|
The Best of Asia
Mar 19 2007 12 Destinations that Make the Continent What it is...They are the places that cry Asia! And if you want to be able to say that you've seen Asia (as opposed to being able to say that you've seen Thailand or India), you simply have to visit these places. None of them are perfect. Some of them are not all that great if you're looking for a pampered resort vacation. But these are the locations that personify the continent...
1. Guangzhou, China. At a point in time when Hong Kong was still an unnoticed piece of rock, ships came to this port not far away on China's Pearl River to trade. They brought the outside world to China and took some of China (silk, for example) back with them. Back, not to Lisbon, Amsterdam, or London, but to Bombay and Karachi, to Shiraz and Baghdad, to Damascus, Cairo, and Mekkah. To the British it was Canton. The city is over 2200 year old. It is littered with temples and pagodas - and with old markets and new shopping malls. If Shanghai is the Whore of the East, this is where she bought her dress...
2. Goa, India. The mingling of cultures on the warm coast of the Arabian Sea makes this former Portuguese colony truly exotic. Of the 75 miles of coast line in the Indian State of Goa, over 50 miles of it is beach. Inviting, near-tropical beach. And while the rest of Goa - its culture, food, inland scenery, and cities - are all well worth visiting, Goa's beaches alone make the place worth visiting.
Colva Beach, with 12 miles of powder fine white sand, is Goa's longest beach. Calangute Beach offers a Saturday bazaar nearby with plenty of good bargains for shoppers. There is also a Tibetan market in Calangute and Kashmiri merchants frequent the area with carpets, embroidery, and more. But Dona Paula is my favorite: it is the beach where the ghost of a Dona Paula is said to walk unclothed except for her string of pearls in the waves where she drowned herself after her Portuguese father refused to allow her to marry her Indian lover...
3. Suzhou, China. Perhaps the most beautiful place in China, and rich in history. Suzhou (pronounced "SUE-joe") is the seat of China's Wu culture; Wu is a dialect spoken by over 80 million people (making the Wu community about the same size as modern Germany). The city could remind a Westerner of Venice. Canals and street are interlaced. About 60% of Suzhou County is under water. Marco Polo visited the city while he was in China.
4. Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It has become famous in recent years for its seven star hotel, perfect beaches, and relaxed atmosphere. The annual shopping festival draws literally millions of visitors into the tiny sheikdom to roam the air conditioned duty free malls and stomp through the dust at suoqs - traditional Arab markets that smell like the dawn of time. Words don't do Dubai justice, but pictures can help... |
|
| 