Sri Lanka
Face the Lion’s Rock
The ancient royal compound of Sigiriya, or Lion’s Rock—the star attraction in Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle—is best visited in the morning, before the day heats up: It takes roughly 45 minutes to reach the summit, but you’ll be treated to frescoes, rock gardens, and other splendid sights with every step.
Drive into Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle
If you find yourself in seaside Colombo, take five hours to drive inland to Polonnaruwa, one of the country’s eight UNESCO World Heritage sites. Construction of the 1,200-square-mile capital began in the 11th century; it was once a sprawling fortified city and the second seat of Sri Lanka’s royal dynasty. Explore the ruins of the palace and the carved Buddhas of Gal Vihara.
India
Salute the sun at Bhangarh
You can visit Bhangarh—an ancient town near Jaipur—as a day trip from Amanbagh, and join the thinning crowds for a session of sunset yoga. It may be touted as one of the most haunted places in India, but we’d rather call it spiritual.
Visit the palace of India’s last maharaja
At the heart of Jaipur’s old city is the City Palace, which is a complex of mini-palaces arranged as a series of unfolding boxes—so the deeper the realm, the more private and less accessible it becomes. The palace today is mostly under the control of the last maharaja’s daughter, Princess Diya Kumari. Despite the fact that the princess and her family still live in the palace, it serves very much as a public living room—you’ll see locals chatting in its squares and relaxing in its open-air pavilions—and isn’t at all forbidding.
NEPAL
Fly over the Himalayas at sunrise
In her Grand Tour of Asia, former editor-at-large Hanya Yanagihara signed up for a flight with Tashi Tenzing Sherpa, the grandson of Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, who summited Mount Everest with Edmund Hillary in 1953. Book a tour similar to hers, through Geographic Expeditions.
Meet a holy monkey
Swayambhunath Stupa is a fifth-century temple complex, also known as the “Monkey Temple” for the holy primates that are said to live on its grounds. (Alas, the complex is also full of monkeys of the less-holy ilk, all of whom are on the prowl for food and alarmingly fearless.) Swayambhunath is as fascinating as it is picturesque, with sweeping views over Kathmandu Valley. If the small monastery on the top floor is open, ask your guide to take you in to light five candles and to wish good fortune for someone else as you do so. You’ll be barefoot, of course, so take extra caution when walking on the floors—they will be greasy with ghee, especially near the candles.
Brave the climb to the Tiger’s Nest in buthan
Taktsang Palphug, commonly known as Tiger’s Nest, is a 17th-century structure clinging to a mountainside a dizzying 10,200 feet above Paro Valley. Why the name Tiger’s Nest? Because it’s said that in the eighth century, Guru Rinpoche flew to this exact spot on the back of a tiger. The initial part of the temple was constructed in the 1400s, although the expansions that give the complex the shape we see today weren’t done until the late 1600s. In 1998, a fire swept through the buildings, but the temples were restored to their original shape. There are 15 temples in Tiger’s Nest, and all are beautiful, their wall paintings restored by UNESCO.
Vietnam
Sail Halong Bay
Halong Bay is a 580-square-mile natural cove containing some 2,000 limestone islands, all occupied only by trees, ferns, birds, and monkeys. It is these peaks—some of them cragged and hewn by years of erosion into fantastic shapes—that have inspired centuries of Vietnamese poetry and paintings.
Walk through Vietnam’s cultural history at the Museum of Ethnology
Unlike some other countries in Asia, Vietnam is notably accepting—even encouraging—of its 53 minority groups, as witness by Hanoi’s Museum of Ethnology. Some of this is practical, and some of this is strategic. First, the great majority of these groups live in Vietnam’s north, on the border with China, and are therefore best not antagonized with such a powerful neighbor. Second, they’re a great tourism draw. Many of the costumes on exhibit at the Museum of Ethnology aren’t from a hundred years ago; some could well be from last week. The durability of these tribes’ signature presentations is astonishing in an age of jeans and T-shirts.
Cambodia
Discover a lost city
The lost city of Angkor Thom is now part of Angkor Archaeological Park (yes, where famous Angkor Wat is located). Built in the late 12th century, it was the final capital of the Khmer empire. Visit the Bayon temple between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., when the crowds will have gone back to their hotels for lunch (the sun can be intense, though).
Do Angkor Wat right
First rule: Forget sunrise at the Angkor Wat complex. It is so popular now that it’ll be more crowded at 5:30 or 6 a.m. than at 7, when those sun-risers are on their way back to their hotels for breakfast. Instead, opt for less-frequented temples such as Beng Mealea (pictured). In the morning, most visitors beat a path to Ta Prohm—known as the “Tomb Raider” temple for its cameo in the 2001 film of the same name. Swing by at around 4:45 p.m. and you’ll have it almost to yourself.
THAILAND
Bathe an elephant
Make a splash at the Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle in Chiang Rai, where you won’t just get to walk with elephants—you’ll bathe with them, too.
