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JULY 10, 2000 VOL. 156 NO. 1
Detour
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TRAVEL WATCH
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Grape
Escapes in the Vineyards of Thailand
Thailand may not be the first place that springs to mind when you
say 'wine country,' but Chateau de Loei is aiming to change that
Detour
Mongolia's Naadam is probably the second-oldest sporting contest in
the world, after the Olympics
Hot
Tip
Japan Airlines is breaking out the cigarettes on its lengthier flights
and everyone is happy
Web
Crawling
A Singapore website specializes in selling wine to an Asian clientele
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Mongolia's
Naadam is probably the second-oldest sporting contest in the world, after
the Olympics. But if you're imagining synchronized swimming on the steppes,
forget it. The ancient Mongols were interested in only three sports: archery,
wrestling and horse racing. Their descendants evidently feel the same way,
as the annual meet still celebrates "The Three Manly Sports," as the Mongolians
call them, although women compete in everything but wrestling (apparently
they fight too dirty).
Genghis Khan, knowing that idle hands do the devil's work, is believed to
have initiated Naadam in the 13th century to keep his horsemen busy when
not in battle. Genghis and his Naadam have been in vogue since the fall
of the Soviet Union. Mongolians have tossed aside communism and rehabilitated
Genghis to superhero status. His descendants dress in warrior costumes in
the capital of Ulan Bator, where Naadam is celebrated with spectacular pageantry
from July 11-13.
By
Ron Gluckman
Write to TIME at mail@web.timeasia.com
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