Post-Corona Bucket List Material: 10 Exceptional Experiences in Asia

The ancient city of Bagan in central Myanmar was once known to have more than 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas, and monasteries within a 100-square-kilometre area. Most of these were built between the ninth and 13th centuries when Bagan was the capital city of the Kingdom of Pagan. Today it is estimated that 2,200 of the structures still exist. The best way to view them is from the wicker basket of a hot-air balloon gently gliding over the landscape. When the ancient architecture breaks through the early morning mist, it makes for the most ethereal sight. Three companies—Balloons Over Bagan, Oriental Ballooning, and Golden Eagle Ballooning—offer these flights over the Bagan Plain.

While shopping is an integral part of travel, jumping from one mall to another may mask the local vibe of a destination. Floating through a canal on a long-tail boat, though, makes for a memorable shopping experience, one that Thailand is famous for. From some of the best street food to trinkets, souvenirs, and local art, Thailand’s floating markets offer quite a variety of buys for shoppers. If you’re in Bangkok, take your pick from the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, which featured in the Bond movie, The Man with the Golden Gun, or the all-day Taling Chan. For a quick experience, head to the Bang Nam Pheung Market, which is about 20 kilometres from central Bangkok and has only six boats. Pattaya, however, boasts one of the best floating markets in Thailand. The Four Regions Floating Market is spread over 1,00,000 square metres and is divided into four sections housing 114 shops.

It may come as a surprise, but Japan has been producing wine for over a century. There are more than 300 wineries from Hokkaido to Kyushu, and Yamanashi prefecture is the largest wine-growing region. Bookmark these establishments for your next wine-soaked vacation in the prefecture: Katsunuma Jyozo Winery, a family-owned winery, is set in a 140-year-old merchant’s house. Lumiere, the oldest family-owned winery in Yamanashi founded in 1885, has a swanky restaurant that serves Japanese and French fusion dishes paired with their wines. Marufuji, a winery established in 1890, produces 1,70,000 bottles a year. Here, the tasting is housed in a traditional Japanese building with dark wooden beams and shoji sliding screens.

This is the mother of all train journeys! The Trans-Mongolian Railway follows an ancient tea caravan route from China to Russia (and the other way around). The journey takes a minimum of six nights and five days, traversing 7,826 kilometres through the extremities of Siberia to the Gobi Desert. The train allows you to do stopovers, though they have to be pre-arranged and tickets organised accordingly. While you can do the trip without stopovers, do not miss the opportunity to visit Mongolia, where you can feast on vistas of rolling hills and wild horses dashing alongside the train.

If slow travel is your thing, bookmark the quaint river town of Vang Vieng in Laos. Your relaxed trip can be enlivened with a kayaking trip down river Nam Song. Ideal for beginners, the river features some fun rapids as well as caves. A typical experience includes three hours of kayaking and one hour of exploring caves such as Tham Lom, which is great for swing jumping, and the bat cave Tham Non, which is famous for having been a rescue shelter for villagers during the Second Indochina War. Through the journey, you’ll enjoy panoramic views of the Nam Kouang valley.

Borobudur, an ancient Buddhist temple in Central Java, is set amid smoking volcanoes and a thick jungle. The temple complex is built in the style of Mandala, which symbolises the universe in Buddhist teachings. The square-shaped structure has four entry points and a circular centre representing Nirvana. The complex features carved stone reliefs depicting the teachings of different sutras, as well as 504 statues of Buddha in different meditative poses. There are many ways to enjoy this historic site, but one of the finest is to hike up the surrounding hills to see it at sunrise. There are many vantage points. Take a short hike up the Barede Hill, or enjoy the panoramic view from the summit of Mount Andong.

The largest living lizards in the world are found only on a few volcanic Indonesian islands. Komodo dragons are named after a dragon-like creature that is rumoured to have lived on the island of Komodo. Their intimidating size, peculiar head and legs, and thick, long tails are certainly reminiscent of mythical dragons. The Komodo National Park in Indonesia gives access to five islands where these creatures roam freely. Besides the dragons, the park boasts a pink-hued beach, and the area is home to spectacular marine life that is best enjoyed while snorkelling or diving.

Travel need not always be rose-tinted. It can also be dark and hauntingly beautiful. The Echo Valley Sagada in the Philippines is home to an eerie ancient practice dating back almost 2,000 years. The Igorot people of a remote village in the Cordillera Central Mountains bury their dead in a gravity-defying graveyard. Hand-carved coffins are suspended high above the ground—tied or nailed to the side of a cliff. This practice is believed to bring the deceased closer to their ancestral spirits. The older coffins are roughly one-metre long, and family members had to break the bones of the departed to fit them in the caskets—in the foetal position. The newer coffins are thankfully double in length.

The red sand dunes of Mui Ne in Vietnam get their vibrant colour from a combination of fine sand and iron ore from an old mine that existed here. Besides the natural beauty of the shifting dunes, adventure enthusiasts visit the destination for a range of thrilling activities like sand surfing and driving all-terrain vehicles. It is interesting to note that sand dune surfing on the board is guided mainly by women and children; the latter are particularly proficient in instructing visitors. After the adrenaline rush, you can enjoy a beautiful sunset tour. The area is also a delight for sand artists and nature photographers.

The most vibrant city of Laos, Luang Prabang, offers an interesting fusion—a French colonial town with Asian influences. Laos had come under French rule during the colonial era, and even though the country got independence in 1946, one finds the remnants of the European legacy till date in the architecture, food, and even local customs. Enjoy this wonderful melange of East and West while cruising the temple-lined streets of the charming UNESCO-protected town in a classic vintage car such as a Rolls-Royce Shadow 1973 or a Mercedes-Benz E Class from the 1970s. Do make sure that your tour includes a stop, or two, at some delightful French bakeries.