1. Summary 2. Highlights 3. Culture 4. Getting In 5. Geography 6. Health 7. Communications

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edit Asia Travel Guide

Asia is almost too massive and diverse to conceptualize as a digestable travel destination. Even defining the borders of this continent is difficult - from the mountains around the Black Sea in the west, to the snow fields of Siberia in the east, there are more people and cities in Asia than outside of it. Travel options range wildly, from the desert ruins of western Asia to the magnificient monuments in South Asia, and from the beach bungalows and jungle treks of South-East Asia to the megacities and technology capitals of East Asia.

edit Highlights

Angkor Wat. The 'Lost City' is the most important archaeological site in Cambodia and one of the most amazing preservations of ancient temples in the world.
Mount Everest
Ride the Trans-Siberian Express across the continent.
Walk the Great Wall of China

edit Culture

Central Asia

East Asia

East Asia's major languages are not mutually intelligible. Written Chinese characters can be puzzled out by Japanese and Koreans as well, although even these have wide differences from country to country - the characters %u624B%u7D19, "letter" to the Japanese, would mean "toilet paper" in China! The languages tend to break down into two (or three) groups: Sino-Tibetan (including the dialects of China and Taiwan), Inner-Altaic (including Korean and Mongol) and Japanese although linguists still debate whether or not to include Japanese in the Inner-Altaic language group. In all, English remains a traveller's most useful language overall, although for longer stays in any East Asian country picking up at least some of the local language is essential. When looking for English speakers, tourist areas tend to be a good bet and in general younger people or those around universities are most likely to speak at least some English. That being said, there are many areas where no English is spoken so patience and a good phrasebook are always a safe bet.

South-East Asia

Southeast Asia's major languages are not mutually intelligible. English is a traveller's most useful language overall, although for longer stays in any Southeast Asian country (except maybe Singapore) picking up at least some of the local language is essential.

Food

Asian food has a good reputation and deserves it:

Thailand has some great culinary specialities. The combination of spicey and fresh makes the Thai cuisine a treat for travelers, check the Thailand section for more info.

Chinese cooking can be found everywhere in the world - but the best place to get it is of course China itself. A trip to China will help you distinguish between the kitchen of Beijing (hot), Guangzhou a.k.a Cantonese, (very hot) and Sichuan Province (extremely hot).

Japan offers sushi (raw fish), tepanyaki (cook prepares food on your table) and many more exquisite things you will not find anywhere else. Have a cup of Sake with it, and you are sure to enjoy yourself.

The Indonesian cuisine is great and mostly quite cheap. You can order a rice table with 20 different plates for less than 10 dollar almost anywhere in Indonesia. Vegetarians will find the Indonesian kitchen quite a treat as well.

edit Getting In

Central Asia

By Plane

The hub for the region is Tashkent, Uzbekistan, which has the most flights to destinations outside Central Asia. Unfortunately, it also has a reputation for being unpleasant, and it is best to avoid flights which arrive here late at night.

There are also increasingly good options for flights to Almaty, Kazakhstan. You can fly here directly from London, Frankfurt, Beijing, Seoul, Moscow and various others.

Most Afghans and Pakistanis travel by air to Islamabad or Lahore and go by road to their final destinations.

Other Central Asia cities generally involve a change in one of these hubs, but British Mediterranean link Bishkek with London.

Overland

From Russia: Trains going to Central Asia leave from Moscow Kazansky station. Trains go to Tashkent (56 hours/US$80), Almaty (78 hours/US$120), Bishkek (75 hours/US$70), Samarkand (85 hours/US$100), and others.
From China: There is a line from Urumqi, China to Almaty, but the bus is quicker. An interesting option is the challenging crossing from Kashgar, China to Kyrgyzstan through the Torugart Pass. This was a major link on the old Silk Road.
From Iran: The border is closed to foreigners, but there are buses running between Mashhad and Ashghabat, Turkmenistan.
From Pakistan: Travelling to different areas of Pakistan is quite easy by train, bus or taxi. The route from there into Afghanistan via the Khyber Pass is not currently safe. The Karakoram Highway North into China is challenging but possible. It gets you to Kashgar; from there routes to Central Asia are either difficult (West to Bishkek) or long (swing North to Urumqi and then Almaty).

By boat

There is an irregular service between Baku, Azerbaijan and Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan.

East Asia

The main international gateways to East Asia are Tokyo (Japan), Hong Kong (China) and Seoul (South Korea). Transferring through mainland China, though increasingly an option in terms of flights, is painful and time-consuming (you may also require visas) and best avoided. If arriving from Europe, transiting via Bangkok or Singapore in South-East Asia may prove cheaper than a direct flight.

South-East Asia

Southeast Asia's touristy countries (Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand) do not require visas from most visitors, but the rest do. However, Cambodia, Laos and Indonesia offer visas on arrival at most points of entry, which minimizes the hassle involved. Vietnam and Myanmar require advance paperwork for almost everybody. Talk of unified ASEAN visas allowing entry into multiple countries remains just talk.

By plane

The main international gateways to Southeast Asia are Bangkok (Thailand) and Singapore, with Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) a distant third. Hong Kong also makes a good springboard into the region, with many low-cost carriers flying into Southeast Asian destinations.

By train

The only place in Southeast Asia reachable by train is Vietnam, which has rail connections with China and consequently also Russia and even Europe. Alas, Cambodia's network was badly hit by the civil war and it is not currently possible to transit all the way through Cambodia to Thailand by rail.

South Asia

By plane

Many flights from the west coast of North America arrive via Singapore and Bangkok, while flights orginating on the east coast usually have a stopover somewhere in Europe depending on the airline. The number direct flights between India and U.S/U.K is increasing.

edit Geography

Asia's (and the world's for that matter) highest point is Nepal's and China's Mount Everest, which rises to 8,848 m (29,028 feet) above sea level. Its lowest point is Israel's and Jordan's Dead Sea, whose surface is 400 m (1,312 feet) below sea level. Asia's longest river is the Yangtze, which runs 6,300 km (3,915 miles) through China. Its largest lake is the 386,400 sq km (149,200 square mile) Caspian Sea, which is surrounded by several central Asian nations. Asia is bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the east, by Australia to the southeast, and by the Indian Ocean to the south. It is bounded by the Red Sea to the southwest, by Europe to the west, and by the Arctic Ocean to the north.

edit Health

Monosodium glutamate is used commonly in Asian restaurants, although little of the hype about the supposed dangers of this chemical %u2014 which occurs naturally in food ranging from cheese to anchovies %u2014 is backed by research.

Safety in Asia can vary wildly, but in general, it is a safe place. Non-violent crime can be a problem in some areas. Refer to specific pages and your State Department/Foreign Affairs Office/embassies for more information.

edit Communications

Depending on where you are in Asia communicating back home varies from easy to impossible, as a general rule of thumb the more urban the area is the more likely you find quality Internet connections.