Watch the sunset from Chiang Mai’s holiest shrine
Take the 30-minute drive outside Chiang Mai to the 14th-century Wat Phra That, Chiang Mai’s holiest shrine, which overlooks the city atop Suthep Mountain. Take the 304-step staircase and note the lovely nagas (dragon-headed serpents) that flank the steps: Like so much Buddhist iconography, their origins are Hindu, but in Southeast Asia they are often shown as the Buddha’s protector, guarding either him or the temples. At the summit—blissfully empty and a few degrees cooler in the late afternoon—you’ll hear the monks chanting their evening sutras and watch as the sinking sun paints the city in vibrant pinks and purples.
singapore
Stuff your face with street food at a hawker center
Airport Road Food Centre has a couple dozen excellent food stalls, including Lao Ban. Join the queue for a small tub of soya: barely sweet, custard-soft tofu that satisfies, variously, as a dessert, an appetizer, a palate-cleanser, or a digestif. Maxwell Food Centre is another food court with even more stalls selling even more tempting dishes from everywhere across southern Asia. One of the iconic stalls is Tian Tian Chicken Rice, which serves, well, chicken rice—an utterly succulent chicken cooked in chicken broth and served with chicken broth–boiled rice.
Discover Singapore’s unique Peranakan culture and cooking
An ethnic group specific to this part of Asia—created by the mostly Hokkien Chinese merchants and traders who arrived here and married Malay women—the Peranakans flourished from the 15th through the early 20th centuries. They developed their own language, a kind of Malay-Hokkien creole; their own dress; their own religion (a sort of Taoist Catholicism, if you can imagine such a thing); and their own cuisine, which married Chinese flavors and spices with the sugar and coconut of Malay cooking. Your menu at Peranakan restaurant True Blue might include simmered beef, gently seasoned with cardamom (a kind of Peranakan version of short ribs), or banana blossom salad with star fruit, or chicken stew with Indonesian black nuts. Just hope your meal ends with the addictive glutinous black rice porridge, which is gently sweet and pairs well with the longan tea that’ll be served alongside it. The restaurant’s decor—which features artwork, objets d’art, and furniture from chef-owner Benjamin Seck’s collection—is as colorful as the food. If you ask, you’ll even get to go upstairs to see a Peranakan Catholic altar. Although it’s Chinese in style and color, you’ll note that at its center is a depiction of the Virgin Mary, though rendered as a Qing dynasty–era figure. For more on the culture, you can check out the small Peranakan Museum next door.
Bali
Find peace in Bali
Skip Bali’s party-centric Kuta-Legian-Seminyak region, and set up instead in Ubud. The area is rightly celebrated for both its crafts and artisanship, as well as its emerald rice fields that morph slowly into jungle.
Sip watermelon juice while you walk through rice fields
If you’re staying at our recommended Uma by Como hotel, within a short 20-minute walk, you can leave the din of Ubud behind and replace it with the sounds of running water, coconut fronds rustling in the breeze, the low drone of dragonflies, and the occasional local carrying a yoke from which green coconuts dangle. It’s a delicious jolt: Just down the road is the 21st century in all its unstoppable modernity—although here, it could be anytime. But it couldn’t be anyplace: This landscape is wholly Bali’s. After 20 minutes or so, you’ll come across Sari Organik, a juice-and-snack villa with extensive raw/vegan offerings, right in the middle of the fields. Stop and refresh yourself with a cacao bowl or watermelon juice.
China
Follow in the emperor’s footsteps in Beijing’s Forbidden City
To best experience the Forbidden City, the enormous walled 15th-century structure at Beijing’s heart, later in the day is actually better. Skip the museum within the complex’s grounds and head to the North Gate, going backward toward the main entrance at Tiananmen. This is where every emperor—and his family and staff—lived from 1420, when the 7.8-million-square-foot, 980-building compound was finished, until 1912, when the Qing dynasty went out with a whimper.
Walk the Great Wall—without all the tourists
There are a few main sections of the Great Wall that people visit. Badaling and Juyong Pass, which are among the closest to the city, are so densely packed with tourists that you might as well stay home. Then there’s Mutianyu, about 90 minutes outside the city center, and Jinshanling, which is two hours away. Both options have their benefits. Jinshanling, which will be all but untouristed, is an especially nice choice if you want to walk a long section of the wall. If, however, your main goal is not to hike the wall but to just get a feel for it, opt for Mutianyu.
Japan
Meander through a bamboo forest
No trip to Kyoto is complete without a visit to Arashiyama Bamboo Forest (sometimes referred to as Sagano Bamboo Forest). In the Heian period (794-1185), when Kyoto was not only Japan’s capital but the center of arts and culture, this district was a summer retreat for nobility—it’s cool year-round, but especially in summer. The dense stands of ancient bamboo—so green and silent that the very air seems to taste of dew—are at their quietest in the early morning.
Create a feast out of Japan’s top-notch convenience store cuisine
How good is the food in Japan? So good that even pre-packaged and ready-made food in convenience stores (known as konbini and ubiquitous throughout any medium- to large-size city) is pretty darn spectacular. Stock up on limited-edition Kit Kats and Mitsuya Cider for a shinkansen ride…or after a long night of drinking. Best of all? Pretty much everything you’ll find is well under $5 apiece.
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