Countries that share borders which are very different from each other (quality of life, areas)
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China and Afghanistan.
US and Mexico
US and Russia
Mongolia and Russia
Madagascar and Mozambique
Germany and Poland?
Brazil and Uruguay
Greenland and Iceland
Japan and Russia
Singapore shares more in common with Malaysia than Indonesia. It was even part of Malaysia for awhile.
True and I been to those countries. Yet what makes Malaysia different is the state religion there is Islam and most of the people are Muslim, yet for most of Malaysia the type of Islam is not as strict as some areas of the middle east like Iran or Saudi Arabia In Singapore it is secular and most people are not muslim.
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Originally Posted by other99
True and I been to those countries. Yet what makes Malaysia different is the state religion there is Islam and most of the people are Muslim, yet for most of Malaysia the type of Islam is not as strict as some areas of the middle east like Iran or Saudi Arabia In Singapore it is secular and most people are not muslim.
Malaysia has no official state religion, although there have been pushes by some to make it so. Malaysia is a world away from Saudi Arabia or even Pakistan, although the visitor may not see some of the religious-based policies/discriminatory policies. Both nations are sort of a mix of Asia and very cosmopolitan, with large Chinese Buddhist communities. Most Singaporeans actually seem pretty irreligious, though, although both have sizeable Hindu and Christian populations. Both feel a lot more globalized than most of Indonesia.
Malaysia has no official state religion, although there have been pushes by some to make it so. Malaysia is a world away from Saudi Arabia or even Pakistan, although the visitor may not see some of the religious-based policies/discriminatory policies. Both nations are sort of a mix of Asia and very cosmopolitan, with large Chinese Buddhist communities. Most Singaporeans actually seem pretty irreligious, though, although both have sizeable Hindu and Christian populations. Both feel a lot more globalized than most of Indonesia.
Islam is the official religion of Malaysia. Its in the constitution.
The Constitution of Malaysia formally proclaims the state to be secular and guarantees "every person the freedom to practice his or her religion in peace and harmony." At the same time, the document also recognizes Islam as the "religion of the Federation," defines Malays as Muslims, and limits the "propagation" of other faiths. Sunni Muslims are free to practice their religious beliefs with few limitations, but those deviating from accepted Sunni beliefs face some discrimination or other restrictions, including being subject to arrest and "rehabilitation."
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Originally Posted by OZpharmer
I think it should be Singapore-Malaysia
Singapore-Malaysia is still a lot more similar than Singapore-Indonesia.
Malaysia is a bit more urban than Indonesia, wealthier, and more open to other cultures/more cosmopolitan than Indonesia with more similar type of diversity. Malaysia’s cities come closer to Singapore than Indonesian cities.
Malaysia is still different from Singapore but not as different compared to Singapore-Indonesia.
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Originally Posted by Trimac20
^ I guess with North and South Korea I was thinking more of the cultural similarities.
I think Bhutan is pretty similar to Tibet, which adjoins it.
India and Pakistan are fairly similar too. There are 120 million Indian Muslims, mostly living in the western area bordering Pakistan.
South Korea vs. North Korea are still very different from each other, despite language/history/climate. South Korea is one of the most wealthiest, developed, modern, and democratic/free government countries in the world that is more open to other countries/cultures. Compare that to North Korea which is one of the most poorest, undeveloped, oppressive government countries in the world, and very closed off and isolated from other countries. They also have lots of conflict with each other.
Bhutan is relatively similar to Tibet, but Tibet is technically part of China and not a separate country. There probably still is an active separatist movement in Tibet, but still a lot of Chinese influence to make it seem it is still part of China, and that influence is growing.
India vs Pakistan still have a ton of differences. The only similarity they have is history, but over time they became very different from each other in character. India is still mostly Hindu with Buddhism originally from there while Pakistan is mostly Muslim. India has one of the most positive futures for a country, especially in terms of improvement, while Pakistan has one of the most negative futures and seems to be going downhill. India is more progressive, peaceful, and wealthy than Pakistan. India has a lot more variation in nature scenery and cities/towns. Both of those countries actually don’t get along with some Pakistani terrorist attacks in India not that many years ago, and tension between India-Pakistan. The women look different too. Indian women basically look so much better and Pakistani women look a lot worse. I could easily go out with an Indian lady but never a Pakistani lady.
