Asia’s best under-the-radar destinations
Asia, the home of the mighty Himalayas, the Indian Ocean, beautiful beaches, islands, and perfect getaway spots, is one of the most popular travel destinations for many people across the globe. The continent has a rich mixture of various cultures, history, and food, which intrigues most travelers. Travelers who come to Asia generally buy tour packages to avoid complications.
However, most of these tour packages are focused on places that are famous and popular among people. These places are crowded and seldom provide the experience that travelers expect. This is why people look for packages that give them the liberty to customize their own packages and visit the offbeat places that are hidden in plain sight. One of the best companies to provide you manual and customized packages to travel in Asia is exoticvoyages.com. You get great deals on tour and travel packages to Bhutan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam through exoticvoyages.com.
While it’s true that you can customize your own travels, it’s important that you know the places where you want to travel. This might seem difficult and you might also get confused about what to include. If that’s the case, worry not. Here’s a list of the best-hidden gems of Asia that you need to visit to experience the serenity and take some time away from the hustle and bustle of the busy areas.
Doi Mae Salong, Thailand
This hidden beauty in Thailand provides a mixture of Chinese cuisine and the allure of nearby Myanmar. The reason is, that the town is very close to the border of Myanmar and is inhabited by the families of former Chinese nationalist Soldiers who fled to Burma in the 1960s to escape the Communist takeover in China.
Doi Mae Salong is famous for its Chinese tea traders and its vast and huge tea plantations. You can enjoy calm mornings and evenings in the traditional Chinese-style tea houses overlooking vast tea plantations present in the town. Also, you can get to spend nights in rural villages and even embark on a hill tribe trek through the bamboo forests present in the area.
Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia
Hidden from most travelers visiting Cambodia, this place is a gem, majestic, and very close to the more popular Angkor Wat temple of Cambodia. Although it’s in close proximity to Angkor Wat, not many people know about or get to visit this amazing place.
The Cardamom Mountains is a great biodiversity hotspot and is one of the last remaining wild elephant corridors. It’s home to a community project encouraging people to plant trees to stop deforestation. This place is heaven for hikers and you might be surprised to find houses in the dense forests and the peak of Phnom Aural.
Phong Nha-Ke Bang, Vietnam
Central Vietnam is the home of one of the lesser-known natural wonders of the world known as Phong Nha-Ke Bang, which is a national park. You might be surprised to know that the national park is a UNESCO world heritage site since 2003 and has many cave complexes that you can explore.
The national park houses the oldest mountains in Asia known as the Karst Mountains and has underground rivers running through these gigantic and unexplored caves.
Kanchanaburi, Thailand
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This place is just a three-hour drive from the chaotic city of Bangkok and provides a great getaway for tourists. It’s a small town that’s both scenic and tranquil. The town has a river flowing through it, where you can find floating restaurants, buildings, and even shops that are surrounded by jungle on all sides.
Kanchanaburi is a great place for people wanting to explore the rural areas of Thailand. Also, the place has historical importance since it was used by the Japanese forces during WW2 to keep the prisoners of war and has one of Asia’s largest Commonwealth War Cemeteries as well as the historic River Kwai Bridge.
Amarapura, Myanmar
Amarapura in Myanmar is a place home to the longest teakwood footbridge in the world. The place is located 30 minutes away from the outskirts of Mandalay and is a perfect getaway spot for tourists. Originally built in the 19th century, the teakwood bridge is 1km long and is built on Taungthaman Lake.
You’ll be surprised to know that the bridge is still supported by many of the original pillars used in the 19th century. You get the best sunset view on the bridge as the light reflects off the water and you get a spectacular view of things.
Paro Taktsang, Bhutan
Located on a sheer cliff, this is a monastery where it’s believed that the second Buddha meditated and Padmasambhava arrived on a flying tiger. This is why it’s also known as The Tiger’s Nest Monastery.
To reach the monastery, you need to climb up right the valley, which could last up to two hours or more until you reach a height of 3000 feet. Once you get up there, you are rewarded with great views of the valley and mountains of the Himalayas that make the trek worthwhile.
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