The Millennium Experience

Lying on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean is the Philippine island archipelago, which consists of about 7,100 islands and islets (of which only 2,337 are named). Luzon in the north and Mindanao in the south are the two biggest islands. Between them they account for 65% of the land area and 60% of the population, and the capital Manila is on Luzon. ... More

As the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Phnom Penh is strategically positioned in the center of the country at the confluence of four branches of the Mekong River. Though it was founded in 1434, Phnom Penh is a small city with only a million inhabitants. There are only a few notable sights, which you can easily cover in a morning. While in Phnom Penh, find some time to visit a market or two. ... More

Few places on earth are more remote, traditional, and insanely difficult to travel than this isolated land of huge deserts, mountain lakes, and untouched forests holding some of the most abundant wildlife in Asia. Although Mongolia once had much contact with the West (mostly by invading it), the country has been almost completely isolated since the Marxist revolution of 1921. Now, Mongolia is slowly opening up again, leaving today’s visitors with huge areas of countryside largely untouched by Western culture. Soviet and Chinese communism increased the differences between the two areas. ... More

Bamboo scaffolding and gleaming department stores, construction cranes looming over wooden villages, KFC and chopsticks, yak herders and cell phone abusers within miles of each other, communism and capitalism co-existing—China has more paradoxes than it does dialects. To visit China now is to witness a country revolutionizing itself in the cities and struggling to stay alive in the countryside. Wracked with ambiguity as it transforms rapidly from a socialist to a market economy, China is perched, it seems, at the edge of the world at the turn of the millennium. ... More

Sandwiched between India and China, the “rooftop of the world” could just as easily be called the “peak of partying.” This cultural crossroads is home to a vigorous mix of ethnicities that has contrived a fascinating array of festivals. Although the most important events are covered here, there’s always something going on in Nepal, and a visit to the Kathmandu Valley is almost certain to coincide with at least one festival. ... More

Vietnam is a country on the move. The introduction of economic reforms—known as doi moi—more than 10 years ago acted as a catalyst, releasing the energies of the nation left behind after decades of war and isolation. Now wherever you travel in Vietnam—in the towns, the cities, and the countryside—you will see people on the go.
From the rows of pho (noodle soup) stalls lining the sidewalks to the numerous vendors selling postcards to the huge neon signs advertising Western chic, it is apparent that this drive to make it in this new era cuts across social boundaries. Billboards hawk everything from Lifebuoy soap to Heineken beer to the newest luxury apartments, and tower above streets jammed with motorbikes, bicycles, and more and more cars. ... More

In desperation to bring foreign exchange into the country and prop up its dictatorship, SPDC, the ruling party, has opened the nation’s doors to tourism, eased its visa restrictions, and begun to permit entry by land from Mae Sai in northern Thailand to Kengtung. You no longer need to purchase local currency at the official exchange rate. Foreign investment is also welcomed. ... More