asia

All Asia-bound travelers need some guidance before tackling the largest and most populous continent on Earth.

Landmarks in Jordan
Ajloun Castle Ajloun Castle is situated north-west of Amman at the head of the Jordan Valley. It was built in 1184, is a significant historical fortress, constructed under the rule of Saladin to defend against Crusader invasions, and showcases remarkable Islamic military architecture. The castle exemplifies Islamic military architecture, featuring four towers and panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.
By Rasma Raistersabout an hour ago in Wander
Situ Town Spent 30 Million Yuan on NPCs. The Real Problem Starts After the Photos.
One park has Guinness records, the city’s top revenue, and a daytime problem that another mascot cannot fix. Situ Town’s founder, Zhou Xiaoming, posted a video. Online, he is known as “Village Chief Zhou.” He has 1.14 million followers and more than 10 million likes. In the video, he said the park lacks NPCs who can push tourists’ emotions to the ceiling. The park held a meeting and decided to spend 30 million yuan to invite talent. The pitch: if you have skills and dare to perform, the park will pay one million or ten million yuan a year.
By Jinabout 11 hours ago in Wander
Minus 4°C, a Closed Road, and 400 Calls: That Night Qilian County Opened Its Schools
Body At 5:30 p.m. on October 3, the phones in the office of the Qilian County Culture, Sports, Tourism, Radio and Television Bureau began ringing. By midnight, more than 400 calls had come in. Mr. Chen and his colleagues wrote down phone numbers, number of people, and gender composition by hand, took photos, and sent them to the hotel group chat and the work group chat. The director ordered takeout for them. A hamburger took two hours, and it still was not finished.
By Jina day ago in Wander
The Pinglu Canal Won't Build a New First-Tier City. The Software Problem Will Stop It.
On September 16, 2026, the Pinglu Canal opened. The new 134.2-kilometer waterway runs from Pingtangjiang mouth in Hengzhou, Nanning, to the Beibu Gulf estuary at Qinzhou. It lets goods from the southwest reach the sea without detouring through Guangzhou Port. The voyage is more than 560 kilometers shorter. Total logistics costs fall by 18% to 30%. More than RMB 5 billion in transport costs can be saved each year. The project cost about RMB 72.7 billion and can handle 5,000-tonne vessels. It ends the southwest's old problem of rivers and sea not connecting.
By Jina day ago in Wander
The Real Reason Hong Kong Is Called HK, Not XG
On the English page of the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, Hong Kong Island appears as Hong Kong. H capital, K capital, a space between. Qing officials signed in Chinese. British signed in English. That sheet went into the archive. Hong Kong stayed. Xiang Gang did not.
By Jina day ago in Wander
Bangkok
Mopeds weave between the traffic and a tuk-tuk lunges forward, blonde girl in its cab throwing her head back laughing. Droplets bead across my skin as the humidity rests thick in my lungs. I can feel the heartbeat of the city pulsing from the bundled, sagging power lines. Bright lights lead my vision upward to skyscrapers and rooftop bars and the promise of good times, distracting from the smell of damp and sewage, which now retreats to the back of my mind. I step onto the road and cross without looking, pace steady as the world moves around me, making me feel at the centre of it all. Rows of pretty girls line the storefronts. I stop at the one where the woman is older, beyond her youth, inspecting the options on the menu. "How you like?" When I indicate firm, she points at the selection and leads me to a dark room to undress. Her hands tell the story of her life, hard, almost brutal. As she moves across my body, I feel the places that will bruise later. I think about asking her to go softer, but I don't want to appear weak. Surely I can glimpse an hour of her life, walk in her shoes; all I need to do is breathe. When she climbs atop of me, legs straddling my waist, kneading into my back, my mind wanders to the pretty girls and how many men will pass through their doors before their fingers harden too. A final twist and crack of my spine and I am freed to traverse the uneven sidewalks and nightmarket stalls. Maybe I'll head back to my room, draw a long hot bath and stare across the city landscape. But my phone pings: a picture of a row of tequila shots with the caption, Cafe Patron. Rooftop. Now ! I rub the echo of last night's hangover from my forehead as I make my way skyward, 42 storeys above the world. What is it they say? "One night in Bangkok..."
By Amanda Abelaa day ago in Wander
Landmarks in Japan
Arashiyama Bamboo Forest The Arashiyama Bamboo Forest is located close to the foot of the Arashiyama Mountians on Kyoto’s western periphery. A walkway that winds for many hundred meters is lined with towering stalks of moso bamboo. Before visitors gather, the woodlands are quietest in the early mornings, and you can hear the sounds of the stalks groaning and swinging about you as you walk along.
By Rasma Raisters3 days ago in Wander
The Tiny Reason I Ended Up 4,000 Meters Above Sea Level
One time, on the ABB commuter bus, a colleague from ABB High Voltage said they were commissioning a substation for the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The relay contacts burned out easily. They did not know how to fix it. I asked a few questions and learned the substation sat above four thousand meters. I told them this was electrical altitude sickness. The fix was to connect the same type of contacts in series. That would remove the ablative impact of the breaking arc.
By Jin4 days ago in Wander
Japan’s Streets Are Spotless. So Why Can’t You Find a Trash Can?
1. Shinjuku South Exit, 10 a.m. A foreign visitor stands beside a row of vending machines. In his left hand is an empty paper cup. In his right hand is a convenience store plastic bag. Inside the bag: a receipt, the corner of an onigiri wrapper, half a pack of tissues.
By Jin5 days ago in Wander
They Came for the Great Wall. They Left With a Second Suitcase.
Beijing Capital Airport, international departures hall. A group of French tourists waiting for a flight. Each has a neck fan around their neck. One has a handheld fan clipped to a backpack. Mint green, pink, black. Bought at Miniso. Cheaper than a bowl of noodles in Sanlitun. They are gear.
By Jin5 days ago in Wander
The Last White Patch: Indonesia’s Eternal Snow Is Almost Gone
The Last White Patch The photograph from 1936 shows snow. It covers the ridge in a wide, uneven sheet, filling the saddles between peaks. In a drone image from 2025, the same ridge is mostly gray rock. A small white patch clings to the highest slope. It is smaller than a football field
By Jin5 days ago in Wander
Landmarks in Israel
Beersheba Beersheba is a significant biblical city located in southern Israel, known as the southernmost boundary of cultivated land in ancient Israel. It is historically important for its association with the patriarch Abraham, who made a covenant there with Abimelech, the Philistine king. Beersheba serves as a regional center for commerce, education, and technology, attracting many residents and investors. It is recognized as Israel's national chess center, boasting a high number of chess grandmasters per capita.
By Rasma Raisters6 days ago in Wander