SE Asia (Page 12)

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

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.

Read More

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

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.

Read More

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

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.

Read More

Thai video claiming corruption at the 2014 Asia Games goes viral

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…

Read More

Creative mum brings amazing character bentos to the dinner table

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!

Read More

Korean cosmetic surgery show treats two Thai women to free procedures

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?

Read More

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

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.

Read More

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

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!

Read More

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.

Read More

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

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.

Read More

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

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…

Read More

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

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.

Read More

Philippine netizens do the makeup transformation meme to mixed results

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.

Read More

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

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.

Read More

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

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.

Read More

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

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.

Read More

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

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.

Read More

Badass art: Ono Gaf and his giant metal turtle

There is no doubt that life as an artist is difficult. From struggling to hone your craft to fighting for the respect of your peers and the attention of an audience, it’s often seen as a career only pursued by the obsessed. While we’re certain that you don’t need to be insane to be a successful artist, we’re also pretty sure that it doesn’t hurt to be at least a little compulsive in your dedication.

When it comes to driven art, Ono Gaf may fit the archetype to perfection. And if you disagree, you can take it up with that giant, hand-built turtle standing over him! Read More

Singaporean guy looking for a girlfriend pins his hopes on YouTube, dances to thank viewers

There are dozens of matchmaking websites and mobile apps these days that help bring people together. Which means you don’t even have to step out of the house to meet someone new, all you need is an internet connection and a computer, tablet or smartphone. It’s easy to hide behind an online profile, but in order to take a budding cyber romance to the next level, you’ll eventually need the guts and sincerity to meet your love interest in real life.

Instead of relying on matchmaking services, this Singaporean guy mustered all the courage in him and conveyed his sincerity in a YouTube video he made in an attempt to find himself a girlfriend, winning praise from YouTube viewers and local citizens. Check out the date plan he has for his potential girlfriend after the jump!

Read More

Do you use these “Philippine English” words and phrases?

Here at RocketNews24, we spend a lot of time talking about language–particularly Japanese and English in Japan. It’s no secret that English is a difficult language to learn, and not just for folks from Japan. Part of the reason for the difficulty arises from the numerous variations English has–from American to Australian to Singaporean. But one country in particular that stands out is the Philippines, which the BBC recently called “the world’s budget English teacher.” While it’s not exactly the most complimentary title, it certainly is true that the country takes English as one of its official languages (along with Filipino, which is basically a standardized form of Tagalog). Of course, in a country with around 170 living languages, it should be expected that Philippine English is quite a bit different from English in the US or the UK.

But just how different is it?

Read More

  1. 1
  2. ...
  3. 9
  4. 10
  5. 11
  6. 12
  7. 13
  8. 14
  9. 15
  10. 16
  11. 17
  12. 18
  13. 19