Category Archives: Strange Tourism

Strange Tourism

Shhhhhhhh

From a night out at Asiatique's Calypso in Bangkok.

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Andy Deemer / 1 Comment

Strange Tourism

I've long dreamed of full Peking Opera costume and makeup. After five hours and far too much money, it finally became a reality. I have to say, this photo shoot was one of the most mind-blowingly cool things we've done in China... Book a session yourself at FMNZ.com Currently on Liangmaqiao's Anjia Lou in Beijing, ...

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Strange Tourism

Adventures in Cockfighting

Most people come to Bali to Eat, Pray, Love. That's not what I came for. I was in Ubud, a town of foreign divorcees. They meditate in temples, crowd organic spas, and queue up teary-eyed outside the toothless medicine man's home. It's a town of romantic desperation. Ironically, it's also gagging with cock. The art museum ...

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Historical Wonders, Strange Tourism

Rediscovering Beijing: Finding the Elephants

On using an 1897 guidebook to explore modern Beijing... My adventures begin with the elephants. A few hundred yards westward of (the Shun-chih-men) is the place for the Imperial elephants, the Hsün-hsiang-so, a large enclosure in which the elephants of the Court are kept... The intelligent animals are taught to salute the Emperor by kneeling down, and ...

Posted on June 17, 2012 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Historical Wonders, Strange Tourism

Rediscovering Beijing with an 1897 Guide

Did you know that Beijing has a dozen or so elephants that kneel as the emperor passes by? Seriously. At least that's what my book says. It's a Beijing travel guide from 1897, author unknown, that Charlie Custer found on archive.org. The copy originally belonged to Herbert Hoover, China expat and one-time US President. ...

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Strange Tourism

The Pyongyang Metro

North Koreans are proud of their metro. And so they should be. It's one of the deepest, it's breathtakingly gorgeous, and we were only allowed to ride one stop. (Although I've heard tourists can now ride the entire length.) Here are some pages from a great 2004 picture-book I bought in the ...

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Andy Deemer / 4 Comments

Strange Tourism

A Vomit Bag from North Korea

I loved the streamlined 1950s design, like a classic car. This was the look of everything on the Air Koryo flight. This trip was about two weeks after Michelle and I started dating. (I guess you know some gal is okay, if she'll agree to go to North Korea on your first date.)

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Strange Tourism

AsiaObscura is Moving to India

In a bit of a fit of madness, Michelle and I have decided to move to India. Instead of doing things in a long, planned out way, we've decided to jump boat asap. We decided on June 8th. For the last few days, I've been calmly insisting we have five weeks. Yesterday ...

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Strange Tourism, Theme Parks

Don’t Forget Your Cute Tiger Pictures

After the horrors of the tiger park, I neglected to mention the cute photo ops at the end of the tour. I mean, how awesome is this vertical line of tigerocity? After taking the picture, the employee wrenched the doped-out cub from our cuddle. He shoved it in a medium-sized tupperware storage container. He clipped on ...

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Andy Deemer / 3 Comments

Strange Tourism, Theme Parks

Small Children Feeding Live Animals to Tigers in a Chinese Zoo

In northern China there's a tiger park. Like so many things in China, it's nothing like you might expect. To start with, there's a menu at the gate. These aren't animals to take home and domesticate. They're fodder. Victims to be released on your tour. "Let's get a cow," I said. Michelle just ...

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Andy Deemer / 2 Comments

Strange Tourism, Sweet Movies and Wild Books

Porn, Rats, and Antique Projectors at Sri Lanka’s Classic Cinemas

We heard there were rats in The Liberty. That it smelled like urine. That the sound was awful. But it's the most famous cinema in Sri Lanka's capital, a 1955 Art Moderne beauty, and how could we turn that down? So we wore socks. Rats don't like socks. It's been modified, ...

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Andy Deemer / 9 Comments

Strange Tourism

Our Favorite Kim Jong Il Stories…

I'm very happy, and a little sad, but I know Kim Jong L'il will do a fine job furthering his father's legacy of madness. In the meantime, here's some of my favorite AO Kim Jong Il pieces: - Did you know Kim Jong Il was already a master equestrian marksman at the age of five? - At birth, ...

