Buddhist temple cuisine is highly recommended for vegetarians and travelers wanting to experience a unique side of South Korean culture.

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It’s a bit of a climb to reach Dambulla Cave Temple, a Buddhist complex atop a monumental rock outcropping in Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle. But the abundance of ornate wall paintings and hand-hewn rock sculptures inside this UNESCO World Heritage Site make the effort worthwhile. According to tradition, King Valagamba (Vattagamini Abhaya) of Anuradhapura built […]

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For its impressive scale, beautiful carvings and exemplary Buddhist architecture, Borobudur Temple in Central Java is one of our favorite cultural sights in Indonesia. The largest Buddhist temple in the world, Borobudur is a stone pyramid comprised of nine tiers with 72 stupas clustered around a central stupa on top. Each stupa contains a small […]

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Seoul is a fascinating city that has too often been overlooked by visitors to Asia. Well-known among business travelers, the capital of South Korea is at last gaining popularity among cultural travelers. Our private South Korea tours feature Seoul as the gateway to the country and as an introduction to Korean history, culture and cuisine. […]

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I grew up in Bangkok as a little girl and I’m always amazed at how much the city changes every time I return. Even with the constant modern expansion, it’s always possible to find the city’s deeply traditional culture, customs, and hidden cultural gems if you know where to look. Whenever I return, I enjoy […]

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A highlight of Tokyo is experiencing the non-stop action, the neon, the pop-culture, cutting-edge design, and the crowds. But we also love taking our travelers to quiet sections of Tokyo that are filled with traditional Japanese shops, Edo-era wooden buildings, Buddhist temples, and other historic sites that escaped the WWII bombing One of our favorite places is […]

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We arrange a lot of very interesting tours in and around Hong Kong. One of our favorite excursions is to Sha Tin, one of the New Territories, to visit the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery. The monastery is situated on a high hill and is accessible only by foot, so travelers need to be in relatively […]

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For repeat travelers to China, or for those who enjoy more off-the-beaten-track cultural travel, I often recommend Zhongdian (“Shangri-La” or “Gyalthang”) in Yunnan Province. Zhongdian is located near the Tibetan border and is populated by ethnic Tibetans, so the food, architecture and culture are Tibetan, and quite different from what travelers experience in the rest […]

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