Everyone loves a good nickname – and countries are no different!
But do you know the nickname of your own country or other neighbouring countries in the region?
Herewith Seasia compiled for you the nicknames in order for you to have a better score in any quizzes later on!
BRUNEI
also known as 'The Land of Unexpected Treasures'
Brunei, situated on the northern shore of the island of Borneo in the South China Sea, is one of the smallest yet richest states in the world. With a population of less than 500,000, its socialist society is arguably the closest any nation has gotten to a total welfare state: the Sultan’s government pays for education, healthcare, and most other living expenses of its citizens, financed through Brunei’s massive oil and natural gas wealth, thus the nickname “Shellfare.”
Forbes ranks Brunei as the fifth-richest nation out of 182, based on its petroleum and natural gas fields.
THAILAND
also known as 'The Land of Smiles'
Thailand is called the Land of Smiles quite simply because of the smiles you see on every bodies faces!
The culture of Thailand and the Thai people themselves would be seen as laid back in comparison to the frantic busy world of the west. The people have better manners, and are friendly, courteous and a genuine pleasure to interact with. When going to the market you can barter down a stores item up to 40% and the store owner enjoys the tricky bartering that you partake in.
VIETNAM
also known as 'The Land of Blue Dragon'
The dragon has nothing to do with the physical shape of Vietnam.
The term Four Asian Tigers or East Asian Tigers refers to the economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. They are also known as Asia's Four Little Dragons. These countries and territories were noted for maintaining high growth rates and rapid industrialization between the early 1960s and 1990s. In the early 21st century, with the original four Tigers at or near to fully developed status, attention has increasingly shifted to other Asian economies which are experiencing rapid economic transformation at the present time.
Vietnam is one of the SE Asian countries now following the path of the four original tigers/dragons.
INDONESIA
also known as 'The Emerald of the Equator'
Indonesia is a large country that located between two continents, the continents of Asia and Australia. It is also located between two oceans, the Indian and Pacific oceans.
In addition, Indonesia is an archipelago, consisting of thousands of islands. So that makes Indonesia is rich in natural and cultural wealth. That is why Indonesia is called as the emerald of the equator.
LAOS
also known as 'The Land of a Million Elephant'
Laos, known as the “Land of a Million Elephants,” is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia about the size of Kansas. The elephant symbolizes the ancient kingdom of Lan Xang, and is sacred to the Lao people, who believe it will bring prosperity to their country.
MALAYSIA
also known as the 'Land of Indigenous Malay'
In Malaysia, the early colonial censuses listed separate ethnic groups, such as "Malays, Boyanese, Achinese, Javanese, Bugis, Manilamen (Filipino) and Siamese". The 1891 census merged these ethnic groups into the three racial categories used in modern Malaysia—Chinese, ‘Tamils and other natives of India’, and ‘Malays and other Natives of the Archipelago’. This was based upon the European view at the time that race was a biologically based scientific category. For the 1901 census, the government advised the word "race" should replace "nationality" wherever it occurs.
After a period of generations of being classified in these groups, individual identities formed around the concept of bangsa Melayu (Malay race). For younger generations of people, they saw it as providing unity and solidarity against colonial powers, and non-Malay immigrants. The Malaysian nation was later formed with the bangsa Melayu having the central and defining position within the country.
PHILLIPPINES
also known as 'Pearl of the Orient Seas'
The name of the Philippines is a truncated form of The Philippine Islands, derived from the King Philip II of Spain in the 16th century. During the expedition of Ruy López de Villalobos to the Islands, Spanish sailor Bernardo de la Torre used the name Las Islas Filipinas in honour of the then-Prince of Asturias, originally referring to the islands of Leyte and Samar.
Despite the presence of other names, the name Filipinas (Philippines) was eventually adopted as the name of the entire archipelago.
CAMBODIA
also known as 'Land of the Khmer'
The official name of the country in English is the Kingdom of Cambodia and in Khmer as (Preah Reacheanachak Kampuchea), often shortened to just Kampuchea. Kampuchea derives from the Sanskrit word Kambuja or "GoldenLand" or "Land of Peace and Prosperity".
MYANMAR
also known as 'The Land of the Golden Pagoda'
Pagodas are indeed unique landmarks of Myanmar. In no other country can you find such manifestation of devotion demonstrated by Myanmar Buddhists to Buddhism.
Verily no hill is so high, no valley so deep, no forest so dense, no plain barren as to prevent a pious Buddhist to build a pagoda of glittering gold or snow-white coat, no matter how large or small, for no work of merit is believed to be so richly rewarded as building and donating a pagoda for the propagation of Buddhist faith.
SINGAPORE
also known as 'The Lion City'
Named after the Sanskrit word “Singhapura”, which stands for ‘The Land of the Lions’, named this by its founder Sang Nila Utama. Everybody would think that this city-state would have pretty lions, but no, lions don't even exist here.
It is believed that maybe the animal seen by Utama was most likely a tiger instead of a lion.
Source :Skyscanner.net, https://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/26488/descriptive-names-asian-countries