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Strange Tourism

Collapsing Caves, Dead Spelunkers, Corpse Robbery, and Big Mike’s Mystery House

We stopped just outside of Mammoth Cave at Cave City, a deserted row of run-down attractions. It has teepee-shaped motels, kangaroo zoos, and a hilltop theme park called Gunsmoke Mountain where a rusty chairlift rocked in the rain. "It's like we've driven back to the 50s," Laurie laughed. At the end of Cave City, I'd ...

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Our Weird Projects, Strange Tourism

Mad Costumes Across Asia

As regular readers know, we at AsiaObscura love costumes. We've captured some incredible cosplay adventures here, here, here, here and even here. But it goes deeper. Almost every tourist hotspot across north-east Asia has a rack of costumes, a dramatic backdrop or two, and a whole boatload of awesomeness to dive into. Be ...

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Strange Tourism

Plan Your Next Holiday in the Glorious DPRK

North Korea isn't all doom, gloom, and Kim Jong-il. Sure, there's vile propaganda, rumors of grim brainwashing, concentration camps and endless misery. But there's more!

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Somewhat Perverted, Strange Tourism

A Postcard from Erenhot

Two small dogs are attacking a homeless man, while I'm nursing my lingering fever with sidewalk kebabs and a bottle of Yanjing beer. One of them bites at his ankle, and he hobbles away, cursing while diners beside me laugh, and the wind picks up again. I shield my face from the sand. This ...

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 2 Comments

Lost in Translation, Strange Tourism

On Being Chinese-looking in China

Waldo in China sketch from Deep Thinkings I'm having a conversation (albeit one-sided) with the neighbor about a leak in our ceiling, with the cab driver about the reasons for the traffic, to the butcher about the right cut of meat. In every case, I nod my head, "uh-huh, uh-huh," hoping that I will glean something ...

Posted on August 28, 2011 by The WooLand Hotel / 2 Comments

Strange Tourism

Hey! It’s a Foreigner!

Yesterday I wrote about Mr Li, the English teacher stuttering he was so excited to meet a foreigner. But this is China. Passerby, seeing me, will loudly announce, “foreigner!" Strangers stare and point, kids sometimes cry out in horror. Once, on seeing me, a migrant worker dropped everything he was carrying. Wide eyes (his, I mean ...

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 6 Comments

Extraordinary Eats, Historical Wonders, Strange Tourism

Video of the Cultural Revolution Restaurant

I gave all the juicy details of this restaurant where you can make merry, while celebrating the best of the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward, earlier this week. But here, for your pleasure, is some video of the mad show and the flag-waving audience. For China: For elsewhere:

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Extraordinary Eats, Historical Wonders, Strange Tourism

Relive the Cultural Revolution (aka The Weirdest Dinner Theater in Beijing)

Update: read the story below, but don't miss the video of the performance! "Two foreigners in the RED restaurant?" Reverb howled, "I think this will be more fun than the restaurant itself!" Red Restaurant, in the east of Beijing, is an opportunity to relive the passion and pain of China from the late 50s through the late ...

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 3 Comments

Strange Tourism, Theme Parks

Fiendishly Fun Photo Ops at World Park

While we were busy on our own adventures, Chinese tourists flocked to Beijing's glorious World Park of their own accord. Some of them with entire camera crews in tow. Wedding photos, engagement photos, bff shots, they were costumed, posed, and so immaculately arranged. Here's a couple of our favorites! Even those who didn't ...

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Strange Tourism

Vang Vieng: The Silliest Place in Laos

Imagine the most pristine, untouched, slow-moving river. A place that seems from a dream. It carefully wraps around banks of green, where water buffalo and cows nap in the shade, and wake to sip from small pools. Four novice monks hold umbrellas for shade as they cross a rickety old bridge. ...

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Somewhat Perverted, Strange Tourism

Whoring in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai's an interesting town: a lot like Bangkok, but on a much smaller scale. Hundreds of coffee shops. Great boutiques. And old white men with young Thai girls. Absolutely everywhere. Old hippies with Thai women in their 40s, and adorable little hapa kids. Bald and bearded bikers with chubby teenagers. Backpackers with stunning beauties. ...

Posted on February 21, 2009 by Andy Deemer / 1 Comment