WORLDBEAT
- ASIA & MIDDLE EAST
Hot Spots for the Jet Set
ISRAEL
TEL AVIV
Throughout the summer in Tel Aviv, festivals reign
supreme. They serve to keep the people in high spirits
during the sweltering summer months. Thursdays from mid-May
to the end of August, stop by the Jaffa Flea Market for
a special nighttime festival called Pishpeshuk.
The festival begins at 8 P.M., right as the sun sets and
the city begins to cool off. Hundreds of visitors enjoy
art, street performances, antique shopping, yoga workshops,
and special musical performances. The market closes up
shop at midnight. www.telavivguide.net
JAPAN
TOKYO
The Obon Festival in Japan is one of the
nation’s most important Buddhist traditions. This
is a week-long festival across Japan, where people light
lanterns in order to aid spirits of past ancestors on
their journey to the afterlife. Floating lanterns can
be seen throughout the country as they bob along rivers.
Meanwhile, people everywhere dance in the streets and
visit graves and temples. Get a great vantage point
of the luminaria being released into the harbor at Shinagawa
Ward. August 13–16. www.tokyo.world-guides.com
THAILAND
BANGKOK
The summertime humidity alone is enough to make anyone
in Bangkok run straight for the dark theaters. The Bangkok
International Film Festival has grown in popularity
over the past few years, along with the rise of Thai film
and movie productions; expect to get a preview of some
major motion pictures. The festival will be held this
year July 18–28 and will feature over 100 movies,
from major studio titles to independent flicks, and of
course the main spotlight shines on the films and filmmakers
of Southeast Asia. www.bangkokfilm.org
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