Destinations
Malaysia
Malaysia is one of the most pleasant, beautiful hassle-free countries to visit in southeast Asia. It's buoyant and wealthy, and has moved towards a pluralist culture based on a vibrant and interesting fusion of Malay, Chinese, Indian and indigenous cultures and customs. Many visitors to Malaysia stick to the insane headlong rush of Kuala Lumpur, the colonially soothing Cameron Highlands Hill Station or the hedonistic torpor of Langkawi. However, the island of East Malaysia offers spectacular wildlife, longhouses and the awe-inspiring Mt Kinabalu.
Singapore
Unique is the word that best captures Singapore, a dynamic city rich in contrast and colour where you'll find a harmonious blend of culture, cuisine, arts and architecture. A bridge between the East and the West for centuries, Singapore, located in the heart of fascinating Southeast Asia, continues to embrace tradition and modernity today. Brimming with unbridled energy and bursting with exciting events, the city offers countless, memorable experiences waiting to be discovered.
South Africa
South Africa is one of the most geographically varied countries of the African continent, comprising territory that ranges from the rolling, fertile plains of the highveld and the wide open savanna of the Eastern Transvaal to the Kalahari desert and the peaks of the Drakensberg Mountains. While all of its diverse regions offer ample opportunities for adventure travel, the focus in South Africa--as in much of sub-Saharan Africa--is the safari. In addition to possessing two of the world's most renowned wildlife reserves, the Kruger and the Kalahari Gemsbok National Parks, the country contains over a dozen smaller regional parks and reserves. In addition, with its excellent road and rail systems, its abundance of top-rated accommodations, and its bountiful farmlands and vineyards, South Africa allows visitors ample opportunity for more luxurious comfort along with adventuresome excitement.
Mauritius
For an island in the middle of nowhere, Mauritius is a remarkably cosmopolitan place. Since it was first settled some 400 years ago, it has accumulated a diverse collection of people from India, Europe, Africa and China, and could serve as a poster for multicultural harmony. As a result, Mauritius is a great getaway for travelers: Along with sun, sand and seawater comes a fascinating blend of cultures. You can alternate visits to temples, museums and markets with swimming, fishing or diving and treks through nature preserves.
Australia
Sleek tour buses were already idling in the parking lot when we saw a handful of mud-caked camper vans pull up -- fuel cans and lawn chairs strapped to their roofs. We heard the motorcycles before we saw the riders climb off and straighten their jeans. But the noise didn't seem to bother the caravan of camels loping in the distance. We were all assembling for one of Australia's greatest shows: sunset at Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock). Yes, it's become something of a circus. But watching the scalloped monolith go from reddish-brown to a haunting burnt-orange against the desert sky is still a magical, some say spiritual, experience.
Sri Lanka
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A visit to Sri Lanka sometimes feels like a vacation at the circus. Sitting along the road at the famous Kandy perahera (parade), we watched bare-chested men crack whips, boys on stilts juggle torches and crimson-robed elephants lumber along beside their bejeweled mahouts. And the carnival atmosphere doesn't evaporate after the parade ends. Sri Lankans smile constantly -- perhaps amused, perhaps joyous -- at the spectacles that surround their daily lives: stilt fisherfolk reeling in mullet along the south coast; young couples walking the walls of the 17th-century Dutch fort in Galle; children searing their tongues with a fiery curry meal. For the traveler, it all starts to feel like a never-ending perahera. Sri Lankans sweep you into their circus so persuasively that you're soon moving with the show, instead of watching it.
Egypt
Travelers have been marveling at Egypt's wondrous antiquities for thousands of years -- even the ancient Greeks and Romans were awed by them. But today, a visit to Egypt is more than an immersion into past glories -- mud-brick villages sprout TV antennae, stone and glass high-rises tower over ancient monuments and pop music blaring from radios counterpoints the call to prayer.
