Asia attractions

Ancol Ocean Dream Samudra, an “edutainment” theme park, centers on dolphins but is home to creatures including sea lions and penguins. In addition to animal and stunt shows, the park has a 4D cinema and an underwater theater with shows featuring dolphins and divers. Children will enjoy the small selection of rides and the bird park.

Tailored specifically to families, Thomas Town can be a fun-filled way to spend a day in Puteri Harbour—whether or not your kids are familiar with the park’s namesake Thomas the Tank Engine. Here you’ll find themed rides suitable for young children, such as Bertie the Bus, Harold’s Helitours, and the Colin Crane Drop, while daily live shows feature characters such as Bob the Builder, Barney the Dinosaur, and Pingu.

Located just outside of Kota Kinabalu city center, the Kota Kinabalu Wetland Centre is a naturally-occurring mangrove forest that provides some of the best bird watching opportunities in urban Sabah. The wetland is fed by both salt and fresh waters, which allows more than 80 species of resident and migratory birds to coexist within its diverse boundaries.

Nestled in South Korea’s Taebaeksan Mountain range, Phoenix Pyeongchang Snow Park draws visitors from around the world with its powdery slopes and enchanting winter wonderland landscapes. Whether you're an avid skier, a first-time snowboarder, or simply a person seeking snowy adventures on your wintertime vacation, it’s the place to be.

An amusement park in Japan’s Aichi Prefecture, Laguna Ten Bosch (also called Lagunasia) has plenty of attractions to keep kids and adults happy. Come for the day or stay overnight at the on-site hotel and enjoy the park’s indoor and outdoor rides, water rides, shows, nighttime illumination, fireworks displays, and even a spa.

Part of the Happy Valley franchise of theme parks, Happy Valley Chengdu is the largest amusement park in western China. Located in the Jinniu District, the park features a variety of rides such as roller coasters, tilt-a-whirls, bumper cars, and water rides, as well as magic shows, concerts, and other performances.

Beat the heat and humidity, and escape to a winter wonderland at Snow City Singapore, the only indoor snow park in the country. Featuring a 12,917-square-foot (1,200-square-meter) snow chamber maintained at a chilly 23˚F (-5˚C), Snow City gives you the rare opportunity to play in the snow while vacationing in the tropics.

Located in the Hoan Kiem district of Hanoi, the Vietnam Museum of Revolution contains over 40,000 exhibits across 30 galleries covering the country’s history of conflict and revolution from the French colonial occupation in the 19th century onwards, and forms part of the Vietnam National Museum.

Just outside Yogyakarta, the Imogiri Kings Cemetery (Pajimatan Girirejo Imogiri) is the final resting place of the rulers of the Muslim kingdoms of Mataram, Yogyakarta, and Surakarta. Also called the Imogiri Royal Cemetery, the 17th-century site is well worth the effort involved in visiting—including dressing up in Javanese court costume.

Delhi can get very hot in the summer and monsoon months, and the Just Chill Water Park is an ideal place for the whole family to, well, chill. The water park includes slides, fountains, a wave pool, and more. There’s also a dry-land amusement park and an edutainment park for visitors who can’t swim or don’t want to get wet.

Built in 1904 as part of the Dusit Palace Park complex, the Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall originally hosted state occasions under Chulalongkorn (also known as King Rama V). In 1993, the royal family reopened the restored hall as a handicraft museum sponsored by the Support Foundation. Please note: Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall and the larger Dusit Palace Park are closed for construction. The reopening date has not been announced.

Located on Ersha Island in Guangzhou, the Guangdong Museum of Art (GDMoA) is a major cultural institution. In addition to a permanent collection that showcases modern and contemporary fine art, primarily in the form of paintings, sculptures, and ceramics, the museum also hosts over 60 special exhibitions and shows a year.

One of Sumba’s most mesmerizing sights, Waikuri Lagoon (Weekuri Lake) is a postcard-perfect spot, thanks to sparkling, gin-clear waters that are shallow enough to swim, rugged rocks, and tropical greenery. At the western end of the lagoon, Indian Ocean waves pound low cliffs. The waters mix salt from the ocean with fresh water from hidden springs.

Head to the “Green Lung” of Nanning, Mt. Qingxiu, a popular summer resort for centuries, and explore the Longxiang Pagoda, man-made pools, Three Gods Temple, the botanical garden, and Nanning’s only 18-hole golf course. The mountain range itself has 18 peaks, with a pagoda sitting on top of one of them. This is a lovely spot to spend a few hours.

