Things to Do in Asia

One of the more famous neighborhoods in Singapore, Kampong Glam is a preserved town once home to the Malay and Muslim elite that inhabited it prior to British colonization in the early 19th century.

Although the town was comprised of a multitude of ethnic groups over the last few hundred years, much of this pristine town has been restored to its former beauty, with strips of colorful shop houses now home to modern businesses.

Among some of its other key features includes one of the most important mosques in the country, the Sultan Mosque. It also has a peaceful pedestrian walk called the Bussorah Mall as well as the recently opened Malay Heritage Center, which contains loads of cultural pieces and history showcasing the lives of Malay Singaporeans.

As a destination for foreign visitors, the town itself now has several local restaurants as well as art galleries textile and carpet shops to peruse.

Near the San Thome Cathedral in the Tamil Nadu capital of Chennai sits the Kapaleeshwar Temple (spelled Kapaleeshwarar or Kapaleshwar too). The most impressive temple in the city by far, Kapaleeshwar honors the god Shiva with shrines dedicated to many other deities in the South Indian pantheon.

The working temple offers a good example of classical Dravidian architecture, with a stepped pyramid design blanketed in colorful statues of gods, demons, warriors and royalty. The detailing makes the temple exterior busy to the point where you don't quite know where to rest your eyes, but the structure is quite photogenic.

You're likely to see many more devotees than tourists at the temple, so you'll get a realistic insight into what modern temple worship looks like, particularly during the weekly Friday worship services. To avoid the crowds, show up at 6am when the temple first opens. If you want to see the temple at its most festive, plan your trip to coincide with the Arupathumoovar Festival in early March.

Kanchipuram, the old capital city of the Pallava Dynasty in Tamil Nadu, is one of seven holy pilgrimage sites for Hindus. The Pallava, Chola and Pandyan Dynasties all occupied the area, each trying to outdo the others with bigger and better shrines, and the result is a fascinating study in Dravidian architectural development from the eighth century onward.

The nickname ‘Golden City of 1,000 Temples’ is well earned, and travelers who make the 45-mile (72-kilometer) trek from Chennai will be rewarded with a veritable treasure trove of Shaivite and Vaishnavite temples. The most notable, the Devarajaswami Temple dedicated to Vishnu, includes a 96-pillar marriage hall and a huge chain carved from stone.

Most of the temples open in the morning and again during the late afternoon and evening hours, but the cooler morning hours are typically a much more pleasant time to visit. For a memorable photo opportunity, give a rupee or two to one of the temple elephants. After passing your donation to the handler, the elephant will offer you a blessing by touching your head with its trunk.

Most people hit the beach to catch some serious sun, but the palm tree lined shores that offer plenty of shade along Kata Beach still manage to draw active families, young travelers and eager surfers from around the globe. The calm turquoise waters of Kata Center and Kata South are lined with boutique hotels and quaint souvenir shops. Enjoy a picnic on the beach, then wander to the Buddhist Temple on Patak Road or take an easy hike to the spectacular viewpoint between Kata and Rawai for incredible views of this beautiful beach.

Kabukicho, one of Tokyo’s busiest nightlife and red light districts, offers the foreign visitor nothing short of a bizarre cultural experience. An estimated 150,000 people pass through the district’s 200 clubs and 80 love hotels each day, and you’re much more likely to see groups of male work associates in business suits than couples or families. After dark, the district lights up with LED signs in every color covering nearly any open wall surface. Many of the clubs catering to executives and lonely husbands are themed, so you’ll see girls wandering around in full costume on their way to or from work.

While Kabukicho isn’t a place to take the kids, it isn’t nearly as promiscuous from the street as other red light districts around the world. Come enjoy the people watching after a dinner in one of the district’s many izakayas. Even the restaurants here are themed, allowing you to enjoy a meal locked up in a stone jail cell or in a cafe full of real cats.

Despite the area’s less-than-stellar reputation, Kabukicho is remarkably safe, but it’s a good idea to come with other people and leave before midnight with the sex bars are legally required to close.

Also known as the Don-Rak War Cemetery, the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery commemorates victims of the building of the Burma Railway during World War II.

Located on Saeng Chuto Road, the main road of the city of Kanchanaburi, the cemetery is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and contains the graves of Australian, British and Dutch POWs who were forced into labor by the Japanese, who controlled the area at the time of the Burma Railway construction.

A nearby privately funded museum, the Thailand-Burma Railway Museum, contains interactive displays describing the history of the railway and the prisoners who died building it.

Kali Temple (Kalighat), built in 1809, is Kolkata’s (Calcutta) holiest Hindu site and a major pilgrimage site for Hindu devotees from around the country; with over 20,000 people visiting each day. The name of the city is said to have been derived from the temple’s name.

Kali Temple, a complex devoted to Kali, the patron goddess of Kolkata, is steeped in history and legend as violent and grisly as the goddess herself. According to myth, as the Lord Shiva was performing a dance of destruction with the corpse of Kali on his shoulders, her body was sliced into several pieces and scattered across the land. The Kali Temple is said to have been built where a toe of her right foot landed.

Human sacrifices were supposedly performed in Kali’s name on the grounds of the temple during the nineteenth century, and if you visit today, vestiges of this ancient practice remain in a daily goat sacrifice in the enclosure just to the south of the temple. Non-Hindus may not enter the inner sanctum of the temple, but you can still explore the surrounding courtyards and flower markets.