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Asia's Super Powers
Scintillating
Sharjah
UAE’s third-largest emirate, Sharjah has beautiful beaches
on both the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf. It’s replacing
its diminishing oil revenues by fashioning itself as a regional
business area. There are two ports, Khor Fakkan (east coast,
on the Indian Ocean) and Sharjah (west coast, on the Arabian
Gulf), and they are developing their coastlines for tourism.
Sights in the city of Sharjah include the Ruler’s Office,
Africa Hall (cultural centre) and an old souk, as well as
a new air-conditioned souk, called the Blue Souk, with beautiful
architecture and 300 shops. It also has several museums worth
seeing, including the Islamic Museum, the Natural History
Museum and the Science Museum. Take time to walk around the
Sharjah Corniche and see the huge fountain in the lagoon.
Other towns of interest in the emirate include the inland
oasis Dhaid (near the Hajar Mountains) and the village of
Maleiha (4th-century Hellenistic archeological site). Be sure
to take the scenic desert and mountain drive across Sharjah.
A three-night stay is recommended to see everything.
Timeless Oman
Long known as the hermit of the Middle East, the Sultanate
of Oman is slowly emerging from its shell, revealing a land
of friendly people, dramatic landscapes and lots of forts.
The capital, Muscat, lacks the nouveau-riche feel that typifies
much of the rest of the Gulf, and although Oman remains, in
many ways, the most traditional country in the region, it’s
often more outward looking than it’s given credit for.
Its development since the ascension of Sultan Qaboos bin Said
in 1970 is all the more striking because the country’s
oil reserves are so limited, and because the previous sultan,
Said bin Taimur, had kept Oman sealed off from the outside
world. Today, Oman is considered a safe and secure destination,
although visitors are advised to avoid demonstrations and
political gatherings.
Burgeoning Bahrain
Bahrain’s reputation as a relatively liberal and modern
Persian Gulf state has made it a favourite with travellers
in the region and an excellent introduction to the Gulf. While
their neighbours staked everything on oil, Bahrainis diversified
their economy and created some of the region’s best education
and health systems. Years of British influence have made English
widely spoken. Development has been swift, but it hasn’t
swallowed up everything. Site of one of the oldest civilisations
in the world and thought by some to be the site of the Garden
of Eden, Bahrain is packed with archeological digs, historical
museums, dhow building yards and back-street souks. Bahrain
is considered safe and secure for travellers, who are nonetheless
advised, as always, to exercise common sense and avoid political
gatherings and demonstrations.
Stunning South Korea
It’s a miracle that South Korea still exists. With China
looming to its west and Japan nudging it from the east, it’s
no wonder the country has played unwilling host to centuries
of war games. Poking delicately into the East Sea of Japan,
the little peninsula has proved an irresistibly tasty morsel
to its hungry neighbours. But no matter how often they try
to swallow it, South Korea, like plasticine, comes out the
other end largely intact. South Koreans attribute their indigestible
culture to the binding agents of confucianism, language and
pride. The stunning landscape has also played a big part in
creating a cohesive Korean identity. The country is swathed
in green, and the Koreans are obsessed with nature, and with
mountains in particular. Wherever you travel, you’ll
see them out in the open air, clad in the latest adventure
fashions, pushing ever onward and upward. Getaway to Cheju
Island, a fast evolving honeymooners paradise in this side
of the world.
Viva Macau
 Macau
may be firmly back in China’s orbit, but the Portuguese
patina on this Sino-Lusitanian Las Vegas makes it a most unusual
Asian destination. It can no longer be labelled ‘the
oldest European enclave in Asia’ (predating Hong Kong
by 300 years), but Macau’s exotic Portuguese heritage
and cultural mix are more highly prized than ever. Macau has
always been overshadowed by its glitzy near-neighbour Hong
Kong - which is precisely why it’s so attractive. Macau’s
pleasures are relaxed and laid-back, architectural and atmospheric:
narrow cobbled alleys, grand baroque churches, balconied colonial
mansions, open plazas and Mediterranean-style cafes filled
with palm-readers, caged birds and pipe-smokers. These days
Macau is wooing commerce and tourism like never before, and
plans are afoot for all kinds of family-oriented shopping
malls, theme parks, towers and bridges, building on the enclave’s
attraction as a gambling haven. So get yourself to Macau before
its unique Latin-Sino flavour is diluted by a heavy dose of
development and the Guangdong throngs.
