Pulau Bintan
On Pulau Bintan's far northeast tip, Berakit is a small, curious fishing village populated with Orang Laut (which translates to 'people of the sea'), a…
Must-see attractions in Asia
Chin State
Kennedy Peak stands 8868ft high, making it Chin State's second-highest mountain. The site of a battle between the British and Japanese in WWII, the peak…
Camiguin
Uninhabited White Island, a pure white-sand bar a few hundred metres offshore, is accessible by boats (P450, up to four people) that leave from a spot…
Myanmar (Burma)
Lake Meiktila is the town’s premier attraction. There are no boating options, but you can cycle around some of it. Between the road and rail bridges, west…
Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh
The Sasbahu, dating from the 9th to 11th centuries, are reminiscent of Central American Maya temples, with their dome- and pillar-covered roofs looking…
Battambang
This petite provincial museum has been given a full makeover thanks to the generous support of Friends of Khmer Culture (FOKC; www.khmerculture.net) and…
Penghu Islands
Penghu's only really 'complete' traditional village, low-slung Erkan oozes charm and is appealingly set on a grassy plateau raised above the sea…
Kathmandu
Mohankali (Mohan) Chowk, inside the Hanuman Dhoka complex, was once used as a residence by the Malla kings. It's currently closed for post-earthquake…
Arunachal Pradesh
The ancient if modest Urgelling Gompa, a 3km walk below Tawang town, is where the sixth Dalai Lama, a Monpa, was born in 1683. Before he left for Lhasa,…
Yangon
Twelve miles north of Yangon’s airport is this beautifully maintained cemetery, containing the graves of 6374 Allied soldiers who died in the Burma and…
Phan Thiet
The highlight here is the white reclining Buddha (Tuong Phat Nam). At 49m long, it’s the largest in Vietnam. The pagoda was constructed in 1861, but the…
Macau
This sage green neoclassical theatre is one of the oldest western-style theatres in East Asia, and remains an important cultural venue today. It was built…
Central Java
One of the oldest Buddhist temples on the Prambanan Plain, the 8th-century Candi Kalasan stands just off the main highway, 13km east of Yogyakarta en…
Pulau Selirong Recreational Park
Brunei Darussalam
At the northern tip of Temburong District lies this 25-sq-km mangrove-forested island reachable only by boat (45 minutes from BSB). Intrepid Tours runs…
Phang-Nga Province
This unusual Buddhist complex (the name means 'Heaven and Hell' temple) has cave shrines, a dragon tunnel and a collection of grotesque figures…
Tainan
Nature-worship temples are hard to come by, which makes this one dedicated to the God of Wind unique. The small structure was originally part of an…
Yangon
Off the main road from Yangon to Thanlyin, at the end of a bumpy road leading into the Thaketa Industrial Estate, is this government-run farm that breeds…
Mandalay
Those 1-sq-in gold-leaf sheets that worshippers piously place on sacred buddha images are laboriously hand-pounded in dozens of specialist workshops in…
Kanchanaburi
A stroll along this city centre street offers a glimpse of a bygone Kanchanaburi. Many buildings date to the 1920s and '30s and their Sino-Portuguese,…
Taiping
Consecrated in 1887, this timber church is one of the oldest Anglican churches in Malaysia and is still used as a place of worship. The Gothic-inspired…
Chihpen Forest Recreation Area
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
The core of this forest park is a 45-minute walk to a bamboo grove past a botanic garden, herb garden and a 'forest fun' area for children. Longer trails…
Colonial District, the Quays & Marina Bay
Now the home of trendy restaurants and entertainment hot spots, including famed Whitegrass and exotic Coriander Leaf, neo-classical Chijmes was once a…
Nuwara Eliya
From the Pedro Tea Estate, take a very enjoyable 5km (round-trip) walk to Lovers Leap, an impressive waterfall.
Phuket
Dating back 150 years, Wat Chalong is Phuket's busiest Buddhist temple. Its three-tiered, salmon-pink, 61m-high chedi (a later addition) has 36 golden…
Fuji Five Lakes
Despite being known as the Bat Cave, this 350m-long complex has neither bats nor caped crusaders. Nevertheless, it's still fun to scramble over the…
Sikkim
Built in the 1730s and set on a flat field surrounded by monks' quarters, Sanaienchi Gompa's main three-level prayer house has a real sense of age. Even…
Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery
Singapore
Take a few hours to explore the Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery, Singapore’s largest (12 buildings) and most stunning. ‘Don’t speak unless it…
Laos
This beautiful area of private park lies about 10km southwest of Luang Prabang in the rolling jungle-clad hills around town. Explore the forest, plunge…
West Sumatra
Danau Kerinci, 20km south of Sungai Penuh, is a sizeable lake nestled between Gunung Raya (2535m) and rice paddies. Stone carvings around the lake suggest…
Kawamura Kaneto Ainu Memorial Hall
Hokkaidō
Built in 1916 and thus just a few years past its 100th anniversary, this museum is less a collection of artefacts (though it has those too) and more the…
Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
The narrow streets of ‘Shimokita’, barely passable by cars, create a streetscape like a dollhouse version of Tokyo. It’s been a favourite haunt of…
Ladakh
Sitting on a knoll in the heart of Phyang, this large Drigung Kagyud school monastery complex has been heavily rebuilt in the last decade but its core…
Chengdu
Located adjacent to Nanjiao Park and surrounded by mossy cypresses, this temple (rebuilt in 1672) honours several figures from the Three Kingdoms period,…
Zhejiang
Colossal camphor trees and a huge gingko tree tower over this yellow-roof-tiled Chan (Zen) temple, where a vast glittering statue of Guanyin sits…
Khiva
The Isfandiyar Palace (also called the Palace of Nurullabay) was built between 1906 and 1912, and like the emir’s summer palace in Bukhara displays some…
The Ancient Cities
Like Minneriya, Kaudulla offers a good chance of getting up close and personal with elephants. In October, there are up to 250 elephants in the park,…
Myanmar (Burma)
About 17 miles northeast of Pakokku, on the way to Monywa, are the remains of Pakhangyi, a 19th-century wooden monastery. There isn't a lot to see here,…
Mu Ko Chang National Marine Park
Ko Chang
This land and marine national park covers the entire archipelago and protects much of the central part of the island. Conservation efforts are a bit…
Sikkim
At the southern end of the Tashiding Gompa complex, this unusual compound contains a 2008 dharma bell, two giant Kashmir cypress trees and a series of…
Hokkaidō
Japan's first Western-style fort was built in 1864 in the shape of a five-pointed star (goryō-kaku means 'five-sided fort') designed to trap attackers in…
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