Títulos en Asia

Vietnam is one of the most fascinating destinations in Southeast Asia. Having emerged from two decades of war, it is has undergone a period of rapid and far-reaching change, and its people have their eyes fixed firmly on the horizon. Culture Smart! Vietnam is for those who want to learn about the traditional values, sensibility, and modern way of life of the Vietnamese. It explains deep-seated attitudes and describes some of the social, economic, and cultural changes now underway.

Dopo quattro lunghi viaggi in Vespa attraverso 134 paesi, dopo più di 250.000 chilometri in sella alle sue due ruote, nel 2004 Giorgio Bettinelli decide di iniziare una nuova vita in Cina. Compra una casa sulla riva sinistra del Mekong, si sposa. Sembra l'avvio di una stagione della vita più sedentaria, o almeno più tranquilla. E invece il demone del movimento è di nuovo in agguato.

For thousands of years, the Chinese believed that they had created a perfect social system based on Confucian values and tempered by the Mandate of Heaven. Dynasties came and went, but the essence of being Chinese remained essentially unchanged until the 20th century. Since then, change has taken place in Chinese society at an unprecedented speed: the country experienced the turmoil of civil war and revolution and then emerged on to the world stage as a global superpower.

India's huge population of 1.2 billion people is as varied and colorful as the spice markets of Old Delhi. Each region, caste, and community has its own culture, reflecting unique histories shaped by conquest, creativity, and religion. Steeped in ancient traditions, exceptionally fatalistic, and intensely passionate about their culture, the Indians are also ingenious, creative, and world leaders in cutting-edge science and technology. Show interest in their country, and it will be reciprocated with genuine warmth and friendship.

Greater Than a Tourist - Dhaka Bangladesh, by Mehnaz Meem, offers the inside scoop on Dhaka.

For many outsiders, Thailand still conjures up images of the East at its most mysterious and enchanting - a view largely formed by Hollywood films like The King and I. Never conquered by foreigners, this proud and ancient land has been shaped by Buddhism, the monarchy, and the military. Today, it is ranked among the tiger economies of Southeast Asia. It is a manufacturing powerhouse, the world’s largest rice exporter, and a tourist paradise that welcomes 22 million visitors a year to its beach resorts and its vibrant capital, Bangkok.

Apart from the headline-making politics, not much is known in the West about the Korean people and their ancient culture. Yet those who visit Korea, whether North or South, find a land of great interest. The Koreans, when not constrained by politics or other considerations, are friendly and sociable, and the peninsula has areas of outstanding natural beauty. The South’s cities, if not always beautiful, are vibrant and alive. The North, while very different, is complex and fascinating.

A landmark in travel writing, this is the incredible true story of Heinrich Harrer’s escape across the Himalayas to Tibet, set against the backdrop of the Second World War. Heinrich Harrer, already one of the greatest mountaineers of his time, was climbing in the Himalayas when war broke out in Europe. He was imprisoned by the British in India but succeeded in escaping and fled to Tibet.

To cross the boundaries of convenience and reach these forbidden areas all of us have to cross a line, an inner line, and find our own Inner Line Pass. Umesh Pant’s travelogue Inner Line Pass is the story of one such journey that goes on in the outer world and the inner world of the heart. It is an account of an 18-day journey of over 200 kilometres on foot that takes the traveller to the heights of beauty - and danger.

明治時代、「仏教原典」を求めて、鎖国のチベットに数々の困難を乗り越えながら単独入国を果たした僧侶の旅行記。

住職を辞め、旅の資金を貯めた後、まわりに惜しまれ呆れられながらも仏教原典を求める姿や、巡礼乞食をしながらチベットを目指し、氷がある河を泳ぎ、ヒマラヤを超えるなど、クレイジーな河口慧海師の魅力と出会える作品です。

チベットの生活や習慣などが浮かび上がってくる活き活きとした朗読でお楽しみください。

Autor opisuje Indonezję XXI wieku, w której Dajakowie ścinają wrogom głowy i zjadają ich serca, Toradżowie grzebią zmarłych wiele lat po śmierci, mieszkają z trupami, kilka lat po pogrzebie wyjmują ich z trumien i spacerują z nimi, a Papuasi zabijają i zjadają ludzi w najdzikszej dżungli świata, bo to stanowi sens ich życia. Opowiada o wyjątkowej wielkanocnej procesji morskiej i takimż polowaniu z harpunami na wieloryby.