There’s nothing quite like fresh, authentic Vietnamese food. Imagine being able to bring recipes and techniques home with you—that’s what you can do with a hands-on class at Hoi An’s Green Bamboo Cooking School. And it’s not just any cooking class: You’ll visit a market just like the locals to procure ingredients for your chosen dish.

Nagwon Instrument Arcade offers some of the best retail therapy opportunities for music lovers in the South Korean capital. This collection of some 300 tiny shops spread across two floors of the building sells a dazzling array of musical instruments and equipment, while the fourth floor houses a cinema for independent and specialty films.

A short walk from central Banyuwangi, Boom Beach (Pantai Boom) is a fun, family-friendly attraction in this port town. While the sand and sea aren’t as enticing as Bali, just across the Bali Strait, the food stalls and funfair rides make this an entertaining place to check out if you have time to kill in Banyuwangi.

The aptly named Magic Eye 3D Museum in Hat Yai isn’t your ordinary museum. The halls of this whimsical attraction are painted floor to ceiling with more than 100 scenes and murals that create a 3D illusion, especially when captured through the lens of a camera; visitors are meant to step inside and become part of the paintings.

Learn about the history and development of Hong Kong, from 400 million years ago to the 1997 handover, at the Hong Kong Museum of History. Featuring eight galleries, numerous exhibits, artifacts, life-size dioramas, and multimedia displays, the museum covers the territory’s natural, archaeological, ethnographic, cultural, and local history.

Bikaner's Bhandasar Jain Temple is among the key attractions in the city, drawing in tourists and pilgrims alike. It was built in the 15th century over the course of about 50 years, and features beautifully carved interiors adorned with intricate mirror work and paintings, many in the Rajasthani miniature style.

This theater inside the Marina Bay Sands, one of Singapore’s most iconic and luxurious hotels, can seat 2,155 people on three separate levels, all with excellent views of the stage. The rotating schedule of events at the Sands Theatre includes some of the world’s most popular productions and musicals.

Go back in time about 6,000 years, and along the banks of the Han River where Seoul now sits, you’d find a small nomadic settlement where the earliest residents lived. Amsa-dong Prehistoric Settlement Site, the largest Neolithic settlement in Korea, gives visitors a glimpse into what life was like on the Peninsula up to about 1,000 BC.

Reigning supreme over the city of Cebu, Mt. Kan-Irag, otherwise known as Sirao Peak, stands at an imposing 2,300 feet (700 meters). And while views from the top of the monolith are unrivaled, hikers can reach the summit in just 30 minutes via an undemanding trail that begins in the mountain village of Busay.

In a city of ever-increasing skyscrapers and highways, the Banglamphu area of Bangkok suggests what the city used to look like. Also known as Old Bangkok, Banglamphu is a mixture of budget backpacker digs and temples, nightclubs and wet markets. Don’t skip Banglamphu while in Bangkok.

The 28-mile (47-kilometer) Aso Milk Road follows the northern edge of the Aso Caldera, a large volcanic depression in the middle of Kyushu. It’s a very scenic route, with mountains and grasslands to admire. You can drive it in one go or stop at strategically located parking lots along the way to take in the views.

A truly global outdoor gallery, the Changchun World Sculpture Park features hundreds of carvings from a myriad of countries and cultures, including Inuit, Māori, and Maya pieces, set amid parkland around a lake. Four separate museums feature East African Makonde wood carvings, works by Chinese sculptor Wei Xiaoming, and art from calligraphy to installations.

Measuring 112 feet (34 meters) tall, the Adiyogi Shiva Statue on the outskirts of Coimbatore is, according to Guinness World Records, the largest bust sculpture in the world. It was designed and commissioned by Sadhguru, a famous spiritual leader who heads up the Isha Foundation.

With a roof terrace, courtyard café, air-conditioned dining room, and culinary studio, the Hanoi Cooking Centre (HCC) is an ever-popular venue for discovering the joys of Vietnamese food. Established by Australian chef and food writer Tracey Lister in 2009, it offers cooking classes for kids and adults, market tours, and street-food tours.

Hakkoda Ropeway is a year-round attraction that transports visitors to ski slopes and mountain hiking trails atop Mt. Hakkoda. The ski season lasts a long time in this northern part of Honshu, while short and longer hiking trails provide lovely mountain views from the top of the ropeway throughout summer. Indoor and outdoor viewing decks provide season-appropriate lookouts.

As one of the oldest and best-known temples in Bikaner, the 16th-century Shri Laxminath Temple gets its fair share of visitors. Pilgrims come to seek the blessing of Lord Visnu and the Goddess Laxmi who preside over the marble complex.