India seems fun/good enough to visit while Pakistan seems to be a horrible place to visit.
What are your opinions for the other examples I said earlier:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thepastpresentandfuture
There is actually a lot of bordering countries that are very different from each other:
China-Kyrgyzstan/Tajikistan
India-China
Singapore-Indonesia
India-Pakistan
South Korea-North Korea
Turkey-Iraq/Iran
Israel-Egypt/Jordan/Syria
UAE-Saudi Arabia/Oman/Iran
Tajikistan-Afghanistan
Russia-Azerbaijan
China-Russia
Russia-Mongolia
India-Myanmar
Bangladesh-Myanmar
Greece-Albania
France-Germany/Spain
Switzerland-Italy
USA-Mexico
Spain-Morocco
Ghana-Burkina Faso
Azerbaijan-Iran
Bhutan-China
Last edited by Thepastpresentandfuture; 09-28-2012 at 11:56 AM..
Even Slovenia and Croatia(which itself doesn't actually share a border with Italy) has Italian influence along the coast which is in part a remnant of the Venetians.
Likewise, there are ethnic Slovenes on what is now the Italian side of the border; they are not immigrants. Entire villages and towns were split in half (such as Gorizia/Nova Gorica) when the Anglo-Americans drew the border between Italy and Yugoslavia in 1949. Prior to World War I, the area (except for Slava Veneta, where the 'Venetian Slovenes' live) was Austro-Hungarian territory.
Poland might be a Slavic country but it's not as purely Slavic as Russia, Ukraine.etc. I think the Slavic heartland is Eastern Orthodox as opposed to Catholic.
I think it's a pretty bold claim to exclude Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia from the "Slavic heartland", whatever that means. But since you're so hung up on ethnic origins on this forum, I guess I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.
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Originally Posted by Thepastpresentandfuture
South Korea vs. North Korea are still very different from each other, despite language/history/climate. South Korea is one of the most wealthiest, developed, modern, and democratic/free government countries in the world that is more open to other countries/cultures. Compare that to North Korea which is one of the most poorest, undeveloped, oppressive government countries in the world, and very closed off and isolated from other countries. They also have lots of conflict with each other.
Bhutan is relatively similar to Tibet, but Tibet is technically part of China and not a separate country. There probably still is an active separatist movement in Tibet, but still a lot of Chinese influence to make it seem it is still part of China, and that influence is growing.
India vs Pakistan still have a ton of differences. The only similarity they have is history, but over time they became very different from each other in character. India is still mostly Hindu with Buddhism originally from there while Pakistan is mostly Muslim. India has one of the most positive futures for a country, especially in terms of improvement, while Pakistan has one of the most negative futures and seems to be going downhill. India is more progressive, peaceful, and wealthy than Pakistan. India has a lot more variation in nature scenery and cities/towns. Both of those countries actually don’t get along with some Pakistani terrorist attacks in India not that many years ago, and tension between India-Pakistan. The women look different too. Indian women basically look so much better and Pakistani women look a lot worse. I could easily go out with an Indian lady but never a Pakistani lady.
India seems fun/good enough to visit while Pakistan seems to be a horrible place to visit.
What are your opinions for the other examples I said earlier:
Yes I know Tibet is part of China. I'm not sure how similar Bhutan is to Tibet but they seem similar. Both speak a Sino-Tibetan language and are strongly Buddhist.
Of course when you look at the differences. But as far as bordering nations go I think India and Pakistan are still more alike than different. Urdu, the majority tongue in Pakistan, is very similar to Hindi. I think the mere fact that the two countries were artificially split up in 1947 shows that Pakistan is very similar to India, especially the Northwest.
Not sure what you mean when you say Indian women look so much better...you mean naturally, or the way they dress etc? I think Pakistan women look attractive, a bit more Middle Eastern looking than most Indians.
I was considering more cultural traits, but I don't think the UAE is much different to Saudi Arabia. It's more conservative than they would have you believe. Azerbaijan is also more similar to Iran than you'd think. Albania isn't hugely different to Serbia-Montenegro or Macedonia when compared to Greece apart from being Muslim.
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