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JAPAN The views of Mount Fuji from the corner rooms at the Park Hyatt Tokyo (3-7-1-2 Nishi-Shinjuku; 800/233-1234 or 81-3/5322-1234; www.tokyo.park.hyatt.com; doubles from $450). • A night—including a kaiseki dinner served in your room—at the 145-year-old Hiiragiya ryokan in Kyoto (Anekoji-agaru, Fuyacho, Nakagyo-ku; 81-3/5368-0790; www.luxuryryokan.com; doubles from $1,000).
CHINA The triple-headed showers at the Grand Hyatt Shanghai (Jin Mao Tower, 88 Century Blvd., Pudong; 86-21/5049-1234; www.shanghai.grand.hyatt.com; doubles from $475). • A Rolls-Royce transfer from the Hong Kong airport to the Peninsula (Salisbury Rd., Kowloon; 866/ 382-8388 or 852/2920-2888; www.hongkong.peninsula.com; doubles from $410). • Silky-smooth butler service at Beijing's St. Regis (21 Jian Guomenwai Dajie; 86-10/6460-6688; www.starwoodhotels.com; doubles from $395), an oasis of old-world refinement.
VIETNAM Beachside yoga classes at Evason Hideaway at Ana Mandara (Ninh Van Bay, Nha Trang; 84-58/728-222; www.sixsenses.com; doubles from $315), accessible only by boat.
CAMBODIA A post-Angkor swim on a sticky afternoon in the gorgeous pool at Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor in Siem Reap (1 Charles de Gaulle St., Khum Svay Dang Kum; 855-63/963-888; www.siemreap.raffles.com; doubles from $360).
THAILAND Buffet breakfast at the Oriental, Bangkok (48 Oriental Ave.; 866/526-6567 or 66-2/659-9000; www.mandarinoriental.com; doubles from $350; breakfast for two $60). • The magnificent copper bathtubs at Chiang Rai's new Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle (66-53/910-200; www.fourseasons.com; doubles from $1,200). If this is jungle living, we're going native. • Ocean breezes rippling across open-air pavilions at Costa Lanta (Klong Dao Beach; 66-26/623-551; www.costalanta.com; doubles from $180), on the island of Koh Lanta. • Phuket's Amanpuri (Pansea Beach; 66-76/324-333; www.amanresorts.com; doubles from $680), the very first Amanresorts property, and still, we say, the loveliest.
MALAYSIA The beach at the Datai in Langkawi (Kedah; 60-4/959-2500; www.thedatai.com; doubles from $380), shielded on three sides by lush jungle.
SINGAPORE The mod style of the new Hotel 1929 (50 Keong Saik Rd.; 65/6347-1929; www.hotel1929.com; doubles from $110), with furniture by Panton, Eames, and Jacobsen.
INDONESIA Ayurvedic treatments at Christina Ong's new Como Shambhala Estate at Begawan Giri (62-361/978-888; www.cse.comoshambhala.bz; doubles from $495), hidden in the forests near Ubud, Bali.
EVERYWHERE Graceful and attentive service at almost every hotel in Asia. No, it's not a myth.
JAPAN A pre-dawn visit to Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market is as much a cultural as it is a culinary experience—an encapsulation of Japan's glorious obsession with seafood. Follow it up with breakfast at Daiwa Sushi (5-2-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku; 81-3/3547-6807; breakfast for two $60). • Osaka, Japan's lustiest, most food-centric city, lives for kuidaore—literally, "eating oneself bankrupt." Street snacks here—like fried octopus balls (takoyaki)—are among the most addictive in Asia. • Superchef Yoshihiro Murata's fabulous kaiseki dinners at Kikunoi in Kyoto (459 Shimo Kawaramachi, Yasaki Torii Mae, Higashiyama-ku; 81-75/561-0015; dinner for two $250).
CHINA Hairy crab (a.k.a. mitten crab) is a national obsession. Chinese gourmands pay up to $100 a pound for these palm-sized delicacies. • Crisp, succulent Peking duck at Beijing's Li Qun restaurant (11 Beixiangfeng, Zhengyi Rd.; 86-10/6705-5578; dinner for two $25). • The superb chile crab served at Hong Kong's Hee Kee Fried Crab Expert (392 Jaffe Rd., Wan Chai; 852/2893-7565; dinner for two $60), one of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's favorites. • Soup dumplings (dainty, delicate parcels filled with steaming-hot broth) from the street stalls on Xiangyang Road.
VIETNAM The beloved banh mi sandwich: a plush-yet-crispy baguette layered with pork sausage, pâté, ham, pickled carrots and radishes, dried fish flakes, and spicy chile sauce. • Cha ca, luscious morsels of turmeric-dusted whitefish fried in oil and served with fresh dill, basil, cilantro, and chile sauce.
LAOS Spicy Lao sausage (sai ua) at the Luang Prabang roadhouse Park Houay Mixay (75-76 Ban Xieng Mouane; 856-71/212-260; dinner for two $20).
