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Only Online: More of What to See, Do, Buy, and Generally Not Miss

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For more up-to-the-minute, savvy and sassy advice on shopping (as well as restaurants, hotels, nightlife, art, and culture), pick up one of the 12 Asia titles published by Luxe City Guides (luxecityguides.com).

NATURAL WONDERS

JAPAN The unfathomably beautiful landscape gardens at Kenrokuen, in historic Kanazawa. • Shiretoko National Park, in Hokkaido, a hiker’s paradise of pristine forests, lakes, rivers, and hot springs.

CHINA Majestic cliff scenery in the Three Gorges region, which may not be accessible or even here much longer. • The uncannily beautiful karst landscape along the Li River, a Chinese scroll painting come to life. For guided river journeys, contact the excellent outfitter Imperial Tours (imperialtours.net), with offices in Beijing (86-10/8440-7162) and the United States. (888/888-1970).

VIETNAM Hoan Kiem Lake, in Hanoi, perhaps the prettiest urban lake in Asia—especially in the mornings, when mist hangs over the water and Hanoians gather on the shore to play badminton or practice tai chi. • The blinding white sands of Lang Co Beach, north of Danang. Best way to see this and other highlights of coastal Vietnam: by bicycle with Butterfield & Robinson (butterfield.com), whose indefatigable guides know the region as well as anyone.

LAOS A hazy sunset reflecting off the broad waters of the Mekong from the riverbanks in Luang Prabang.

SINGAPORE Jurong BirdPark: The park’s 9,000 birds, representing 600 species, just minutes from the center of town.

MALAYSIA The cool, fresh air and spellbinding jungle vistas of the Cameron Highlands, where tea plantations and quaint old resorts still recall the region’s colonial heyday.

EVERYWHERE Frangipani trees. Flame trees. Tamarind trees. Banyan trees. Good Lord, the trees.

GREAT ADVENTURES

JAPAN Everyone climbs Mount Fuji, jamming the trails from dawn to dusk. Instead, hike up nearby Mount Tenjo, which provides glorious views of Fuji and the surrounding lakes.

CHINA Explore the small fishing towns and mountain slopes of Lamma Island, just a short boat-ride from Hong Kong, but a world away in scenery and pace. • Watch trained cormorants dive for fish along the Li River (at night, when it’s usually done, by lantern light).

THAILAND Visit the Thai Elephant Conservation Center (Km 28, Lampang–Chiang Mai Hwy.; changthai.com) in Lampang, which rehabilitates stray pachyderms rescued from the streets of Bangkok. • Kayak island-to-island on Phang Nga Bay—the only way to access the hidden caves formed in the craggy limestone. Try the original and best outfitter, John Gray’s Sea Canoe (124/1, Yaowaraj Rd., Phuket; 66-76/254-505). • See Bangkok by bicycle—tours are offered by Real Asia (realasia.net)—taking in villages and klongs (canals) rarely seen by visitors, from paths just wide enough for two wheels.

MALAYSIA Snorkel and dive in the limpid waters around the magnificent Perhentian islands, off the peninsula’s eastern coast.

INDONESIA Climb Gunung Batur, a still active volcano at the heart of Bali. Then go white-water rafting in Bali’s spectacular Ayung gorge.

ONLY IN ASIA

17 of our favorite quirks and customs

• Japan’s insanely advanced mobile phones—rolling out Stateside in, oh, 2017.
• The bright, gaudy devotional altars that festoon taxi dashboards throughout Southeast Asia.
• Plastic replicas of every conceivable food or dish in Japanese restaurant windows. Collect all 9,400!
• Curbside barber stalls.
• Sidewalk ear-cleaning stands.
• Families—two adults, up to five children—piled like circus clowns on a single puny motorbike.
• The pervasive smell of barbecue on the streets of Southeast Asia.
• The stubborn, strangely comforting ritual of exchanging business cards, always (always!) using both hands.
• Singapore’s enviably pleasant Changi Airport, complete with tropical gardens and an A&W root beer stand (?!?). Not to mention Singapore Airlines.
• Crossing the street in Saigon or Hanoi. Like fording a river but even more fun.
• Singlish, a Singaporean pidgin of English, Chinese, and Malay incomprehensible to foreigners but widely used among locals, to the chagrin of the government (which has launched the Speak Good English Movement to discourage it).
• The curious, seemingly infinite assortment of animal-based medicinal remedies—deer-antler extract, cobra blood—proffered around Asia.
• Construction scaffolding, fashioned entirely from bamboo, on high-rise office towers.
• The thousand—yes, thousand—variations on the simple theme of rice, from whiskey to dessert.
• The Vietnamese bia hoi, a sidewalk stand with minuscule stools better suited to a dollhouse, serving draft beer from plastic jugs.
• Random, nonsensical English phrases emblazoned across women’s clothing in Japan, usually in frilly script. My favorite, from years ago: “Fine mellow and ripens good wine, and as such, girls eternal longing for pretty have produced clothes.” O-kay...
• Thai massage at Wat Pho temple, in the heart of Bangkok. The best $6 you’ll ever spend.

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