Built in honour of its namesake Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, wisdom and learning, Pura Taman Saraswati is a graceful water temple nestled in the heart of downtown Ubud. This sacred site blends spiritual reverence with classical Balinese aesthetics, offering a peaceful retreat just steps away from the town’s busy centre.

Nestled in the eastern highlands of Bali, in the quiet village of Ababi at the foot of Mount Agung, Tirta Gangga is a royal water palace steeped in beauty and spiritual reverence. Commissioned by the last Raja of Karangasem in 1946, this sacred estate pays homage to Balinese Hindu devotion. Its name, meaning “blessed water from the Ganges,” reflects its role as both a royal retreat and a site for spiritual purification and ceremonial bathing.

Standing proudly at 1175 metres above sea level, on the peak of Mount Lempuyang, this ancient temple complex is among Bali’s oldest and most revered, believed to predate most Hindu temples on the island. Although there is some confusion about the site’s exact age, the establishment of temples here stretches back at least a millennium.

Across Bali, Bedogol refers to the guardian statues that flank the entrances of temples and family compounds, the silent watchers carved in stone. Positioned in pairs on either side of a gateway, they serve as spiritual protectors, anchoring the threshold between the ordinary world and sacred ground.

Puri Langon is a privately owned royal compound located in central Ubud. It is the personal residence of Tjokorda Ngurah Suyadnya, better known as Cok Wah, a respected figure in the Ubud royal family. Though it remains a functioning private home, Puri Langon is open to the public free of charge, offering rare access to a lived-in royal space that continues to serve spiritual and cultural functions within the community.

A living, breathing time capsule, Hà Nội Old Quarter is a tapestry woven from centuries of colonial exploitation, Confucian rituals, dynastic collapses and wartime destruction. Despite relentless modernisation and gentrification, the Old Quarter remains defiantly alive. It preserves not just Hà Nội’s heritage but the very essence of Vietnam’s ability to adapt and endure.

Batara Kala, in Balinese mythology, is the monstrous deity of time, destruction and the underworld. He's a god born not from light but from the uncontrolled lust of the supreme god Shiva (Siwa). In one chilling version of his origin, Batara Kala is conceived during a moment of cosmic imbalance, when Shiva’s spilled seed, filled with uncontrollable rage and passion, falls to earth and takes form.

The Golden Triangle snakes along the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, a land as beautiful as it is brutal. The Mekong River twists like a silver serpent through shadowed valleys, past isolated villages whose fields once fed a global hunger for heroin. This rugged, turbulent region earned its infamous name from centuries of opium fueled violence and despair. More than a crossroads, the Golden Triangle is a nexus of greed, pain and heartbreak.

Tucked high in the Hoàng Liên Son Mountains of northwestern Vietnam, Sapa’s history predates the modern tourism boom by centuries. Archaeological discoveries suggest that humans have inhabited this rugged region for thousands of years. Stone tools, ceramic fragments and burial items uncovered in the Muong Hoa Valley point to a Neolithic culture that once thrived along the riverbanks. These finds, some dating back 3000 years, are among the earliest signs of life in Vietnam’s m

The Dutch first reached Bali in 1597 while scouting new ground for conquest and profit. They left without drawing blood but they didn’t leave without a decision. Bali had been marked. For the next two centuries, the island remained untouched, not because the Dutch had lost interest, but because they were waiting for the moment it would be worth the slaughter. It wasn’t peace. It was a pause before an extermination. When they returned, the rivers would turn red.

Overlooking the vast and turbulent Indian Ocean on Bali’s Bukit Peninsula, Uluwatu Temple (or Pura Luhur Uluwatu) perches 70 metres above the waves, a landmark of both awe and solemnity. Archaeological evidence shows its origins date back to the 9th century, based on an ancient split gateway bearing a chronogram marking 886 .AD, confirming its megalithic roots as one of the island’s oldest sacred sites

In the architectural language of Balinese temples, Bhoma statues are not merely decorative but play a protective and symbolic role. Bhoma is derived from the ancient Sanskrit word bhūma, meaning “Earth” and is considered a guardian spirit linked to fertility, the forest and subterranean realms. Usually mounted above temple gates or embedded within sacred water features, these fierce, leaf entwined figures serve as guardians of spiritual boundaries,

In the moss veiled temples of Bali, Ganesha is far more than a familiar Hindu icon, he is a living force who moves between light and shadow. Though his roots lie in Indian Hinduism, Bali’s Ganesha (also known as Batara Gana) has taken on new dimensions, shaped by animist spirits, local rituals and the Balinese understanding of cosmic balance.

Born from the legend of Resi Markandeya’s vision of angelic dancers over the Ayung River, Taman Dedari blends myth and appetite in equal measure. Here, guests savour Balinese flavours in a riverside setting guarded by monumental stone Dedari, the celestial maidens of old.

In the heart of Batuan village stands one of Bali’s oldest and most spiritually charged temples: Pura Puseh Desa Batuan. Founded in 1020 AD, it’s recorded in Balinese historical texts that stretch back over a millennium. Its structure is not only physically resilient but symbolically rooted in something far older, believed to have been built atop a megalithic worship site once used for ancestral rites.

Rising from the flatlands of western Japan, Hiroshima Castle was a powerful nerve centre built by Mōri Terumoto during an age of shifting allegiances and ruthless ambition. With its broad moat and imposing stone walls, the castle was less about isolation and more about control, a symbol of calculated authority in a time of near constant war.

Apsaras, the celestial nymphs of Hindu and Buddhist mythology, are revered for their unparalleled beauty, graceful movements and mastery of dance and music. Adorned with golden skin, fragrant hair and flowing garments, they appear throughout ancient texts as divine attendants in the heavenly courts of gods like Indra, where they serve as entertainers and symbols of spiritual and aesthetic refinement.

Nestled in Hanoi’s bustling Old Quarter, Hoàn Kiếm Lake offers a serene escape from the city's chaos. This natural freshwater lake, stretching 700 metres across 12 hectares, has been a cultural and historical anchor for centuries, its origins possibly predating Hanoi itself by over a thousand years.

Tucked deep within Guangxi’s dramatic karst terrain, Yangshuo's landscape is far more than a picturesque backdrop, it is steeped in spiritual and supernatural significance. For centuries, locals have believed the towering limestone peaks to be the resting places of ancient spirits, with many formations given mythological names and stories. One of the most iconic is Moon Hill, named for its crescent shaped cave, which legend says was created by a celestial blade slicing throug

Nestled high in the Dong Van Karst Plateau of Ha Giang Province, Đồng Văn Ancient Town carries within its narrow stone-paved streets a haunting blend of history, war and legend. This remote outpost near the Chinese border has long served as a cultural and military crossroads. The town itself is over a century old, with well-preserved architecture reflecting a fusion of Vietnamese, Chinese and French colonial influences.