Relaxing places in Asia
Another popular beach in Okinawa. It's located right after the bridge from Yagaji Island, which offers tremendous views over both islands (and Kouri Beach). The beach has the usual setup with an enclosed supervised swimming area, but for the bad asses, you can cross the road and swim unguarded at a smaller beach. No matter which side you choose, the water is same tempting shades of turquoise. There are parking, icecream shops and cafees on the opposite side of the road.
A lot of things are going at Mibaru Beach. Small fishing boats are pulled onto land, glass bottom boat tours are taking off, and kite surfers are gliding over the calm water within the outer reef. The beach is a bit rough with lots of broken corals, and there are no lifeguards to tell you where to swim (some will appreciate this freedom). Out in the water at the far right end stand some photogenic outcrops of limestone, which also can provide some shade (much needed during summer).
It comes as a surprise to many that Sarawak doesn't have an abundance of tropical sandy beaches with clear blue water. Long stretches of Sarawak's coastline are covered in jungle, swamp, mangrove or rocks. However, patches of white sand do exist. In the western end of Sarawak, near Lundu, are several nice beaches where Pandan Beach is one among others. It's a long palm-lined beach with rocky outcrops at the ends. Keep in mind that it's a two-hour drive from Kuching, making it not the obvious choice for a day in the sun as there are beaches closer by, like on Damai Peninsula.
The Petronas Twin Towers are the icon of Kuala Lumpur. To fully appreciate the grand scale of this set of illuminated rockets, you need to view them from a distance, and no place is better than the Sky Bar from (almost) the top of Traders hotel on the 33rd floor. This super chic bar slash spa offers amazing views of the Twin Towers along with the rest of the skyline of Kuala Lumpur and, of course, a swimming pool to have an excuse to wear bathers while drinking a Martini.
Take a beautiful drive to the northern district of Kudat. 3 1/2 hours from Kota Kinabalu, Kudat sits face north towards the Phillipines. The coastline, filled with coconut palm plantations (yes, different from palm oil), has beautiful one-lane roads winding through them. The tip of Borneo has a monument and interesting rock formations along the coast. But the real gem is the beautiful white sand beach that you will find next to it - with nobody on it. It's a killer place to watch a sunset.
Bandos Island is occupied by Bandos Resort. When it opened in 1972, it was the second resort in the Maldives and today it's one of the biggest with dive center, medical clinic (with decompression chamber) and even a mosque (relax, alcohol is still available). There are many bungalows types, from unimpressive clustered ones to African inspired huts with sea view to iconic overwater bungalows. The white narrow beaches are exceptional stunning, even for Maldives standard, with tall leaning coconut palms and plenty of shady spots. The shallow clear lagoon has sand bottom and friendly reef sharks. The house reef is also rich on fish and even have bigger big reef sharks, but for live corals you need to snorkle along the outer edge to where the reef has an overhang.
Bodu Hithi Island is a private island occupied by the luxurious Coco Resort. There are overwater bungalows as well as well equipped beachfront bungalows with private mini pool. The beach on the east side is the best, but will be mostly in shade from midday. On the rich and expanded house reef you can encounter sea turtles, rays, and reef sharks. Sometimes you can even spot them from the boardwalk leading to the overwater bungalows. If money is no issue, you can also join a snorkeling tour to a manta ray cleaning station.
Thoddoo has two guest beaches where bikinis are ok. The smallest one is on the northeast side, where you can catch the sunrise. The beach is wider, though shorter than the other, Sunset Beach. There are several hammocks in the shade and some swings - one is even right in the water for that Instagram photo. Snorkelling is best at the sprinkle of corals about 100 m north of the beach, look for the dark patches.
Thoddoo has two guest beaches where bikinis are ok. Both beaches are absolutely stunning with ultramarine waters, but Sunset Beach is the longest. There are plenty of shade under the trees and palms, and free deckchairs and hammocks, though you have to be fast to get them before the Russian and Italians sunlovers. There are lumps of coral with plenty of fish right of the south end of the bikini section.
The west side of Ukulhas Island is one long stunning beach where bikinis are ok. It's concealed from the village by a thick patch of shady trees and coconut palms and most of the nearby guesthouses have placed deckchairs and parasols. The house reef is considered one of the better and is particularly rich on fish at the edge along the buoys. If lucky, you will also encounter sea turtles and reef sharks. Juvenile reef sharks can sometimes even be seen hunting in the shallow water right from the beach.