STRIKING IMAGES OF EVENTS IN ASIA

The night sky is filled with a cosmos of lanterns during Loy Kratong in Chiang Mai. BRENT T MADISON/MADISON IMAGES

Beautiful blossoms – the singapore Biennale might have come and gone,
but Choi Jeong-Hwa’s six-metre-tall Flower Tree has become a permanent
feature at singapore’s new Vivocity. BRENT T MADISON/MADISON IMAGES

A bull’s eye – a Cambodian boy prepares his buffalo during an annual buffalo-racing ceremony at Virhear Sour village in Kandal province. Later, the buffaloes are sold to the highest bidder. IMAGE: IMAGE: REUTERS/CHOR SOKUNTHEA

Oodles of noodles – customers gamely tuck into an intriguing meal served in a basin-shaped bowl at a kitsch toilet-themed restaurant in Shenzhen, China. IMAGE: REUTERS/JOE TAN

Tongue-Thai’d – monkeys lick blocks of ice filled with fruits and vegetables during the Monkey Buffet Festival in Thailand’s Lopburi province. IMAGE: REUTERS/CHAIWAT SUBPRASOM

The opening ceremony for Hong Kong’s The Peak Tower featured an array of acrobatic artists. IMAGE: REUTERS/PAUL YEUNG

Inventor Zou Renti (left) introduces his robot twin at an international conference on intelligent robots and systems in Beijing, China. IMAGE: REUTERS/JASON LEE

A visitor holding a paper lantern walks in front of an illuminated bamboo grove at Shorenin Temple in Kyoto, Japan. IMAGE: REUTERS/ISSEI KATO

A labourer hangs silk bean curds, a type of food made from soybeans, at a Chinese foodstuff factory. REUTERS/STRINGER SHANGHAI

Part-time snake charmer Khum Chaibuddee kisses a King Cobra at Ripley’s Museum in Pattaya, setting a new world record by consecutively kissing 19 King Cobras. IMAGE: REUTERS/SUKREE SUKPLANG

A boy happily captures a self-image with Robot No.2 (which can deliver dishes) at a restaurant called Robot Kitchen in Hong Kong. IMAGE: REUTERS/PAUL YEUNG