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Travel Guide 2014
RAINFOREST WORLD MUSIC
FESTIVAL, SARAWAK, EAST
MALAYSIA:
This three-day
musical celebration has
grown and grown since its
inauguration in 1997. Dance
along with 20,000 others
to anything from local native
chants and African dance
to American folk music and
percussion troupes.
20 TO 22 JUNE 2014
BORYEONG MUD FESTIVAL,
SOUTH KOREA:
Since
1998, visitors have been
getting down and dirty at
the Boryeong Mud Festival,
caking themselves in the
nourishing, mineral-rich mud
from the Boryeong mud flats
while being entertained with
bands, mud games, fireworks
and more – all for around
S$10 a day.
18 TO 27 JULY 2014
MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL:
Chinese and Vietnamese
families gather in the evening
to admire the mid-autumn
harvest moon while eating
mooncakes and pomelos.
8 SEPTEMBER 2014
PCHUM BEN, CAMBODIA:
Also known as the Festival of
the Ancestors; food, flowers,
rice and gifts are given to
monks, while religious rites
are carried out on the streets.
26 TO 28 SEPTEMBER 2014
HARI RAYA HAJI:
Marks the
end of the annual pilgrimage
to Mecca in Saudi Arabia by
Muslims worldwide. There’ll
be bazaars to attend, and
mosques and relatives to be
visited.
5 OCTOBER 2014
DEEPAVALI:
The “Festival of
Lights” is a joyous four-day
Hindu celebration of the
triumph of good over evil
and light over darkness.
Head down to Little India in
Singapore to see the lights
and street decorations, feast
on festive delicacies, get a
henna hand tattoo and join
in the fun.
23 OCTOBER 2014
Legend has it that the
Dragon Boat Festival
commemorates the
attempt to save the
life of Qu Yuan, a
Chinese poet and
statesman of the
ancient Chu kingdom.
Court officials, jealous
of Qu Yuan’s wisdom,
falsely accused him
of conspiracy and
he was exiled by the
king. At the age of 61,
Qu Yuan drowned
himself by attaching
a heavy stone to his
chest and jumping into
the Miluo River. The
people of Chu took
to their boats and tried
to rescue Qu Yuan,
believing he was an
honourable man, but
they were unable to
save him. Instead,
they threw sticky rice
balls (zongzi) into the
water so that the fish
would eat these rather
than Qu Yuan’s body.
Dragon Boat Festival
Deepavali