Although modern life coexists with the legacies of the past, it has also opened up possibilities for exploring a wider area of Egypt. In addition to the great monuments of the Nile Valley, an Egyptian itinerary could also include diving along the Red Sea coast, a desert trek to remote oases or a visit to the Sinai Peninsula.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong works as a useful gateway into Southeast Asia and into China. It is also an interesting place in its own right – an extraordinary, complex territory of seven million people that's a repository of traditional Chinese culture, a recently relinquished British outpost, and one of the key economies of the Pacific Rim. The view of sky-scrapered Hong Kong Island, across the harbour from Kowloon, is one of the most stunning urban panoramas on earth, but Hong Kong also holds some surprises for the traveller – alongside the myriad shopping possibilities (not all of them such a bargain as they used to be), are a surprising number of inviting beaches, rewarding hiking trails and some surviving bastions of Chinese village life, most of them in the New Territories. An excellent infrastructure, an efficient underground system and all the other facilities of an international city make this an extremely soft entry into the Chinese world.
Macau
Sixty kilometres west across the Pearl River estuary from Hong Kong lies the former Portuguese enclave of Macau. A mere sliver of mainland and a couple of islands covering just under twenty-four square kilometres in total (and vigorously growing with creeping land reclamation), the territory is geographically and economically a midget compared to its booming cousin across the water. The transfer of Macau's administration (Portugal gave up any claims to sovereignty in the 1970s) to China in 1999 – two years after Hong Kong's – had none of the drama or controversy that surrounded that of Hong Kong. As in its larger neighbour, the majority of Macau's population of 436,000 are Cantonese-speaking Chinese. But this has not prevented the territory from developing an atmosphere distinct not only from Hong Kong but from other parts of southern China.
Brazil
Everything in Brazil seems larger than life. It has the world's wildest party, its greatest waterfall, its biggest wetlands, its mightiest river and its largest rain forest (and one of the most unique and diverse cultures on the planet). For travelers, Brazil's sheer size and variety can be overwhelming.
Brazil's problems -- poverty, crime, environmental recklessness -- can seem larger than life, too. Although it is one of the industrial powerhouses of South America, Brazil has trouble feeding all its people. And deforestation of the Amazon basin proceeds at an ominous rate. But in fits and starts, the country is taking on some of its seemingly insoluble problems. Most noticeably, improvement is being made in the dangerous crime situation in Rio: A special branch of "tourist police" now keeps tourist sites particularly the beaches of Zona Sul -- relatively safe.
Chile
Chile is a country of startling contrasts and extreme beauty, with attractions ranging from the towering volcanic peaks of the Andes to the ancient forests of the Lake District. There are a multitude of very good parks here, and plenty of opportunities for fine adventure travel. Chile is justly famous as the location of Torres del Paine, considered by many to be the finest nature travel destinations in all of South America.
Peru
Lake Titicaca, which straddles Peru's border with Bolivia, is the highest navigable lake in the world -- and one of the most beautiful. The Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, which would be stunning anywhere, are truly spectacular in their Andean setting, high above the Urubamba River. And Cuzco, once the center of the Inca empire and now a vibrant gateway to Inca.
Bhutan
Bhutan is the only place in the Himalayas where the Vajrayana Buddhist culture survives intact. However, the fall of other kingdoms that represent this vibrant culture, such as Tibet, Sikkim and Ladakh, and the encroachment of globalization make the survival of this tiny Buddhist nation increasingly fragile and poignant.
Nepal
Nepal is still a heady place, whether you're a trekker on a trail to Annapurna, a climber on your way to Everest or a seeker on the path to enlightenment. There are few countries on Earth that can match its combination of spectacular scenery, exotic culture and hospitable people. Along with the world's deepest canyon and eight of the world's 10 highest mountains, Nepal has steamy jungles and terraced valleys laced with ancient villages, remote temples and wildlife preserves.
China
Relentless change -- seen so clearly in projects like the Yangtze River dam and the relocation of thousands of people -- has been an elemental part of China's modern character. Violent revolutions in the 20th century, burgeoning population growth (China is now the world's most populous country by far) and economic prosperity (brought about by a recent openness to the outside world) have almost made that change inevitable. China's cities are being transformed -- Beijing and Shanghai are probably the most dynamic cities in the world right now. And the country's political position in the world is rising: The 2008 Olympics were awarded to Beijing, despite widespread concern about how the government treats its people.