Traveling to Asia is a great experience. This majestic continent stretches from the Ural Mountains in Russia to the gateway to the Pacific Ocean (Southeast Asia), and is incredibly culturally rich.
First of all, Central Asia, continental as we could say: huge territories at the door of Russia and Asian countries, which are starting to open to tourism, including Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan. Many accompanied tours or discovery tours are now available in these countries of the former USSR.
Moving a little to the East, how not to speak, in this Asian continent, about India, Tibet, Bangladesh or Bhutan? I know too little about them, and living in Oceania for the moment, it is not easy to go over there. However, I had the opportunity a few years ago to discover Nepal during superb treks in the Himalayas, as well as the city of Kathmandu. I have very good memories of it.
More recently, and to move again towards East Asia, I had the opportunity to discover Southeast Asia in a 10-month trip. I was living at that time in the Indian Ocean, in Mayotte, and had decided to leave everything behind. On the program: Burma (Myanmar), Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos.
During this trip, I got the chance to discover the wonders of Asia: the temples of Angkor, the rice fields of Vietnam, the Buddhist or Thai culture, Halong Bay, the mountains of Laos or the jungle in Sumatra. I also enjoyed discovering the Asian capitals of Hanoi, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Phnom Penh, Vientiane and other famous cities like Malacca in Malaysia or Luang Prabang in Laos.
What do I remember of all of this? Each country has its interest, but I have very good memories of the walks on the Mekong River, the Indonesian forest in Sumatra, the mountainous region of North Laos, at the border of Vietnam, the temples of Bagan or the visit of the temples and pagodas of Ayutthaya. I clearly regret having missed the month planned in Sulawesi (Celebes) in Indonesia, and the city of Hong Kong.
Apart from that, and on a personal basis, we are planning to go back to some Asian countries – not during a world tour, but for a few months, this time as a family trip. We would absolutely like to see Mongolia, Borneo, Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, or other Indonesian territories like the Moluccas, Papua New Guinea, or Timor. Stay tuned!
But for many, Asia is still a territory of celebration (in Phuket or Bali for example), or discovery of paradise beaches. Numerous are the travelers in 2018 who are preparing a trip to Vietnam, to Thailand or even Laos. Even if it seems quite difficult at first to get off the beaten track, Asia keeps a certain splendor in my eyes and is a unique continent still to be discovered.
This page will be enriched as I write, and I hope I’ll be able to travel in Asia again soon!
I wish you a good reading!
