During the heyday of the galleon trade, serving as a focus for trade between China and Europe, Manila became one of the world’s great ports. The Manila Galleons, also known as “Nao de China” or “Nao de Acapulco” came to be the famous ships that travelled annually across the Pacific.
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Betel Nut chewing is a tradition which dates back thousands of years. The bitter poultice is an acquired taste, and although it’s not clear why the people of the Pacific originally began to chew betel nut, the habit has been passed down through the generations and now provides a cultural link to their past.
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Ratnapura, the ‘City of Gems’, is Sri Lanka’s treasure chest, an Aladdin’s Cave of jewels and wealth and the centre of its gemming industry. Gems are mined by ancient and traditional methods. On the Colombo-Ratnapura road many gem mining operations in paddy fields are done beside the road.
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One of the delicacies of Cambodia is bat soup, extremely popular in the district of Kandal Province. Like many Asian dishes, this particular soup is deemed to have medicinal qualities and is sometimes consumed as a remedy for certain ailments
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The Tau’t Batu, or ‘People of the Rock’ live here and they are the last discovered tribe in the Philippines
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