Lonely Planet India – August 2019

BEST IN ASIA PACIFIC

PHOTOGRAPHS:

KOOL99

/GETTY

IMAGES

(BEIJING)

,PROCKY89

/GETTY

IMAGES

(CAMBODIA)

9

BEIJING, CHINA

Blazing into the future, Beijing is changing fast

as the new decade approaches. In a bid to battle

the smog, an eco-friendly bike-sharing scheme has

launched, and the rapidly expanding subway is

expected to reduce traffic congestion. High-speed

links will soon race passengers to the extraordinary, Zaha Hadid-

designed, starfish-shaped Beijing Daxing International, the world’s

largest airport, which is slated to open later this year, as well as

the shiny new Universal Studios, opening in 2021, and venues hosting

the 2022 Winter Olympics.

But Beijing is modernising without sacrificing a jot of history,

feted in all its dizzying splendour at sights like the colossal Forbidden

City, the biggest palace complex in the world, the Lama Temple,

the visible-from-space Great Wall and the narrow, ancient alleys of the

hútòngs, where Beijingers now party in some of the city’s hippest bars.

10

CAMBODIA

Mostvisitorscometo Cambodia

for theiconicAngkorWatandthis

hasn’tchangedin a millennium.

However,elsewhere,thetravel

landscapeis changingfast:

theskylineof thecapital,PhnomPenh,is ontheup,

bringingskybarsanddesignerdining;theSouthern

Islandsaregeneratinga beachbuzzthanksto new

boutiqueandluxuryresortslikeSixSensesandAlila

Villas;colonial-eravestigesareunderrestorationin

BattambangandKampot;andin remoteareaslike

KohKongandMondulkiri,wildlifespottingis drawing

visitorsoffthebeatentrack.Forfast-tracktravel,

newairlinesaremakingconnectionsbetweenSiem

ReapandtheSouthCoastsmoother,withhydrofoils

whiskingpeopleto theislands.

But,in theend,it comesdownto theCambodian

people,whoaremarkingtwodecadesof peaceand

wastingno timein celebratingandsharingtheirculture.

It is thisspiritthatleavesan indelibleimprinton thesoul.

History-rich Beijing

is glowing lately, thanks

to a number of eco-conscious

modernisation projects

It’s hard to imagine a better

spot to hang a hammock than

islands such as Cambodia’s

Koh Rong Samloem

124 August 2019