Things to Do in Asia

For a crash course in the history of Chiang Mai, pay a visit to the Arts & Cultural Centre in the heart of the old city. Using a mixture of labeled artifacts, audio recordings, photographs, and life-size dioramas, the centre’s multimedia exhibits take you on a journey from Chiang Mai’s ancient past as the Lanna Kingdom to its present as a modern, cosmopolitan city. Topics include royalty, religion, agriculture, and hill tribe people. There are also subtitled videos about the history of Chiang Mai that you can watch in air-conditioned comfort.

In addition, the Chiang Mai City Arts & Cultural Centre serves as a venue for special exhibits and cultural events. Enquire with the staff about upcoming events like dance or music performances.

Chiang Mai’s Night Bazaar is perhaps the city's most popular must-do attraction. The colorful mix of regular shops and stalls create a unique market buzz.

You’ll find everything for sale here, from ersatz designer brands to embroidered hill tribes textiles, lacquerware, silver jewelry, carvings, silks, ceramics and antiques.

The best range of antiques is on the second floor of the covered market building called the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar, to the north of the busy intersection near a narrow cross street.

During springtime, the parks and green spaces in Tokyo and around Japan come to life with colorful pink blossoms. Springtime is cherry blossom season, and for the best viewing in the city, head to Chidorigafuchi. With walkways, bridges, pavilions and boats plying the waters of the surrounding moat, there are plenty of places to view the spectacle in April when the sakura cherry trees bloom.

Located along the edge of the Imperial Palace moat, Chidorigafuchi is also home to a National Cemetery where the remains of the thousands of unknown Japanese soldiers who died in World War II were laid to rest.

Early April typically represents the peak of cherry blossom season, but in the days and weeks following, it often appears to be snowing as the trees begin to drop their blossoms. Even if you can’t make it during springtime, the park makes for a pleasant green escape from the city throughout the year. From here you can tour some of the gardens of the Imperial Palace or rent a boat from the Chidorigafuchi Boathouse and row on the moat.

As one of the most important religious sites in the country, the catholic monument known as Chijmes is a former convent school with more than 130 years of history. Residing in a central area along Victoria Street, the restored complex today serves as a commercialized hub for visitors looking to experience a bit of history while enjoying the modern accommodations inside that includes shops, fine restaurants and even an entertainment center.

The large modern complex is open both day and night, hosting a plethora of celebrations and events such as private cocktail parties and lunches, as well as musical and theatrical performances. To match Singapore’s diverse history and peoples, the restaurants inside offer menus featuring several kinds of cuisines, from French to Italian to Cantonese.

With renovations having been completed in 1996 at a cost of $81.5 million, the complex remains brightly lit at night, while Chijmes itself takes up more than 16,000 square meters, or 172,000 square feet, of total space.

The Chen Clan Academy, also called the Ancestral Temple of the Chen Family, is to Guangzhou what the Forbidden City is to Beijing. The complex consists of 19 traditional southern Chinese buildings that were erected by the Chen Family in the late 1800s as a place for the members of all 72 Chen clans in the province to stay as they studied for their provincial exams.

In 1905, the traditional examination system was dissolved and the area became an industry college for the clan. In 1957, the complex was designated as a Guangzhou City preserve, and in 1959 the local government began using the Academy to house local folk arts.

Serving as the Guangzhou Museum of Folk Art, the Chen Clan Academy is the largest and best-preserved clan complex in Guangdong Province and houses an exquisite collection of Cantonese folk art. The structures themselves are works of art, with carvings on nearly every column, ceiling beam and wall. The halls and courtyards of the complex display wood, stone and brick carvings, engraving art, pottery and paintings.

One of Hong Kong’s many charms is the variety of experiences in the immediate vicinity of a major international metropolis. As you’re wandering through the sleepy fishing villages or lazing the day away on the sandy beaches of Cheung Chau Island, it’s easy to forget you’re in Hong Kong. But the island offers much more than just pretty beaches and fresh seafood.

This small island -- even smaller than nearby Lantau -- was once a hideout of eighteenth-century Chinese pirate Cheung Po Tsai, who legend says plied the waters of the South China Sea pillaging the fishing villages he passed. Cheung Po Tsai Cave, one of his supposed safe houses, is open for exploration. Elsewhere on the island you’ll find waterfront walks and inland hikes winding past local temples, quiet beaches and lookouts with panoramic views over the South China Sea.

Each year during late April or early May, islanders celebrate the Cheung Chau Bun Festival, one of the more unusual cultural festivals in Asia. Thousands of competitors climb three 60-foot (18-meter) towers covered in steamed buns, trying to collect as many of the buns as possible in a quest to become King or Queen of the Buns. The higher up a bun is, the more it’s worth.