Last week, Japan’s first “reptile cafe” opened its doors in Yokohama, a city better known for its historical role (this was one of Japan’s first open ports after the visit of Commodore Perry) and Chinatown. The cafe, located in the city’s Naka ward, boasts over three dozen reptiles in cages and aquariums. While most are for observation only – including a five and a half foot long snake and a three foot long iguana – customers are permitted to pet a collection of land turtles that are kept in a corner of the cafe.

Chameleon

Like most other animal cafes, a selection of beverages are on offer for patrons. Staff recommend the Chinese herbal teas, as the brews come from Yokohama’s nearby Chinatown, the largest enclave of its kind in Japan.

If reptiles aren’t your, ahem, cup of tea, Yokohama has enough other attractions to at least warrant a full day’s exploration. Start with a stroll through the hilly Yamate neighborhood, where Yokohama’s first foreign residents made their home, and peek into the city’s last surviving European-style residences; assuage your appetite at one of Chinatown’s excellent dim sum restaurants; browse the trendy boutiques of the restored Red Brick Warehouse district on the waterfront; and speed to the top of Landmark Tower, the tallest building in Japan, for stellar views across the harbor.

Mei Lan at the Zoo Atlanta in Atlanta, Ga. Copyright Gene Blythe / AP

If you have a bachelor’s degree or higher, no history of infectious disease and good command of both English and Chinese languages you might just be what the Chinese government is looking for. The Chinese government is seeking out a Chinese language tutor for 3-year-old panda Mei Lan to help her cope with the life changing move from Atlanta, Georgia to Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan, China. She will arrive in China on Friday via a special FedEx flight which will also carry fellow 4-year-old panda Tai Shan, from Washington DC’s National Zoo. Tai Shan will be moved to the Ya’an Bifeng Gorge Breeding Base of Wolong National Nature Reserve, another panda breeding center in Sichuan.

Upon arrival Mei Lan will have a team of experts to help her with the transition to her new environment. She will be set up with a Chinese tutor, a new diet and even a matchmaker. The Chinese tutor, with a focus on Sichuan dialect, will help Mei Lan learn new phrases for getting around her new home. Mei Lan will also arrive with her favorite biscuits in tow to ease her into her new diet of ‘wotou’ (steamed bread made of corn and sorghum) and bamboo. Since pandas are known for being sexually inactive, Mei Shan’s care takers are on a mission to find a potential boyfriend. A website will be set up to allow the public to vote for her new suitor though her caretakers will have the final say in the actual suitor.

With the royal treatment like that, whoever said moving to a new country was difficult?

The exhibit sweeps you away to 13th-century Mongolia, with tents, battlegrounds, marketplaces, live cultural performances by traditional Mongolian musicians, and more than 200 objects such as silk robes and gold jewelry that have never been seen outside of Mongolia or Russia.

The exhibition runs through February 7, 2010. 

MORE RESOURCES
>> Genghis Khan Exhibit Home
>> Denver Post article on the exhibit
>> Denver Mayor Hickenlooper visits the exhibit

Check out the video below, too, showing members of the Mongolian Cultural Center for the Arts assembling a traditional ger (the Mongolian version of a yurt) for the DMNS exhibit:

From describing 10 Perfect Days in India to Asian Fushion on Speed in Malaysia, this issue is packed with tons of useful (and maybe not-so-useful-but-very-entertaining) info about the mystery and magic with which the truly amazing, forever changing, multi-layered Asia is infused.

Check it out – it’s on newsstands right now.

Find them by visiting www.asia360travel.com and clicking on “Destinations.”  Choose a region and trip, then click on the “Local360°” tab underneath the photo:

Look for the Local360° tab on each trip page (circled here in red) for fun facts, travel tips, recipes, and more.

"Namaste!" One of our trekking groups says hello from the towering mountains of Nepal.

Hello!  Or Namaste from Nepal!  We thought we’d welcome you to our new Asia Insider blog in true Asian style.  Here are 10 more ways to say “Hello” in various Asian languages:

• Namaste or Namskar (Nepal and India)
• Tashi Delek (Tibet)
• Sain bain nuu (Mongolia)
• Jum reap sour (Cambodian)
• Konichiwa (Japan)
• Mingalarba (Burma [Myanmar])
• Ni hao (Mandarin [China])
• Ahn nyeong haseyo (Korea)
• Xin chào (Vietnam)
• Kuzu zangpo la (Bhutan)

More crazy, fun, and random stuff coming soon!  Recipes for global cuisine, where to run a marathon in Asia (think: Himalayas!), best hotels, and more.