We’ve explored only a small fraction of the world’s largest continent, but we keep adding new destinations to our list. These places are all unique in their own way. Each country has its own culture, customs, landscapes, fauna and wildlife. Asia is also the most populated continent and the large crowds can be a bit overwhelming, especially at first. But it’s also part of the excitement.
China was the first country that I visited in Asia. It was my first encounter with the Orient, but what an exciting time that was. It was fascinating, a total culture shock, and I simply couldn’t get enough. Many years later, thinking back, it is still one of our most memorable travel experiences.
We spent most of our time visiting temples and palaces in and around Beijing. Of course, we went to the Great Wall of China, now one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
At the time (before cell phones and Google maps), very few people outside of the large hotels spoke English and since neither of us spoke Chinese, hand signals became our way of communicating when getting around. The hotel concierge gave us a card featuring a list of tourist attractions as well as the name and address of our hotel written both in English and Chinese on the back. All we had to do was simply point to the card to let the taxi driver know where we wanted to go. This proved to be very helpful.
Quite a few years went by before we had the chance to return to Asia. This time, our adventure took us to Thailand where we explored Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in the north. We also got to ride a long-tail boat along the Mekong and see the tri-border known as the Golden Triangle where Thailand, Burma and Laos intersect. Then our adventure continued into Phuket where we spent time relaxing on the beach and scuba diving in the Andaman Sea before our long journey back home.
Since then we’ve been to India a couple of times. Our first visit was to Chennai in southern India after which we headed north to visit India’s Golden Triangle: Jaipur, Delhi and Agra with the iconic Taj Mahal. Our most recent trip took us along the Arabian Sea from Kerala to Goa and later to Mumbai. India’s long history and rich culture provide many things to see but the level of poverty is astonishing and unlike anything we had seen before. Quite shocking. It’s impossible not to feel grateful for the life we enjoy.
Japan tops our list of favorite places to visit in Asia. It’s simply beautiful. It’s safe and clean, and a delight to visit. We visited Japan in the spring to participate in the hanami celebration, which is the custom of viewing the cherry trees (sakura) blooming. To increase our chances of seeing the sakura in full bloom we opted to go on a self-guided tour.
We spent 12 days traveling by train between Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. Of course, we had to include a day trip from Tokyo to Japan’s famous mountain, Mount Fuji. Overall, we were delighted by our experience and our fortunate timing of being in Tokyo to see the cherry trees in full bloom. During our visit in March the blooms were starting in Kyoto and Osaka, but it was too early for Mount Fuji. All these places had so much to offer that it was impossible to see everything in one trip. We would gladly revisit Japan again.
Another great destination we went to in Asia was Vietnam. We started our adventure in Ho Chi Minh City where we went on a self-guided tour of the historical center. From there we took a day trip on the Mekong and also visited Cu Chi Tunnels. Then we took a flight to Hanoi, in Northern Vietnam, where we spent time exploring Hanoi’s highlights before heading out on a cruise on Halong Bay.
Following a 3-day stopover in Istanbul, we headed to Siem Reap in Cambodia. The main purpose of our trip was to visit the Angkor Wat temples. It was truly enlightening and a fabulous adventure. And since our international flight left from Bangkok, Thailand, we added a few days in Phuket for some scuba diving. Wonderful!
There are many other places in Asia that we hope to see, and we will be adding more destinations to our site soon.
See our Travel Planning Guide:
Planning Your Dream Trip… On Your Own!