The Nepalese attitude toward life is essentially religious. Hindu and Buddhist values predominate and help to maintain social harmony despite the divisions between rich and poor, urban and rural, highlands and lowlands. Culture Smart! Nepal sets out to explain the complexities of Nepalese life, from home to business to the marketplace. It tells you what to expect and provides insights that will help you to go beyond friendly smiles and turn your visit into an enlightening and rewarding experience.

Out of the heart of China into the mountains of Central Asia, across Northern Afghanistan and the plains of Iran into Kurdish Turkey, Colin Thubron undertakes a journey along the greatest land route on earth: the Silk Road. Travelling 7,000 miles in eight months, he traces the passage not only of trade and armies, but of ideas, religions and inventions.

After a stint living and working in Korea, Nebraska native Bart Schaneman sets out on a quest to live deliberately and with strength and purpose before returning to the States and figuring out what to do with his life and his writing. The only constant, his copy of The Idiot, Bart meets many eclectic characters along the way, themselves young travelers like him, and together they share adventures and experiences against the breathtaking backdrops of China, Mongolia and Russia.

"Laowài", così i cinesi chiamano, in modo più o meno colorito, lo straniero. Per me, nato a Prato non distante da quella che sarebbe divenuta la più imponente Chinatown d'Italia, lo straniero era il tipo dagli occhi a mandorla, la voce chiassosa e il pigiama di pile in pieno giorno.

Il viaggio più affascinante è un viaggio antico, graduale, privato e sociale insieme: il viaggio in treno. I treni sono teatri, caffè, bazar. L'unico talk-show che non conosce crisi è quello che si replica quotidianamente sulle rotaie. La confidenza genera libertà: ci ha messo insieme il caso, ci dividerà una stazione. I treni aiutano a pensare. Tutti i grandi viaggi - dai pellegrinaggi cattolici al Grand Tour, dalla prima partenza con gli amici al viaggio di nozze - sono, in fondo, una scoperta di se stessi: il panorama che c'interessa sta dentro di noi.

To this day, China remains an enigma. Ancient, complex and fast moving, it defies easy understanding. Ever since he was a boy, Alexandre Trudeau has been fascinated by this great country. Recounting his experiences in the China of recent years, Trudeau visits artists and migrant workers, townspeople and rural farmers.

There is a village that sits at the edge of lush rainforest, its stilted huts face the ocean, its children plunge below the water's surface with spears to learn the ways of their elders. This is the Surin Islands, on Thailand's Andaman coast, and home to the Moken, the world's last sea nomads. For centuries, the Moken roamed Burma's Mergui archipelago, diving for shellfish to trade for rice, taking shelter on land only during the monsoon season.

In Great Buddha Gym for All Mens and Womens, author Sallie Tisdale so richly evokes her pilgrimage to the four vital sites related to Buddha Shakyamuni's life and enlightenment that the listener feels as if she's tripping alongside Tisdale every crowded, colorful, and sensuous step of the way. The challenges of travel in modern India are daunting. The ancient sites are overrun with tourists and seekers. Merchants hawking spiritual goods are everywhere.

When Stephen Bodio was a young boy in the early '50s, he saw an image in National Geographic that became forever etched in his mind: It was a photograph of a Kazakh nomad, dressed in a long coat and wearing a fur hat, holding a huge tame eagle on his fist. And a lifelong fascination with Central Asia was born.