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A Game of Life and DeathColonel Gaddafi crushed their club – literally. But thanks to the revolution, Benghazi is back in the beautiful game

A Fighter for WomenFrom Bosnia to the Congo, Monika Hauser has helped the forgotten victims – women raped as an act of war

Ticket to RideWant to be an astronaut? For about $1700 per minute, you, too, can be a space tourist

Quick Study: Space AgeWith the end of the US space shuttle programme last year, we take a look at the first 50 years of space travel

My Mum’s Secret LifeI thought I knew everything there was to know about my mother. I was wrong

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A BETTER YOU IN THE NEW YEARHow to get a better night’s sleep, keep your marriage happy, nail that job interview, avoid online dating scams and pick friends who make you happy – all great tools to make you a better person in 2012

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I Resolve To . . .Reader’s Digest editors from around the globe share their New Year’s resolutions Where Children Sleep

Some sleep in luxury in large apartments while others call a

rubbish dump home. What does a child’s bedroom tell us about

his or her life?

IstanbulEast meets West in Europe’s coolest city

Miracle on Flight 516High over northern Russia, the airplane’s control systems begin switching off, one by one. Everyone’s fate is now in the hands of the pilots

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LIVING WITH THE GHOSTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE Point Hope, Alaska, is home to the Iñupiat, the people of the whales. These are their stories

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BOOKBONUS

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Letter From the Editor 05Dora Cheok on her resolutions for 2012

Click 07What’s on rdasia.com

Letters 08Share your views

@Work 10My Story 11

Driving the school bus is a lot more interesting than you can imagine,

says Krista Fletcher

The Tech Guy 14With 3D printing, creating a customised,

usable 3D object in the comfort of your own home will soon be a reality

Health Smart 18Health news you can use

Heroes 25Ismael Feneque jumps on the train

tracks to save a fellow passenger

Word Power 27 Voice 29

J.H. Hyun on weighing life’s priorities

Kindness of Strangers 31

Pet Tales 33

Unbelievable! 34Nury Vittachi uses quantum physics to explain why diets don’t work

Life 52It’s really like that

Unseen Asia 66 Celebrating the beauty of daily life

Quotes 68Look Twice 88What’s Cooking? 101allrecipes.asia

Service 132Customer care Ask Aunty 133 Advice from the heart

Money $avvy 135 Gabriel Yap advises a reader on what to do with his savings

The Guide 137The lowdown on TED, Jack and Jill starring Adam Sandler

Laugh 144It’s the best medicine

Puzzler 147Last Laugh 148

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E ver get the feeling that time goes by faster as you get older? I remember when I was nine – the whole year seemed to crawl by

so very slowly. School took forever to end each day and let’s not talk about exams – I thought I’d never turn double digit 10.

Now, in my thirties, it’s like someone’s hit the accelerator pedal and the years are whooshing by. It’s 2012 and I’m wondering what happened to the last 12 months! It feels like I sneezed in January 2011 and that’s blown me into January 2012.

I’m looking at my 2011 To-Do List (check out the resolutions of other RD editors around the world on page 118) and I’ve only crossed out one thing – read 20 new books. I’m not sure whether to feel woe or just blame my inactivity on spending too much time hurling angry birds at green pigs. But that’s a resolution I’m making and stating. Dora shall not spend more than two hours a week playing Angry Birds. OK, let’s make that five. But back to my 2012 list of things that I would like to accomplish over the next 12 months:

1. Attend a Star Trek Convention2. Go to Petra3. Board the Orient Express4. Write a book

Numbers 1, 2 and 4 have now been on the list for a decade. They’ll get crossed out . . . eventually. Perhaps I should add that to our “how to” cover story (p69) – how to cross everything off your to-do lists. But then again, that would really take the fun out of making these lists at the start of the year!

Lastly, from all of us at Reader’s Digest Asia, we want to wish all our readers throughout the region a fantastic 2012! Here’s to a fruitful year ahead of us.

My 2012 To-Do List

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K Dora wants to go to a Star Trek convention this year!

Editor-in-Chief Dora Cheok on her plans for 2012

B Y M A R C E L B E R L I N S

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FighterFrom Bosnia to the Congo, Monika Hauser has helped the forgotten victims – women raped as an act of war. For her extraordinary work, she was named the 2011 Reader’s Digest European of the Year

WOMEN

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Want to be an astronaut? For $1375 per minute, you can join Jean Ries and others and buy a . . .

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The spaceship VSS Enterprise was unveiled

on December 7, 2009 in the Mojave Desert,

California. It can carry six passengers

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B Y M I C H E L L E C R O U C H

SLEEP

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Get a Better Night’s I L L U S T R A T I O N S J O H N C U N E O

HOW TO

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Get The Basic Equipment Right“You don’t need a really expensive mat-

tress or one with a lot of space-age bells and whistles. There’s really only one good study on mattresses, and it con-firmed the Goldilocks theory: most people prefer a mattress that’s

not too hard and not too soft. So look for some-thing medium firm.”

