1. Hoi An, Central Vietnam
Image © Mike Aquino, licensed to About.com
Hoi An is an ancient riverside trading town in Central Vietnam. In the 16th century, Hoi An was one of Vietnam's busiest trading centers. Chinese merchants settled here to do business with European and Asian traders… until the Thu Bon river silted up, and trade shifted further downstream.
Today the descendants of those Chinese merchants maintain Hoi An's narrow streets and distinctive row houses. The streets are now filled with lamp shops, tailors, and travel agencies, selling new products but preserving the enterprising spirit of old.
2. My Son Holy Land, Vietnam
Image © Mike Aquino, licensed to About.com
My Son is a complex of religious temples in Central Vietnam, built by the Champa dynasty between the 4th and the 12th centuries. Centuries of neglect - and two devastating 20th-century wars - have left little more than stumps and rubble, but some relatively well-preserved temples remain, giving visitors a glimpse of the Hindu empire that ruled central Vietnam until they were swept aside by the Dai Viet kings.
3. Luang Prabang, Laos
Image © Nick Hubbard / Creative Commons
Laos can be distilled down to its essence in the buildings and traditions surrounding Luang Prabang. Once the capital of the Lan Xang Kingdom that ruled Laos, Luang Prabang sits at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers, enticing visitors with its 33 wats, barely-maintained French colonial buildings, and breathtaking natural sights. In 1995, Luang Prabang was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
4. Intramuros, Philippines
Image © Marlon Santiago / Creative Commons
Intramuros was Manila, for the thousands of Spanish colonists, their families, and their servants - for over 400 years, this walled city guarded the mouth of the Pasig River and served as the seat of the Spanish presence in the Philippines.
The walled city was flattened by American bombers in World War II; only San Agustin Cathedral was left standing by the end of the war. (San Agustin Church was later declared an UNESCO World Heritage Site, together with a number of other Baroque Churches in the Philippines.) A major (and ongoing) restoration effort has brought back much of what was lost.
5. Hue Citadel, Vietnam
Image © Mike Aquino, licensed to About.com
Hue was the capital of Vietnam throughout the 19th and early 20th century. The Nguyen emperors ruled from the Hue citadel palace complex, a sprawling complex with high stone walls surrounding a series of refined palaces and temples. The Nguyens ruled (in fact, and later as figureheads) until 1945 - the year the last Nguyen emperor Bao Dai turned over the reins of government to the revolutionary government of Ho Chi Minh.
6. Borobudur, Indonesia
Image © Mike Aquino, licensed to About.com
Borobudur is a Buddhist monument in Central Java that stands on a stupendous scale - a Mandala-shaped structure that immortalizes Buddhist cosmology in stone. Visitors climb a series of platforms united by a circling pathway that takes them through three levels of Buddhist cosmology. Visitors walking the pathway see 2,672 well-preserved relief panels that tell stories from the Buddha's life and parables from Buddhist texts.
7. Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Image © Gerry Van der Linden, used with permission.
Angkor Wat was built between 1130 and 1150 AD by King Suryavarman II, and consists of an enormous temple pyramid covering a sprawling area measuring 4,250 by 5,000 feet, surrounded by a moat over 600 feet wide.
The size is intended to be nothing less than a symbol of the universe as the Hindu Khmer understood it: the moat stands for the oceans around the earth; the concentric galleries represent the mountain ranges surrounding the divine Mount Meru, the Hindu home of the gods, which is itself embodied by the five central towers. The walls are covered with carvings depicting the god Vishnu (to whom Angkor was principally dedicated), as well as other scenes from Hindu mythology.
8. Candi Prambanan, Indonesia
Image © Mike Aquino, licensed to About.com
Candi Prambanan is a 224-temple complex in Central Java dominated by three lofty spires representing the trimurti (trinity) of the Hindu religion. The tallest spire rises more than 150 feet high over the surrounding countryside.
Prambanan was built in 856 CE by a Hindu prince who had married into the ruling Buddhist Sailendra monarchy. After centuries of neglect, the authorities restored Prambanan only to see it toppled by a major earthquake in 2006. Restoration efforts are ongoing.
9. Melaka, Malaysia
Image by Rudolph Furtado, released into public domain.
Melaka is called "the Historic City" by Malaysians. Its strategic location, sitting right in the eponymous Straits of Malacca, made it a tempting target for Chinese, Dutch, English, and Japanese conquerors, each of whom left an indelible imprint on the city and its people.
The Dutch left a particularly impressive imprint on Melaka, with many fine buildings that stand to this day - foremost among these are the Stadthuys, a salmon pink town hall, and Christ Church, a Dutch Reformed Church that was taken over by the British and converted into an Anglican place of worship.
10. Vigan, Philippines
Image © Gerry Van der Linden, used with permission.
Vigan is a well-preserved old town in the north of the Philippines, with houses constructed in the old Spanish colonial style. Rich Chinese traders built the old houses along Vigan's Calle Crisologo - these are robust stone, clay and wood houses built to resist earthquakes and stay cool in the tropical sun.
Other notable landmarks in Vigan include St. Paul’s Cathedral, a 200-year-old baroque church, and the Palacio de Arzobispado, a cleric's residence and museum.
