Culture

Culture • STORY OF THE DAY • Jul 29, 2020 • 2 min read

History [Photos] Travel through time to street scenes in 1960s Singapore

By Saigoneer • Jul 29, 2020
Today, Singapore is a city of towering high-rises and immaculate cleanliness. But as these archive images illustrate, back in the 1960s, it still retained charming pockets of urban chaos and scruffiness not often seen today

Culture • STORY OF THE DAY • Jul 29, 2020 • 6 min read

Opinion The vital role of youth in promoting Cambodia’s culture and image abroad

By Bunna Vann and Kimkong Heng • Jul 29, 2020
With ever-closer Chinese ties, human rights abuses and shrinking democratic space clouding Cambodia's reputation internationally, it is youth who could play a vital role as cultural diplomats in promoting the Kingdom's rich history and society abroad

Culture • STORY OF THE DAY • Jul 24, 2020 • 8 min read

Commentary Dear Singapore, here are five things I never knew about you till GE2020

By Ashley Tan • Jul 24, 2020
With the 2020 General Election passing with a resounding – if a little less resounding than in previous years – victory for the ruling People's Action Party, Singaporean student Ashley Tan reflects on what these polls have taught her about the city-state

Culture • Jul 15, 2020 • 2 min read
History

[Photos] A rare glimpse of undeveloped and small-town Saigon in 1867

Ho Chi Minh today is a sprawling megacity home to over 21 million people across its metropolitan area. But back in 1867, it was still a small and serene town sitting on the banks of the Saigon river, as these archive photos show
By Saigoneer • Jul 15, 2020

Culture • Jul 08, 2020 • 2 min read
Animal rights

Cambodia’s tourist hotspot Siem Reap bans dog meat trade

The Cambodian tourist town of Siem Reap banned the dog meat trade on July 7, a victory for animal rights campaigners who describe the area as the "lynchpin" of an industry that slaughters millions of creatures each year
By Agence France-Presse • Jul 08, 2020

Culture • Jul 07, 2020 • 7 min read
Covid-19

Meals on wheels: Pandemic highlights vital role of Bangkok’s food trucks

As Bangkok has suffered from the effects of the pandemic, the city's under-appreciated yet vital pum puang food trucks have stepped in to provide uninterrupted deliveries to some of the Thai capital's most vulnerable residents
By Wanpen Pajai • Jul 07, 2020

Culture • Jul 04, 2020 • 5 min read
Art and culture

Goldie opens Bangkok gallery to showcase street art from around world

Enigmatic British musician-cum-artist Goldie launched a gallery in Bangkok on July 4. Showcasing contemporary, urban, and street art from around the world, the gallery is located in an up-and-coming neighbourhood of the Thai capital
By Gaspar Ruiz-Canela/EFE-EPA • Jul 04, 2020

Culture • Jun 29, 2020 • 4 min read
Transgender community

Vietnam lotto shows just the ticket for marginalised LGBTQ community

Hundreds of LGBTQ performers in Vietnam have found confidence and a way to earn a living through a lotto show dating back to the colonial era, which has transformed into a wildly popular night out in buzzing Ho Chi Minh City
By Tran Thi Minh Ha and Alice Philipson/AFP • Jun 29, 2020

Culture • Jun 29, 2020 • 11 min read
Covid-19

In Siem Reap, locals take to two wheels to escape virus monotony

As the trails of Temple Town are freed from hoards of tourists, out-of-work and exercise-starved locals are reclaiming Siem Reap's once-crowded tarmac and taking to two wheels to escape the virus monotony
By Brian Badzmierowski • Jun 29, 2020

Culture • Jun 24, 2020 • 4 min read
Covid-19

Macaque attack: Humans try to take back Thai city from monkeys

Residents barricaded indoors, rival gang fights and no-go zones for humans. Welcome to Lopburi, an ancient Thai city overrun by monkeys super-charged on junk food, whose population is growing out of control
By Stéphane Delfour and Pitcha Dangprasith/AFP • Jun 24, 2020

Culture • Jun 19, 2020 • 12 min read
Myanmar politics

Q&A: The tragic character arc of Aung San Suu Kyi

2011 biopic The Lady depicts an Aung San Suu Kyi fighting for democracy, painting a very different picture to the one we know today. The Globe spoke with the film’s screenwriter, Rebecca Frayn, to better understand the former democracy icon's tragic character arc
By Alexi Demetriadi • Jun 19, 2020