Dr Andrew Hecht, orthopaedic surgeon and co-chief

of spine surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Centre, US

“If your mattress is eight to ten years old,

you should probably get a new one. Seventy-two per-

cent of people we recently surveyed said they slept far better

on their new mattress than they did on their old one.”

Kim Kleman, editor-in-chief, Consumer Reports

“I’m not a fan of sleeping with two pillows if you’re a back sleeper because it makes your upper back curve and strains the neck and back. If you need to sleep high for medical reasons, get a wedge and put your pillow on it.”

Dr Karen Er ickson, chiropractor

It Could All Be In Your Head“My research has found that any new smell, even one associated with relaxa-tion, like lavender, can make you more alert and vigilant. You’re better off with a scent that makes you feel com-fortable. There really is something to cuddling up with your spouse’s undershirt.”

Dr Pamela Dalton, sensory psychologist

“We expect to sleep for eight solid hours, but that’s actually not normal

SLEEPGet a Better Night’s You’re trying to get a good night’s sleep. You pour your last cup of coffee for the day about five minutes after you get up in the morning, and your bedtime routine is so calming, it could put an energetic four-year-old into a coma. You banish worries by writ-ing them down in a special notebook you keep by the bed, right next to your warm milk and homeo pathic, fragrance-based sleep aids. So why do you still find yourself staring at the ceiling? It’s

time to listen to what some unexpected experts have to say. Their jobs don’t necessarily include long hours in a laboratory studying sleep problems, but what they know about a bunch of other irritants – stomach ills, back pain and windows in need of shades – just might put you out for the night.

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LIVING WITH THE GHOSTS OF CLIMATE CHANGEW O R D S B Y J E R E M Y H S U P H O T O G R A P H Y D . S U / P E A C E P O R T A L P H O T O

Point Hope, Alaska is home to the Iñupiat, the people of the whales. These are their stories

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January 2012 93

A whale bone cemetery, the only one of its kind in existence made

by disassembling traditional funeral stanchions (made of whale bones) and creating a

fence for the cemetery

B Y M A R C E L B E R L I N S

East meets West in Europe’s coolest cityB Y P I C O I Y E RNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER MAGAZINE

Istanbul

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East meets West in Europe’s coolest city

IstanbulThe city’s charm lies in

its part-Islamic, part-Western culture

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I Resolve To...Reader’s Digest editors from around the world reveal their New Year’s resolutions

I’d like to take the time to cook with my kids, who are 15 and eight years old, at least once a week. I have experienced how preparing a recipe with children teaches them patience, precision, creativity, pride and self-confidence. I also would like to go to a place I’ve never been before, appreciate a taste I’ve never experienced before, embrace a new idea I’ve never heard about before and become friends with someone I’ve never met before. Stephane Calmeyn, editor-in-chief, French edition

I’d like to learn French in order to practise it with my daughter who is studying it in

school. Also, I want to spend more time outdoors with my family and recycle as much as possible. Genevieve Fernandez, editor-in-chief, Mexican edition

Try to run a bit further and faster on my somewhat sedate jogging expeditions. We’ve got the Olympics in London this year, for heaven’s sake.

Gill Hudson, editor-in-chief, UK edition

I have to pay more attention to what I’m doing in order to avoid injuries like the three broken toes from the mishap in the bathroom. I will also try to remember people’s names. Lastly, I’m going to allow myself one sweet treat a day. Renata Cervenkova, editor-in-chief, Czech edition

January 2012 119

As Asians, we’re not used to hugging one another. But as my mother is getting older, I feel that giving her a hug is a simple way of expressing my love. I’ll give my mum a hug before going to work every day. Sunee Thanalertkul, managing editor, Thai edition

Think of each new day as a new chance, go to yoga classes at least once a week and remember birthdays and send cards in time!Sue Carney, editor-in-chief, Australia/New Zealand edition

I never make New Year’s resolutions. I think every day is a new beginning so you can resolve to do something any day. Mohan Sivanand, editor-in-chief, India edition

Get my driver’s license, learn how to cook and continue reading – at least two books a month. Michael Wang, managing editor, Puzhi

I’d like to improve my tennis serve, and try to get to bed earlier. Raycine Chang, managing editor, Taiwan and Hong Kong edition

My resolution for 2012 – as for the past five years – is to learn how to swim. And, oh, world peace.Siti Rohani, managing editor, Reader’s Digest Asia

I have to waste less time playing Angry Birds. (Just as soon as she clears level 24 with 3 stars.)Dora Cheok, editor-in-chief, Reader’s Digest Asia