Serene Sri Lanka
Marco Polo considered Sri Lanka the finest island of its size
in all the world, and you’ll likely agree after exploring
the country’s fabled delights. If beaches take your fancy,
then the coastal stretch Southern Colombo offers palm-lined
sandy expanses as far as the eye can see. Culture? Try the
Kandyan dances, a procession of elephants or the masked devil
dances. If you like to explore ruins, you’ll find enough
ancient and inspiring architecture in the cities of Anuradhapura
and Polonnaruwa to satisfy that archaeologist in you. And
then there’s the natural wealth for which Sri Lanka is
rightly renowned. Head for the hill country to escape the
heat of the plains, where the coast fades away to reveal gorgeous
rolling hills often carpeted with tea plantations. The entire
island is teeming with bird life and exotics like elephants
and leopards are not uncommon. To top it all off, the people
are friendly, the food is delicious and costs are low. So
enjoy.
Naturally Nepal
 Draped
along the greatest heights of the Himalaya, the kingdom of
Nepal is a land of sublime scenery, time-worn temples, and
some of the best walking trails on earth. It’s a poor
country, but it is rich in scenic splendour and cultural treasures.
The kingdom has long exerted a pull on the western imagination
and it’s a difficult place to dislodge from your memory
once you return. This is why so many travellers are drawn
back to Nepal, armed the second time round with a greater
appreciation of its natural and cultural complexity, a stout
pair of walking boots and a desire for improved leg-definition.
Don't follow short set itineraries, take a week off to discover
this untamed hinterland.
Budding Bhutan
Bhutan is an extraordinary place hardly touched by the hands
of time. Nestling in the heart of the great Himalayas, it
remained in self-imposed isolation for centuries, aloof from
the rest of the world. Its environment is pristine, the scenery
and architecture awesome, the people hospitable and charming,
and the culture unique in its purity. Despite the huge potential
of its natural resources, Bhutan emerged as one of Asia’s
poorest countries, shunning the ’profit at all costs’
mentality of the rest of the world. With one foot in the past
and one in the future, it strolls confidently towards modernisation,
on its own terms, fiercely protecting its ancient culture,
its natural resources and its deeply Buddhist way of life.
Beautiful Bangladesh
Reading the world’s press you could be forgiven for thinking
that Bangladesh is a disaster zone rather than a travel destination.
But hiding behind these images of cyclones and floods is a
strikingly lush and beautiful land with a rich history and
a variety of attractions unusual for a country this size.
For a start, you can visit archaeological sites dating back
over 2000 years; check out the longest beach and the largest
littoral mangrove forest in the world; and see decaying ’Gone
With The Wind’ mansions of 19th-century maharajas. Despite
being the world’s most crowded country, rural Bangladesh
feels relaxed, spacious and friendly: travellers from India
have been agreeably surprised to find border officials offering
them cups of tea rather than reams of forms to fill in. Facilities
are limited but if you have an independent streak, it’s
definitely worth avoiding the crowds heading to India and
Nepal and following the old slogan of Bangladesh’s tourist
body: ‘Come to Bangladesh before the tourists’.
Captivating China
China isn’t a country - it’s a different world.
From shop-till-you-drop metropolises to the epic grasslands
of Inner Mongolia - with deserts, sacred peaks, astounding
caves, and imperial ruins - it’s a land of cultural and
geographic schisms. It’s not that China has completely
done away with its Maoist past - it’s more that the yin
of revolutionary zeal is being balanced by the yang of economic
pragmatism, and the old guard communists are giving way to
the new wave dot-commers. It’s a land of towering mountains
and epic landscapes - background scenery to the fall of dynasties,
the rise of emperors and the turning of the revolutionary
wheel. Unless you have a couple of years and unlimited patience,
it’s best to follow a loose itinerary here, such as Beijing
to Tibet via Xi’an’s terracotta warriors, following
the Silk Road route, sailing down the Yangzi River, or exploring
the Dr Seuss landscape of Guangxi Province.
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Asia's Super Powers
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