Special Sub-Topic: Geography, Asian Style Authored by: thejazzkickazz Sub-topic of: Asia

Which of these countries is not a landlocked country of Asia (that is, bordering on no seas or oceans)?

Syria. Syria comes in contact with the Mediterranean on its west coast, the same of which cannot be said for Mongolia, Nepal and Afghanistan, which are all surrounded on every side by other countries! Needless to say...none of these countries has ever won any Olympic medals for swimming...

If you listed all the names of the Asian countries down, which one would come first alphabetically?

Afghanistan. Afghanistan comes in well ahead of Bahrain, Bangladesh and Bhutan. Yemen comes in last, just for your information...yeah man!

Using the International Date Line as the limit, as geographers usually do, which Asian country stretches farthest to the east?

Russia. For some of you, it may be a surprise to learn that Russia is largely an Asian country. For others of you, you're probably just saying...ho-hum.

Which of these groups of islands was, and sometimes still is, referred to as the 'spice islands'?

Molucca Islands. The Moluccas were called the 'spice islands' by early European traders who began sailing through the area in the 16th century. They are the original source for nutmeg and cloves, valuable commodities at that time. The Moluccas were colonized by the Dutch, who made them part of the Dutch East Indies. Now they are a part of the country Indonesia.

The sources of the Indus, Mekong, Salween and Irawaddy rivers can be found in which country?

China. In particular, these can all be found in Tibet...an autonomous (and disputed) region of China.

Which country of Asia has the most islands?

Indonesia. Indonesia has upwards of 14,000 islands, far outstripping the Philippines...that has around 7,000 islands.

I'm feeling a little goofy, so I've made up a name for a sea. Which one of these names did I make up (meaning the other three are actually real seas)?

Sea of Vietnam. There is no Sea of Vietnam...but the other three listed do exist. The Sea of Japan lies between Korea and Japan, the Koreans call it the 'Eastern Sea'. The East China Sea lies to the south of Japan and Korea, and shockingly...to the east of China. The Arabian Sea may be found between India and the Arabian peninsula. The Sea of Vietnam can only be found in my daydreams...

Of these Asian 'seas', which one is actually a real sea, and not a landlocked lake?

Flores Sea. The Flores Sea is just north of Flores Island in Indonesia. The other three 'seas' are really lakes. The Aral Sea is doing its best to shrink into oblivion...it lies on the border between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The Caspian Sea lies between the 'stan' countries and the former Soviet Caucasus region. The Dead Sea is very much alive and kicking between Jordan and Israel (and the West Bank).

Which of these countries is not properly matched up with its former name?

China - Zhongguo. Zhongguo is still China, it's just the Chinese name for the country!

Finally...where can you find some 'Kandy' in Asia? That is, in which country is there a town named Kandy?

Sri Lanka. Interestingly enough, the English word 'candy' is ultimately derived from the Tamil (a language spoken on Sri Lanka) word 'kantu' which meant 'ball of candied sugar'. I hope you enjoyed yourself here...perhaps we'll do this again soon!