CAMBODIA The traditional Khmer specialties (stir-fried frogs, dried snake) being revived at Siem Reap's new Meric restaurant (Hôtel de la Paix, Sivutha Blvd.; 855-63/966-000; dinner for two $50).
THAILAND A cooking class with Pitak Srichan, at the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai (Mae Rim-Samoeng Old Rd.; 66-53/298-181; all-day lessons $150 per person). • Banana blossom, chicken, and shrimp salad at Bangkok's Celadon (Sukhothai Hotel, 13/3 South Sathorn Rd.; 66-2/344-8888; dinner for two $70).
MALAYSIA A typical Malay breakfast of roti canai: flaky, buttery bread to dunk in a spicy chickpea or lentil curry.
SINGAPORE The unbelievable variety of food—oyster omelettes, fried Hokkien noodles, mutton-bone stew, steamed fish heads—at the city's hawker centers. See www.makansutra.com for a guide to the best.
EVERYWHERE Fruit from the wondrous groves and orchards of Southeast Asia. Especially ethereal mangosteens. And spiny rambutan. And luscious jackfruit, and dragon fruit, and lychee, andÂ…
JAPAN The Shinkansen (a.k.a. bullet) train. Why, oh why, can't we have an equivalent in North America? • Ginkaku-ji, our favorite of Kyoto's countless temples, especially the surrounding gardens of sculpted sand. • Tokyo's Asakusa Kannon shrine, founded in the seventh century, where worshippers can "bathe" in the healing smoke from incense sticks.
CHINA Paul Andreu's delightfully zany China National Grand Theater, a.k.a. the Alien Egg, which will open its doors in Beijing later this year. • The vast terra-cotta army—some 8,000 life-size clay soldiers, horses, and chariots—guarding the tomb of Emperor Shi Huang Ti'in Xi'an. • The Great Wall—it really is that impressive. (Skip the overrun Badaling and Mutianyu sections in favor of the unrestored portions of Simatai.) • The entire city of Shanghai, one dazzling architectural confection after another. • And, of course, the Hong Kong skyline, as seen across the water from Kowloon. Is there a more thrilling view in all of Asia?
VIETNAM Minh Mang, the most stirringly beautiful of the Royal Tombs in Hué, Vietnam's most historic city.
CAMBODIA The magnificent, unrestored Ta Prohm ruins at Angkor, overgrown with the gnarly roots of strangler figs and silk cotton trees.
THAILAND Wat Phra Keo and the Grand Palace complex in Bangkok. Nothing can prepare you for such an onslaught of riches.
SINGAPORE The Esplanade complex, called the Durian Building for its resemblance to the spiny-skinned fruit. Smells better, though.
INDONESIA On Java, Borobudur, the world's largest Buddhist stupa, every bit as evocative as Angkor; and the equally magnificent Hindu temple complex of Prambanan, erected in the ninth century. • The emerald-glowing rice paddy terraces carved into the hillsides of Bali's interior.
JAPAN Attending a Hanshin Tigers baseball game near Osaka, where the audience rivals Brazilian soccer fans and Bombay filmgoers in its sheer intensity and devotion: Tigers fans spend all nine innings going bonkers with organized chants, songs, and balloon-releases. • People-watching—or, wait, are those vampires?—in Tokyo's Harajuku, where the fashions are, in every stitch, as weird and wonderful as Gwen Stefani says they are. • Tokyo's excellent new Mori Art Museum in Roppongi Hills (81-3/5777-8600; www.moriartscenter.org), designed by Richard Gluckman.
CHINA The thriving 798 arts district in Beijing (4 Jiu Xian Qiao Rd.), a cluster of Bauhaus-style factory buildings, dating from the 1950's, that have been converted into artists' studios and experimental galleries. • The Shanghai Acrobatics Troupe (Shanghai Center Theatre, 1376 W. Nanjing Xi Rd.; 86-21/6279-8948). Touristy? Sure. Indescribably brilliant? That, too. • A nightcap at decadent Bar Rouge (18 Zhongshan Yi Rd.; 86-21/6339-1199), high above the Bund in Shanghai. • Hearing Chinese opera sung, not in a formal opera house but in its original folk settings: a tea house, a park, a village square. • An evening at Hong Kong's posh, arty, semiprivate Kee club (32 Wellington St., Central; 852/2810-9000; dinner for two from $130)—ask your concierge to finagle a reservation.
VIETNAM Art Vietnam Gallery (30 Hang Than St.; 84-4/927-2349; www.artvietnamgallery.com) showcases the leading edge of contemporary Vietnamese art. • The spontaneous nocturnal parade of young Vietnamese on motorbikes—think The Wild One times a thousand—that forms around Ho Chi Minh City's Lam Son Square on weekends.
LAOS Watching—no, gaping in amazement at—Lao kids playing takraw (a cross between soccer and volleyball, played with bare feet, a flimsy net, and a rattan ball).
