Things to Do in Piedmont & Liguria

The historic monuments of Taiwan’s oldest city, Tainan, make a great alternative to the skyscrapers of Taipei. Settled by the Chinese in 1590, Tainan was used by the Dutch as a trading center in the mid-17th century before being taken by the Chinese again, who long used it as the island’s capital.

Traces of all these phases are evident throughout the city. Must-see sites include Anping Fort and Chikan Towers, both originally Dutch fortresses, and the Eternal Golden Castle, built by the Chinese for the same purpose.

Tainan is also renowned for its elegant temples, including the extensive Zhuxi complex with its serene pagodas and sentry elephants, and the calm oasis of the Confucius Temple.

The Tekka Center in Singapore’s Little India area is an ethnic food center and shopping mall offering a range of day-to-day goods at rather inexpensive prices. Built originally in the 1910s, the center underwent relocation and then a few renovations, but now stands as a clean and colorful shopping complex where one can buy anything from groceries to souvenirs and other trinkets.

The center is distinguished by its flamboyant façade, segmented into blue, green and beige sections across a modern and busy looking structure. It was reopened with air-conditioning in 2009, making for a more pleasant experience in an otherwise sweltering city.

Depending on what entryway you use, there are different sections of the center offering mixed ethnic cuisine, especially Chinese and Indian, at its various hawker stations, but it is also a place to run errands, with loads of great tailors, hardware shops and even religious shops selling traditional supplies such as incense robes and other offerings.

You can find Tiger beer throughout Asia, but in Singapore, you can actually see where and how it’s made. Tiger Beer started brewing the first local Singaporean beer in 1932, and today, their signature bottled pale lager is sold in more than 60 countries.

At the Tiger Brewery, visitors can take a 45-minute tour of the facilities to find out firsthand how malt, hops, water and yeast are transformed into beer. While the entire process is now automated, you can still see the ingredients being milled, mashed, boiled, fermented and filtered in the brew house before getting sent to the packaging gallery for bottling.

At the end of the tour, guests can enjoy complimentary samples in the Tiger Tavern. The ticket cost includes a 45-minute beer appreciation session that includes unlimited samples of freshly tapped Tiger beer and a range of other beers brewed on the grounds. Children are welcome on the tour, but guests must be 18 years of age to sample.

With freshwater swimming, waterfront beaches and a snowcapped mountain backdrop so striking it’s become the poster child for alpine getaways, it’s easy to see why Lake Thun (Thunersee), the region’s largest lake, draws a steady stream of visitors to its shores year round.
Active types will be in their element here, with the St. Jacob’s hiking trail running from the northern side towards the St. Beatus Caves, and walking tracks to Hünibach and Spiez passing by the lake. Speed-boat trips, wakeboarding, water skiing and windsurfing are all on offer for thrill-seekers, while the less adventurous will be content hiring a pedalo or rowing boat and taking a gentle cruise along the lake.

Visit in July and you’ll get a chance to witness the unique Lake Thun Festival, where popular musicals are performed on a dazzling floating stage, constructed specially for the event and anchored on the lake itself.

Many travelers to the British Virgin Islands make their way to Virgin Gorda to see the beautiful Baths. Laden with exotic pools and grottoes set among sea caves, the site was formed by mammoth boulders, around which explorers can swim and snorkel with crystal clarity.