Shrouded in mist and legend, West Lake stretches like liquid silver across Hangzhou, a place that has inspired poets, Emperors and travellers for centuries. What began as a humble lagoon more than 1800 years ago was transformed by human hands into a shimmering masterpiece. Today, as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the lake’s serene surface hides centuries of ambition, artistry and whispered secrets.

The great city of Angkor Thom isn’t just a ruin, it’s a palimpsest of power, religion, blood and time. It’s where Hindu deities once danced with Buddhist ideals and where a king tried to become a god in the eyes of the world. Carved into the Cambodian jungle in 1181AD by the empire’s most ambitious rule King Jayavarman VII, this immense stone citadel rose as the crowning capital of the ancient Khmer Empire.