CAMBODIA A tall, cool Angkor beer at "the F," Phnom Penh's Foreign Correspondents Club (363 Sisowath Quay; 855-23/724-014), an expat bar to beat them all. • The dazzling array of Khmer relics at the National Museum in Phnom Penh.
THAILAND Grab a seat at a Thai boxing match—we guarantee you'll be transfixed. • The garish yet strangely beautiful murals and decorative motifs that cover buses and trucks in Thailand—Technicolor fantasies that recall the Furthur bus but are actually believed to protect passengers from harm. • Club-crawling along Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok's nightlife nexus—from the still-hot Bed Supperclub (26 Sukhumvit Rd., Soi 11, Klongtoey; 66-2/651-3537) and legendary Q Bar (34 Sukhumvit Rd., Soi 11, Klongtoey; 66-2/252-3274) to louche newcomer Face Bar (29 Sukhumvit Rd., Soi 38, Klongtoey; 66-2/713-6048).
MALAYSIA At the annual Hindu festival of Thaipusam—which takes place in January or February, depending on the year—males demonstrate their faith by piercing themselves with hooks, then using them to drag heavy objects for miles outside the city to the Batu caves.
SINGAPORE The city's surprisingly vibrant and edgy (!) nightlife, at clubs such as Zouk (17 Jiak Kim St.; 65/6738-2988) and the newer Ministry of Sound (River Valley Rd., Clarke Quay; 65/6235-2292).
INDONESIA Attending a performance of Balinese Kecak (ask your concierge for recommendations; many hotels feature performances): large ensembles singing and chanting a capella, mimicking drums, gamelans, and, well, monkeys. Ersatz, yes, but powerful all the same. • Lounging over twilight cocktails at Ku De Ta (9 Laksmana St.; 62-361/736-969), a sleek, sexy beach club in trendy Seminyak, Bali, then staying to dance until 3 a.m.
JAPAN The world-class fashions at Roppongi Hills, Tokyo's hottest new shopping mall—including Yohji Yamamoto's flagship Y store (Bldg. C, Keyakizaka St.; 81-3/5413-3434), outfitted with revolving floors. • The food halls at Tokyo's Isetan Department Store (3-14-1 Shinjuku; 81-3/3352-1111), which outpace Harrod's in polish and presentation.
CHINA Contemporary ceramics at Spin, in Shanghai's French Concession (Bldg. 3, 758 Julu Rd.; 86-21/6279-2545). • Antique Tibetan and Shandong carpets at Torana House, with branches in Shanghai and Beijing (www.toranahouse.com). • Scandinavian-Chinese designs at Chang & Biörck in Beijing (Bldg. 3, Sun City, 18 Xinzhong St.; 86-10/8447-2735; www.changbiorck.com). • Beijing's vast, mind-boggling Panjiayuan market, with more than 2,000 vendors. • Han Feng's wildly provocative couture, sold at her boutique at Shanghai's Three on the Bund (3 Zhong Shan Dong Yi Rd.; 86-21/6472-7202; www.hanfeng.com).
VIETNAM Whimsical, flamboyant handbags at Ipa-Nima in Hanoi (34 Han Thuyen St., Hai Ba Trung; 84-4/933-4000; www.ipa-nima.com) for half the price you'd pay in London. • Bespoke clothing in Hoi An—dozens of tailors offer quick turnaround and reasonable prices. Try A-Dong Silk (40 Le Loi St.; 84-510/863-170; www.adongsilk.com) for faithful copies of Western styles. • Vietnamese ao dai (a woman's costume of tunic and flowing pants) reinvented by Minh Khoa (48 Nguyen Hue; 84-8/829-8934), Ho Chi Minh City's edgiest couturier.
LAOS Handwoven, natural-dyed textiles—especially the exquisite jewel-toned silks—at OckPopTok (73/5 Ban Vat Nong; 856-71/253-219; www.ockpoptok.com) in Luang Prabang.
THAILAND Celadon, lacquerware, and tabletop items at Living Space (276-278 Thapae Rd.; 66-53/874-299; www.livingspacedesigns.com), Chiang Mai's best-curated boutique. • The ingenious, inspired, and just plain nutty creations proferred by Propaganda (622 Sukhumvit Rd., Soi 24.; 66-2/691-6331; www.propagandaonline.com), a design store at Bangkok's Emporium shopping center. • "Contemporary ethnic" jewelry at Kit-Ti's in Bangkok (659 Baan Silom, Soi Silom 19; 66-1/821-1275; www.kittijewelry.com). • Almeta (20/3 Sukhumvit Rd., Soi 23; 66-2/204-1413; www.almeta.com), which rivals Jim Thompson as Bangkok's best silk shop.
INDONESIA Bali's best: vintage and new teak furniture at Warisan (68 Raya Kerobokan St., Kuta; 62-361/730-710; www.warisan.com) and stylish tableware at Jenggala (Uluwatu II St., Jimbaran; 62-361/703-311; www.jenggala-bali.com).
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