GLOBETROTTER
PHOTOGRAPHS: ALBERT PHOTO/GETTY, CHERYL CHAN, AMOS CHAPPLE/GETTY, PHILIP LEE HARVEY, PHOTO COURTESY KOREA TOURISM ORG – VISITKOREA.OR.KR, SUNPHOL SORAKUL/GETTY IMAGES, STUDIOLOCO/SHUTTERSTOCK, TONNAJA.COM/GETTY IMAGES, TOP PHOTO CORPORATION/ALAMY, WATERFRAME/ALAMYLonely Planet writers have explored the planet’s biggest continent and
cherry-picked the best spots to visit in the next 12 months, from electrifying
cities to castaway islands. For more travel ideas across the region, visit
lonelyplanet.com/best-in-asia.3
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- HOKKAIDO, JAPAN
Perfect powder snow put Japan’s
northernmost island on the map, but
also blinded visitors to the year-round
charms of its wild, mountainous
landscape, from alpine villages to
hidden onsen (hot springs). Hokkaido
has become even more accessible,
thanks to the new bullet train linking its
southern port city, Hakodate, to Tokyo
- the line will eventually extend to
dynamic Sapporo, host of next year’s
Asian Winter Games.
- SHANGHAI, CHINA
China’s biggest city feels like the centre
of the universe right now – join its 24
million-odd residents for ballroom
dancing in parks, delicate brews in old
teahouses, or sky-high cocktails amid
its forest of neon-lit skyscrapers. This
year sees a new addition to the skyline:
the Shanghai Tower, the world’s
second-tallest building. - JEONJU, SOUTH
KOREA
Birthplace of a definitive dish in Korean
cuisine – bibimbap, rice topped with
mixed bean sprouts, beef, chilli paste
and more (pictured) – this city is home
to a fast-evolving street food scene as
well as one of the country’s best-
preserved groupings of hanok
(traditional houses). - CON DAO ISLANDS,
VIETNAM
Better flight connections from Ho Chi
Minh City confirm this small
archipelago, for decades the site of a
brutal penal colony, as a rising star on
the Asian beach scene. The islands offer
a national park, a coastline studded
with white-sand coves and Vietnam’s
best diving. - HONG KONG,
CHINA
The city is experiencing renewed
dynamism 20 years after its return to
China: top chefs are turning to local
produce for inspiration and artists are
brightening old neighbourhoods like
Sham Shui Po. There are also improved
transport links to natural heritage sites
on the outskirts.- IPOH, MALAYSIA
The otherworldly concept hotel
Sekeping Kong Heng has been central
to the renaissance of Ipoh, Malaysia’s
lesser-known food capital. Art-cafés
like Burps & Giggles (pictured),
Roquette and Everyday Lifeshop have
cropped up nearby, among elegant
colonial buildings. - PEMUTERAN,
INDONESIA
On Bali’s northwest coast, mellow
Pemuteran village remains under the
radar, despite easy access to
Menjangan Island, home to a stunning
coral wall, plus the Underwater Temple
Garden (pictured). Visit for its beaches,
art-filled resorts and inventive new
restaurants. - TRANG ISLANDS,
THAILAND
Much less crowded than Andaman
coast neighbours like Phuket and Ko
Phi-Phi, the island beaches of Trang
province glisten amid shards of
jungle-topped karst. With ever-
improving transport links, visit now
while development is still limited to
beachfront bungalows. - MEGHALAYA, INDIA
This limestone plateau separating the
lowlands of Assam from the plains of
Bangladesh is India’s lost world, but
won’t remain so for long – hike, climb
and raft through a landscape filled with
raging waterfalls, tribal outposts and
bridges woven from the living roots of
jungle trees. - TAITUNG, TAIWAN
Bounded by green hills and the
turquoise Pacific, this county is the
place to come for a party – from
summer’s International Balloon Fiesta
to the unique local take on Chinese
New Year, which sees a near-naked
volunteer pelted with firecrackers.