Asia Travel Stories

May 14, 2012 • 4 min read

Some places stay persistently off the beaten track, despite their many charms. Here’s a sampling of places overlooked because of geography, chance and the…

May 10, 2012 • 6 min read

Can you believe your eyes? When it comes to these head-twisters, chances are you can't. Come around the globe with us on a tour of 'Did you just see what…

Apr 29, 2012 • 6 min read

The hordes come to these places for a reason. Don't hate them just because they're popular or you'll miss out! This excerpt from Lonely Planet's 1000…

Apr 4, 2012 • 2 min read

This column originally appeared in Lonely Planet Magazine India whose chief consultant photographer Dhaval Dhairyawan reveals his top five photogenic…

Mar 23, 2012 • 3 min read

Ever imagined yourself riding horseback across the Eurasian steppe or haggling for carpets in an Uzbek bazaar? Silk Road romantics with a penchant for…

Mar 15, 2012 • 3 min read

At the end of a long day, a hot sento public bath can wash away your troubles, and that’s a pleasure worth sharing. Sento are a fading tradition but still…

Mar 14, 2012 • 6 min read

Tokyo is blessed with one of the world's most efficient public transportation systems. It's a city of 'paper drivers' - those who have licences but haven…

Jan 18, 2012 • 3 min read

With eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, epic valleys and rivers with personalities that run from gentle to ferocious, Nepal is one of the most…

Jan 16, 2012 • 5 min read

Everyone needs to indulge their vices every now and then. In this extract from Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2012, we bring you some of travel's…

Oct 26, 2011 • 2 min read

City trips aren't just for business travellers and adults looking for a grown-up good time, in fact in many ways cities can be ideal destinations for…

Aug 22, 2011 • 4 min read

Sometimes the really good travel stories are the ones where you feel a smidge of fear. Perhaps it’s because we all love scary stories, drawn from those…

Aug 10, 2011 • 1 min read

Thailand is one of the world's most popular holiday destinations, and with good reason - there's so much to do and the landscape is so varied that no…

Jun 27, 2011 • 5 min read

We've all got our own motivations for traveling, so why not the 7 deadly sins? Here are our pick of the places that epitomize them the most, and a few…

Jun 2, 2011 • 5 min read

While Indonesia’s volcanoes are often noted for the beauty of their spectacular peaks, steaming craters and view of the earth’s bubbling core, Mount…

Feb 22, 2011 • 5 min read

Valued throughout Asia for its beauty and elegance, jade is an especially desired keepsake for visitors to Taipei, which has hundreds of stores…

Dec 10, 2010 • 6 min read

Punctuate this year with meaningful experiences. Choose from options that girdle the globe - from cricket bats and birthday parties to sobering memorials…

Nov 11, 2010 • 4 min read

Markets are often the lifeblood of Indian communities, but in remote Chhattisgarh, where tribes people only recently adopted money for use as exchange,…

Aug 13, 2010 • 4 min read

Hong Kong is a city where high finance meets high fashion, and mega deals are closed in soaring skyscrapers. But if you look beyond the glass and steel,…

Jul 22, 2010 • 4 min read

It’s all very well spending much of your business trip cooped up in an air-conditioned office, with only the view from the 34th floor window to remind you…

Jul 13, 2010 • 4 min read

Hot water percolates up out of the ground from one end of Japan to the other. The Japanese word for a hot spring is onsen, and there are more than 3000 of…

Jun 30, 2010 • 3 min read

While in Donegal, Ireland a few years back, my friends and I heard from locals about some impressive cliffs near the fishing port of Killybegs going by…

Jun 15, 2010 • 6 min read

In this excerpt from Lonely Planet's 1000 Ultimate Experiences, we take you to the big-city districts you might not have heard of yet, but they're the…