20 March 2024
The beaches of the Iranian resort island of Kish have been largely empty despite the arrival of peak tourism season. (Photo by Shuntaro Fukutomi)
Tea Leaves

How sanctions sank Iran's Persian Gulf tourism dream

Failed Kish Island resort comes a dreary second to neighboring Dubai

13 March 2024
Bars in Yangon are still busy, but often close early as the downtown streets grow quiet at night. (All photos by Carlo Wright) 
Tea Leaves

What running has taught me about life in Yangon under military rule

Touring the city on foot past barricades reveals soldiers, beggars and sex workers

6 March 2024
Tourists snap photos of Buddhist monks while watching the morning alms ceremony in Mandalay, Myanmar. (Photo by Charukesi Ramadurai)
Tea Leaves

Time for tourists in Asia to stop behaving badly

Lack of respect grows out of arrogance, as well as ignorance

28 February 2024
Artist Simon Normand uses souvenir teaspoons as an entry point for examining difficult social issues. (All photos courtesy of Simon Normand)
Tea Leaves

How a humble teaspoon can stir memories

Melbourne exhibition of mid-20th-century souvenirs raises uncomfortable questions

21 February 2024