No matter how willing you are to step outside logic-based Western thinking and give up the joys of using toilet paper, India will still manage to sideswipe you with its size, clamour and diversity. Nothing in the country is ever quite the way you expect it to be, and the only thing to expect is that the unexpected comes in many forms and it will always want to sit next to you. India is a litmus test for many travellers and some visitors are only too happy to get on an aircraft and fly away, but if you enjoy delving into convoluted cosmologies, thrive on sensual overload, and have a firm grasp of the absurd, then India is one of the most intricate and rewarding dramas unfolding on earth.
China's not a country - it's a whole different world. From shop-till-you-drop metropolises to the epic grasslands of Inner Mongolia, with deserts, sacred peaks,astounding caves, and imperial ruins in between. Thank Buddha, management recently stopped destroying temples. Now they rip down mountains and poison rivers instead. But there's still plenty to see once you've mastered the art of bulldozing your way through crowds and decorating footpaths, buses and restaurants with spit of every colour and consistency known to humankind. Unless you have a couple of years and unlimited patience, it's best to follow a loose itinerary here, such as Beijing to Tibet via Xi'an's terracotta warriors, following the Silk Road route, sailing down the Yangzi River, or exploring the Dr Seuss landscape of Guangxi Province.
Japan is the subject of more gullible and misguided musings than perhaps any other place in the world: the best way to approach it is to discard your preconceptions. Somewhere between the elegant formality of Japanese manners and the candid, sometimes boisterous exchanges that take place over a few drinks, between the sanitised shopping malls and the unexpected rural festivals, everyone finds their own vision of Japan. Whether you end up taking photos of a reproduction Eiffel Tower, surfing an indoor wave, shacking up in a love hotel or kipping down in a capsule, you'll do best to come with an open mind and be prepared to be surprised.
Lying almost on the equator, Singapore is a thriving city-state that has overcome its
dearth of natural resources to become one of the juggernaut economies of Asia. A city of
concrete, glass and steel, renowned for its hi-tech wizardry, Singapore also offers a
taste of the great Asian cultures in a small easy-to-manage package. In the crowded
streets of Chinatown, fortune tellers, calligraphers and temple worshippers are still a
part of everyday life. In Little India, you can buy the best sari material, freshly ground
spices or a picture of your favourite Hindu god. In the small shops of Arab St, the cry of
the imam can be heard from the nearby Sultan Mosque.
Singapore may no longer
be a rough-and-ready port of rickshaws, opium dens, pearl luggers and pirates, but you can
still recapture the colonial era with a gin sling under the languorous ceiling fans at
Raffles Hotel, dine out at the renovated quays along the Singapore River where merchant
ships once berthed, and visit the numerous Victorian relics that have survived the city's
relentless development. It is this carefully stage-managed combination of Western
modernity and a treasured Eastern and colonial past, that makes Singapore such an
accessible slice of Asia.
Budget accommodation is
in 'crash pads' (dormitories) or Chinese hotels; the former are concentrated around
Bencoolen St, the latter in Chinatown and on Jalan Besar and Beach Rd. There are few
moderately priced hotels, but plenty of international-standard hotels - and there's always
Raffles for those with bottomless wallets. For tasty budget Indian and Chinese food, try
one of the hundreds of hawker centres (conglomerations of permanent food stalls) scattered
throughout Singapore. Orchard Rd, the colonial district, Chinatown and Little India are
the best areas for shopping.
Thailand is located in Southeast Aisa, Thailand is approximately the size of France and bordered by Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and Mynamar. Because it spans almost 2,000km north to south, it has perhaps the most diverse climate in this region of Asia. The topography varies from high mountains in the north to tropical islands in the south with fertile plains in the centre of the country.
We hope you get chance to experience some of them, as well as find some personal favorites of your own.
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