Must-see attractions in Southeast Asia

  • Female Visiting the Cloister with Large Group of Seated Buddha Images in Wat Pho or Temple of the Reclining Buddha, Bangkok Old City, Thailand, ( Self Portrait )

    Wat Pho

    Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi

    Wat Pho is our absolute favorite among Bangkok's biggest sights. In fact, the compound incorporates a host of superlatives: the city's largest reclining…

  • Fighter planes outside War Remnants Museum.

    War Remnants Museum

    Ho Chi Minh City

    To understand the US invasion of Vietnam, and contextualize its devastating impact on the country's civilians, this remarkable and deeply moving museum is…

  • Grand palace, Wat pra kaew with blue sky, bangkok, Thailand

    Grand Palace

    Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi

    The Grand Palace (Phra Borom Maharatchawang) is a former royal residence in Bangkok that was consecrated in 1782. Today, it’s only used on ceremonial…

  • Wat Arun temple in Bangkok during sunset.

    Wat Arun

    Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi

    Wat Arun is the missile-shaped temple that rises from the Chao Phraya River's banks. Known as Temple of Dawn, it was named after the Indian god of dawn,…

  • Wat Phra Kaew Bangkok Thailand

    Wat Phra Kaew

    Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi

    Architecturally fantastic, the Wat Phra Kaew temple complex is also the spiritual core of Thai Buddhism and the monarchy, symbolically united in what is…

  • Hang Son Doong cave in the heart of the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Vietnam.

    Hang Son Doong

    Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

    Hang Son Doong (Mountain River Cave), located in the heart of Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, is known as the world's largest cave, and is one of the…

  • Swan boats, Lumphini Park, Bangkok, Thailand

    Lumphini Park

    Bangkok

    Named after the Buddha’s birthplace in Nepal (Lumbini), Lumphini Park is central Bangkok’s largest and most popular park. Its 58 hectares are home to an…

  • Tu Lan Cave.

    Tu Lan Cave

    Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

    The Tu Lan cave system comprises of more than 20 wet and dry caves, which are thought to be between three and five million years old. Huge caverns,…

  • Unoccupied beach at the Lan Ha Bay in Vietnam

    Lan Ha Bay

    Cat Ba Island

    Lying to the south of Halong Bay off the north-eastern coast of Vietnam, the 300-or-so karst islands and limestone outcrops of Lan Ha are just as…

  • Paradise Cave,Vietnam.

    Paradise Cave

    Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

    Surrounded by forested karst peaks, this staggering cave system in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park extends for 31km, though most people only visit the…

  • Bai Sao Beach, Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam.

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    Sao Beach

    Phu Quoc Island

    With picture-perfect white sand, the delightful curve of beautiful Sao Beach bends out alongside a sea of mineral-water clarity just a few kilometres from…

  • Dragon bridge in Da Nang, Vietnam.

    Dragon Bridge

    Danang

    This wonderfully wacky bridge takes the form of a ginormous, colour-changing dragon, weaving its way across the Han River. If that wasn't attention…

  • Hon Son Island

    Mekong Delta

    Hon Son, also known after its main village of Lai Son, is a solitary and beautiful mountain island about 50km southwest of Rach Gia on the southern shores…

  • Battlebox

    Colonial District, the Quays & Marina Bay

    Take a tour through the Battlebox Museum, the former command post of the British during WWII, and get lost in the eerie and deathly quiet 26-room…

  • Jade Emperor Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam is one of the major tourists sights.
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    Jade Emperor Pagoda

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Built in 1909 in honour of the supreme Taoist god (the Jade Emperor or King of Heaven, Ngoc Hoang), this is one of the most atmospheric temples in Ho Chi…

  • hue, vietnam. 12th june, 2023: views of thien mu pagoda in hue city, vietnam
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dong khan tomb, historical, citadel, huong

    Thien Mu Pagoda

    Hue

    Built on a small hill overlooking the Song Huong (Perfume River), 4km southwest of the Citadel, this seven-storey pagoda is an icon of Vietnam and as…

  • Wat Saket, The Golden Mount Temple, Bangkok, Thailand.

    Golden Mount

    Banglamphu

    Even if you're wát-ed out, you should tackle the brisk ascent to the Golden Mount. Serpentine steps wind through an artificial hill shaded by gnarled…

  • Tourists on sun loungers on Nha Trang's Municipal Beach.

    Nha Trang Beach

    Nha Trang

    Forming a magnificent sweeping arc, Nha Trang's 6km-long golden-sand beach is the city's trump card. Sections are roped off and designated for safe…

  • Interior of the Temple of Literature, known locally as Van Mieu, home to the shrine to Confucius named Van Mieu.

    Temple of Literature

    Hanoi

    Set amidst landscaped grounds near the centre of Hanoi, the Temple of Literature honours Vietnam's finest scholars, and also offers visitors a chance to…

  • Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica on blue sky background in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam.
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    Notre Dame Cathedral

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Built between 1877 and 1883, Notre Dame Cathedral enlivens the heart of Ho Chi Minh City's government quarter, facing Ð Dong Khoi. A red-brick, neo…

  • Boats at Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park.

    Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

    North-Central Vietnam

    Designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2003, the remarkable Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park contains the oldest karst mountains in Asia, formed…

  • The reflection of Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar

    Shwedagon Paya

    Yangon

    One of Buddhism's most sacred sites, the 326ft zedi (stupa) here is adorned with 27 metric tons of gold leaf, along with thousands of diamonds and other…

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Stone heads, Bayon.

    Bayon

    Temples of Angkor

    At the heart of Angkor Thom is the 12th-century Bayon, the mesmerising, if slightly mind-bending, state temple of Jayavarman VII. It epitomises the…

  • Prambanan Temple

    Central Java

    Comprising the remains of some 244 temples, World Heritage–listed Prambanan is Indonesia's largest Hindu site and one of Southeast Asia's major…

  • Morning in Borobudur Temple

    Borobudur Temple

    Borobudur

    Dating from the 8th and 9th centuries, and built from two million blocks of stone, Borobudur is the world's largest Buddhist temple and one of Indonesia's…

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Bas-relief detail, Banteay Srei.

    Banteay Srei

    Cambodia

    Considered by many to be the jewel in the crown of Angkorian art, Banteay Srei is cut from stone of a pinkish hue and includes some of the finest stone…

  • A tree growing through the temple Beng Mealea in Angkor Wat.
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    Beng Mealea

    Temples of Angkor

    A spectacular sight to behold, Beng Mealea, located about 68km northeast of Siem Reap, is one of the most mysterious temples at Angkor, as nature has well…

  • Banteay Chhmar castle cambodia; Shutterstock ID 709420321; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI
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    Banteay Chhmar

    Northwestern Cambodia

    Beautiful, peaceful and covered in astonishingly intricate bas-reliefs, Banteay Chhmar is one of the most impressive temple complexes beyond the Angkor…

  • Taken in Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

    Angkor Wat

    Temples of Angkor

    The traveller's first glimpse of Angkor Wat, the ultimate expression of Khmer genius, is matched by only a few select spots on earth. Built by Suryavarman…

  • View over the moat of Mandalay Palace to Mandalay Hill with its many temples; Shutterstock ID 241383850; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI
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    Mandalay Hill

    Mandalay

    To get a sense of Mandalay’s pancake-flat sprawl, climb the 760ft hill that breaks it. The walk up covered stairways on the hill's southern slope is a…

  • Overgrown temple of Ta Prohm.

    Ta Prohm

    Temples of Angkor

    The so-called 'Tomb Raider Temple', Ta Prohm is cloaked in dappled shadow, its crumbling towers and walls locked in the slow muscular embrace of vast root…

  • the Khmer Temples of Prsat Preah Vihear north of the town Sra Em in the province of Preah Vihear in Northwest Cambodia. Cambodia, Sra Em, November, 2017,
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    Prasat Preah Vihear

    Northwestern Cambodia

    The most dramatically situated of all Angkorian monuments, Prasat Preah Vihear sprawls along a clifftop near the Thai border, with breathtaking views of…

  • Banca boats in the water at Coron Island.
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    Coron Island

    Coron Town

    This island, only a 20-minute bangka ride from Coron town, has an imposing, mysterious skyline that wouldn’t be out of place in a King Kong film. Flying…

  • The red Panda

    Singapore Zoo

    Singapore

    The line between zoo and botanic oasis blurs at this pulse-slowing sweep of spacious, naturalistic enclosures and interactive attractions. Get up close to…

  • Supertree Grove in the Garden by the Bay in Singapore

    Gardens by the Bay

    Colonial District, the Quays & Marina Bay

    Singapore's 21st-century botanical garden is a S$1 billion, 101-hectare fantasy land of space-age biodomes, high-tech Supertrees and whimsical sculptures…

  • National Gallery Singapore

    National Gallery Singapore

    Colonial District, the Quays & Marina Bay

    Connected by a striking aluminium and glass canopy, Singapore's historic City Hall and Old Supreme Court buildings now form the city's breathtaking…

  • Door and blue wall, Penang, Malaysia

    Blue Mansion

    George Town

    The most photographed building in George Town, this magnificent 38-room, 220-window mansion was built in the 1880s and rescued from ruin in the 1990s…

  • Sukhothai Historical Park

    Sukhothai

    The Sukhothai Historical Park ruins are one of Thailand’s most impressive World Heritage sites. The park includes the remains of 21 historical sites and…

  • Nacpan beach in El Nido.

    Nacpan Beach

    El Nido

    For an easy day trip out of El Nido, head north by tricycle or motorbike to this incredible, golden-hued, 3km-long beach. Development has arrived in…

  • Wayag

    Raja Ampat Islands

    These small, uninhabited and incredibly picturesque islands, 30km beyond Waigeo, feature heavily in Raja Ampat promotional material. It’s mainly…