Cities and Towns in Asia

If you travel to Kathmandu, a visit to one of Nepal's ancient kingdoms, Bhaktapur, located 30-45 minutes from the capital, is worth a visit. Bhaktapur is on the World Heritage list, and no cars or buses are allowed inside the gated neighbourhood. There are beautiful ancient monuments, temples and snake pools, and if you move away from the touristy Durbar Square and stroll down the small winding streets, you will experience a completely different and amazing world. Here, you will find local people performing their daily chores, goats on porches, lots of small traders, beautifully decorated doors and fantastic colourful food markets.

When trekking in the Everest region in the Himalayas, a visit / overnight stay in the relatively large town of Namche Bazaar is almost mandatory. The city lies at an altitude of 3450 m, and there are some steep climbs up to it. The city attracts a large flow of tourists, meaning the need for transportation of goods is significant. This is done mainly by carriers, who carry up to 70 kg in big baskets on their backs. As a trekking tourist with a daypack of 7-9 kilos, you have therefore absolutely no reason to complain, but be thankful that you can get a cold, hard-freighted, beer when you reach the city. In Namche Bazaar, you can, among other things, buy lots of cheap trekking equipment, home-knitted socks, and super delicious pastries that can sweeten your trek just a bit.

A visit to Pyongyang is more a trip back in time than anything else. The broad streets are vacuumed of everything besides political manifests. The few shops that exist do not advertise, the bright blue traffic directors (strangely all makeup-wearing young females) look like something from a children's book, and all the women fancy haircuts from the 50s. Even the subway (which by the way is the deepest in the world, going 120 m underground) looks like a toy model. It is a wicked mix of drab Soviet-style buildings and grand monuments, which are all dedicated to their dear, dead, leader Kim Il-Sung and his son Kim Jong-Il. This fascinating city is built on ideology and fully cleansed from all capitalism - and where else on the planet do such places exist? Welcome to people's paradise!

Islamabad is one of those planned capitals, which was designed from scratch. Up until 1967 Karachi in the far south was the capital, but for various reasons they picked a new location. Islamabad is beautifully nested at the foot of Margala Hills and is known for its wide boulevards and green parks. Islamabad seems like a very livable and easy-going city, particularly for a capital. However, for the traveller it lacks the edge and charm of cities with a long history, like Lahore. The list of sights in Islamabad is fairly shot and contains; Pakistan Monument, Lok Virsa Heritage Museum, restored village of Saidpur, and Faisal Mosque (pictured).

Lahore is a surprisingly pleasant and interesting city, but the real charmer is the walled Old City. It's a place of narrow twisting alleys, skinny houses (some traditional havelis), colourful shops and elbow to elbow crowd - and of course low hanging power line spaghetti. As elsewhere in Pakistan, people are super friendly and easy-going, and the only hassle would be the many invitations for tea. The major sights are the two mosques Badshahi and Wazir Khan, and Lahore Fort (which is an UNESCO World Heritage site), but the true experience is to just wander aimlessly around.

Skardu lies at around 2,500 m at the merge of Indus and Shigar rivers. Though it's the district capital, it has a small town feel. There is a polo field, which is a crowd-puller if there is any action. Of other sights there are the new mosque and the viewpoint. But most visitors use Skardu as a base to reach the mountains, deserts and valleys further out.
Surprisingly, Skardu has an airport.

It's not just the many stunning beaches, which has made El Nido the gem of Palawan. It's the stepping-stone to explore the even more stunning Bacuit Archipelago. However, ramshackle El Nido is no longer a hidden secret and the simple bamboo bungalows are getting replaced with proper hotels. But the beaches and the islands are as stunning, as they have always been.

Sabang is where the underground river is, however most visitors just come here on a day tour from Puerto Princesa or even from El Nido. But Sabang is a destination of its own with a long palm-fringed beach with a variaty of accmmodation. There is a waterfall flowing straight into the sea, a short hike away, and more activities are on offer. During the day, it can be a hectic place with endless rows of minibuses, but it's lovely tranquil in the morning and evening.

If you come directly from India, you will find Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, refreshingly small, orderly and friendly. For others, Colombo can seem dirty, worn-down and confusing - but still friendly. The city is spread out over 15 zones, each with their own characteristics, but without an actual centre. Grand colonial buildings stand among empty lots and fenced off drab residential houses. The few shiny modern office buildings often look misplaced in the sea of concrete and corrugated iron, and no street is too exclusive for wandering sacred cows. When seeing the ocean down at Galle Face, you ask yourself why this perfect sea side location isn't more embraced. But this just means you need to work a bit harder to appreciate what Colombo has to offer. The best way to explore the city is probably randomly. Let fate (or a mad rickshaw driver) take you through parts of the city you otherwise would have missed if you had focused on the few sights the city holds.

Galle, which is pronounced "Gawl", is an old trading town 120 km south of Colombo. Its history goes way back, but the boom time was under the Dutch colonial period in the 17th and 18th century. Built on an island stands the impressive Galle Fort. It was built by the Dutch in the 17th century upon an old Portuguese fortress. The fort is actually a walled city with narrow streets, beautiful restored houses, churches, temples and even a mosque for the later arrived Muslim traders. The iconic lighthouse is a bit newer, namely from the British colonial time in early 20th century. Though Galle Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is still inhabited by ordinary people, probably some with colonial ancestors, and some of the beautiful houses have been turned into classy boutique hotels, swanky cafes and art shops for the few tourists. The wide encircling wall is a favourite place for snogging among young couples.