No. 17, Issue 6/2011

Apart from wondering how these people go to the bathroom when they are dressed head to toe in feathers and grass skirts and shells and drums and huge head gear, you also can’t help being in awe. The festivals in Asia are sights to behold. They are colourful, loud, frightening, joyful, rhythmic and hypnotic - simply unforgettable experiences that photography and words cannot describe. From the fun water festivals around the Mekong region where everyone splashes each other to the annual sing sing in Papua New Guinea where thousands of ancient tribes dance and chant at the same time, nothing can be said or thought without exclamation marks. Then there is the famous Full Moon party in Koh Phangan where everyone gets drunk and passes out on the beach. Fun to some, madness to others. Stuck with the mother of all hangovers, or a hurt back after dancing and jumping at the festivals head to the spa for a soothing stone treatment, or try colour therapy to put yourself back in sync.

Your Editor,
Carol Kraal