
12-19-2012, 03:25 PM
|
|
|
6,378 posts, read 11,703,970 times
Reputation: 3212
|
|
Is There Sometimes Too Much Focus On Just Huge Cities in Asia?
Some people that don’t know Asia well seem to have a false conception with Asia’s Cities vs. Overall Population Density Levels vs. Nature Scenery areas.
Some of those false conceptions is similar to the Architecture, and Lifestyle over there but that is probably for a separate topic with this sentence.
However, a lot of people do know Asia well, so here is another pleasant, intriguing, and excellent topic.
I already know a lot of my favorite nature scenery areas, and smaller cities/towns that are not huge very heavily populated cities in Asia. I’ll say all of those places a bit later in the topic.
|

12-19-2012, 04:12 PM
|
|
|
Location: City of Angels
2,933 posts, read 5,033,859 times
Reputation: 2252
|
|
my friend has been in nong kiaw in laos for the last two weeks and absolutely loves it. says it's a great scenic place to just kick back and relax and live on US$20/day. not as many annoying backpacker tourists as vang vieng. some pics i found on flickr
ive never been but gonna check it out based on his recommendation.
|

12-19-2012, 07:55 PM
|
|
|
Location: Shanghai
593 posts, read 701,178 times
Reputation: 448
|
|
Among my travels in Asia, the most memorable and unique scenery I have seen are:
China - Zhangjiajie in central China, Zhouzhaigou in northern Sichuan Province, Himalayan Mountains such as 'snow mountain' near Lijiang in Yunnan Province, and the Yangshuo area in southern China.
Vietnam - Halong Bay
Japan - Heizan Mountain with a wonderful night view of Kyoto and Osaka next to each other.
Korea - Jeju Island, especially near a waterfall
After visiting Thailand in a couple of weeks, I hope to add more to my list.
|

12-19-2012, 08:13 PM
|
|
|
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,682 posts, read 48,931,821 times
Reputation: 11862
|
|
That's true, Asia's scenery can be underrated, even though I believe it has the best scenery of ALL the continents (even though it's subjective). Not because it has the highest mountains.etc, but because of it's sheer diversity, unique landscapes (China's karsts, the spires of Cappadocia) and also how it's integrated with the human landscape.
I've travelled to 8 Asian countries, and each has impressed me greatly with it's natural scenery, wildlife.etc. There are too many highlights to list. I've been to Singapore, Malaysia, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan and Sri Lanka (I guess 8 if you include HK) so if you want to ask me about any of the scenery in those countries please do.
|

12-19-2012, 09:41 PM
|
|
|
Location: Shanghai
593 posts, read 701,178 times
Reputation: 448
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trimac20
I've travelled to 8 Asian countries, and each has impressed me greatly with it's natural scenery, wildlife.etc. There are too many highlights to list. I've been to Singapore, Malaysia, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan and Sri Lanka (I guess 8 if you include HK) so if you want to ask me about any of the scenery in those countries please do.
|
I've never been to Sri Lanka or Taiwan. In your opinion, which island among those two has more natural beauty? Were tourist fascilities and transportation in Sri Lanka up to par with tourist areas in Vietnam?
|

12-19-2012, 09:47 PM
|
|
|
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,682 posts, read 48,931,821 times
Reputation: 11862
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Data1000
I've never been to Sri Lanka or Taiwan. In your opinion, which island among those two has more natural beauty? Were tourist fascilities and transportation in Sri Lanka up to par with tourist areas in Vietnam?
|
Funny I just wrote an essay comparing the two nations/islands, since they're so eminently comparable. If you want I can e-mail it to you.
Hard to compare, but Taiwan has a more 'spectacular, blow you away' type scenery, in some spectacular mountains, gorges, valleys. Taiwan's Yushan (Jade mountain) is higher than Mt. Fuji.
Taroko Gorge is unique and stunning too:
https://www.google.com.au/search?hl=...O4i6iQey4oGoAQ
3,000 metre+ peaks, steep sheer cliffs and canyons plunging into the ocean.
The sub-tropical forests are beautiful too.
Sri Lanka's central highlands are very scenic as well, just google 'Sri Lanka highlands', 'Nuwara Eliya', 'Ella', 'World's End' (Safari is not letting me copy the URL now for some reason).
I'm going to upload my pics - the best of them - to a hosting site soon.
Sri Lanka's tourist infrastructure is similar to Vietnam. Old trains, limited public transport, kind of hectic, signs.etc not always the best, a more gritty experience than Taiwan, which feels very modern, easy to get around. In both places you get hassled a lot by touts. Sri Lankans are really friendly though, and the customer service in both places was great.
|

12-19-2012, 09:59 PM
|
|
|
Location: Shanghai
593 posts, read 701,178 times
Reputation: 448
|
|
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Wow, the water fall at Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka is quite impressive. Also, Taiwan's mountains generally look good in pics with a combination of sub tropical greens and exposed rock. For my trip this winter, I had to choose between Thailand and Taiwan. The elephants, Phang Nga, and banana curry tipped the scale in favor of Thailand.
|

12-20-2012, 04:11 AM
|
|
|
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,682 posts, read 48,931,821 times
Reputation: 11862
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Data1000
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Wow, the water fall at Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka is quite impressive. Also, Taiwan's mountains generally look good in pics with a combination of sub tropical greens and exposed rock. For my trip this winter, I had to choose between Thailand and Taiwan. The elephants, Phang Nga, and banana curry tipped the scale in favor of Thailand.
|
Yeah Thailand and Taiwan provide different experiences. I hope some day you will see Taiwan and not ignore/forget about it like I admit I did! 
|

12-21-2012, 10:05 PM
|
|
|
Location: Victoria TX
42,661 posts, read 78,404,244 times
Reputation: 36331
|
|
There is plenty of wildlife everywhere. My wife and I saw 430 species of birds in eight months in 16 countries in Asia, with no guides, using only public transportation. Also with no previous familiarity with Asian birds, learning them as we go. We avoided cities whenever possible, traveling from town to town and walking in the nearby countryside.
The report of our trip (with species list) is still on line, if anyone is interested, PM me and I'll send you the link.
Last edited by jtur88; 12-21-2012 at 10:25 PM..
|

12-23-2012, 08:26 AM
|
|
|
Location: Macao
16,087 posts, read 38,348,226 times
Reputation: 9850
|
|
Japan has tons of small gorgeous towns all over the place.
Probably the biggest misconception about Japan is that many people think the entire country = Tokyo.
|
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
|
|