Hong Kong to Singapore

A spectacular, serrated skyline of soaring towers and neon lights, Hong Kong is a vibrant, immersive metropolis and cultural hub. Dramatic harbour-front light shows transform the waterfront’s gleaming buildings into a colourful canvas – best seen from the Star Ferry, when the Symphony of Lights blares into life each evening. A city where future and tradition collides – perhaps best illustrated by the skyscrapers that feature gaping holes, designed to allow spirit dragons to soar from the hills to the waterfront unimpeded. View less

Wander flowing shopping streets, wade through sprawling markets and soak up the neon glory of this one-of-a-kind city – which continues to reach for the sky. Hong Kong’s dense jumble of activity is one of its main appeals, but once you’ve felt the thrill of rising to towering observation decks, to see the soaring city from above, it’s surprisingly easy to find peace among Hong Kong’s intense urban wonders. Victoria Peak is the highest point and it offers staggering views down over the city and harbour. The Peak Tram funicular can ferry you to the top, to the vantage point which was historically adored by the rich for the cooler air found here, away from the busy bustle of the city streets. Many elaborate temples add a tranquil element to Hong Kong’s whirr, and Tin Hau temple has a surprisingly urban location, considering its dedication to the Goddess of the Sea. It did once occupy the shorefront, but the city’s growth saw land reclaimed from the sea around it, leaving the temple marooned inland. Having been leased to the British for 99 years, milky tea is a revered tradition here – enjoy your cup with a serving of local dim sum.While it’s easy to think all the bright lights are the sum of today’s Hong Kong, you need only walk or board a tram for the short jaunt west into Western to discover a side of Hong Kong that is more traditionally Chinese but no less high-energy. You’ll discover the real Hong Kong to the east of Central, too, in Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, and beyond. Amid the residential towers are restaurants, shopping malls, bars, convention centers, a nice smattering of museums, and—depending on fate and the horse you wager on—one of Hong Kong’s luckiest or unluckiest spots, the Happy Valley Racecourse. Kowloon sprawls across a generous swath of the Chinese mainland across Victoria Harbour from Central. Tsim Sha Tsui, at the tip of Kowloon peninsula, is packed with glitzy shops, first-rate museums, and eye-popping views of the skyline across the water. Just to the north are the teeming market streets of Mong Kok and in the dense residential neighborhoods beyond, two of Hong Kong’s most enchanting spiritual sights, Wong Tai Sin Temple and Chi Lin Nunnery. As you navigate this huge metropolis (easy to do on the excellent transportation network), keep in mind that streets are usually numbered odd on one side, even on the other. There’s no baseline for street numbers and no block-based numbering system, but street signs indicate building numbers for any given block.

Located on the north coast of Taiwan, and embraced by lush green mountains, Keelung City is Taiwan’s second-biggest port and a major gateway to Taipei’s glittering lights and spectacular skyscrapers. It can get a little damp here at times – the city is known as the ‘Rainy Port’ after all – but even the elements fail to dampen the spirits in this Taiwanese hotbed of tradition, modernity and rich culture. View less

Keelung is famous for its Mid-Summer Ghost festival – when dragons decorated with flowers and spitting pyrotechnics are paraded through the streets. Flickering lanterns glitter on the water’s waves, creating a beautiful, ethereal scene. If you do linger in Keelung, witness the city coming to life as the sun dips – and Keelung Miaokou night market floods with people below a blinding wash of lights. Most will choose to take the ride to the country’s capital, Taipei, and visit this mesmerising modern city, which blends influences from around the world. A quirky city of museums and countless bustling markets. Stands and stalls work late into the night, serving up every food you can imagine. Wander between the salivating smells and rising flames of open fires, which cook up everything from fried oysters to chicken and fish pastries – as you ride the all-out sensory assault of the city’s bustling markets. Incredible temples are sprinkled across Taipei, such as Bao-An Temple, a peaceful, incense-infused place of colourful artistry. The country’s heritage is reflected in towering new architecture like the tiered pagoda of the Taipei 101 skyscraper, which dominates the skyline from every angle.

The city sprawls eastward from Manila Bay. Its streets range from multi-lane boulevards to maze-like alleys. In this metropolis of 12 million, the contrast between spacious well-maintained elite communities like Forbes Park and overcrowded slum areas such as Tondo is immense. Occupied over the decades by the Spanish, Americans, British and Japanese, East now meets West, giving the city its unique character. The Walled City, a medieval fortified town, was the heart and soul of the country for more than 300 years. This city fortress, surrounded by moats and turreted walls 30 feet thick, was known as Intramuros. Only members of the Castilian upper class, friars, soldiers and government administrators were privileged to live inside the walls; natives had to live in the outlying boroughs.

The city sprawls eastward from Manila Bay. Its streets range from multi-lane boulevards to maze-like alleys. In this metropolis of 12 million, the contrast between spacious well-maintained elite communities like Forbes Park and overcrowded slum areas such as Tondo is immense. Occupied over the decades by the Spanish, Americans, British and Japanese, East now meets West, giving the city its unique character. The Walled City, a medieval fortified town, was the heart and soul of the country for more than 300 years. This city fortress, surrounded by moats and turreted walls 30 feet thick, was known as Intramuros. Only members of the Castilian upper class, friars, soldiers and government administrators were privileged to live inside the walls; natives had to live in the outlying boroughs.

“Dramatic rock protrusions rear from turquoise sea – while endless sweeps of golden sand, and underwater worlds of colourful life – make Coron a place that you can’t help but dive into. A snorkeler and scuba diver’s paradise, ghostly shipwrecks lie below the glorious waters here, swirling with life and stories. With complex coral reefs, towering cliffs, and turquoise waters blotched with emerald greens, Coron is a vibrant and revitalising escape of spectacular islands and pristine beaches.

With limestone cliffs jutting into the air, Kayangan Lake is already beautiful enough from the surface – but it’s a whole other world in the depths of the freshwater lake. Dive in to see the underlying world in all of its colourful glory, or sail across the surface and observe the beauty through the glass-like water. Elsewhere, Lake Barracuda is a unique diving experience, where you can swim among a swirl of intertwining fresh and saltwater and feel the sudden shifts in temperature as you move. Experienced divers should head out to the dozens of ghostly Japanese wrecks that have lain still on these sea-beds ever since they were sunken by a US air assault, as the Pacific War raged. All of that swimming, diving and beachside relaxation is hard work – so visit Maquinit Hot Springs to dissolve any stresses in the thermally heated waters, which will poach any sore muscles back to health. A Buko Shake’s blend of coconut, milk and ice is always refreshing – especially when sipped on your choice of Coron’s isolated beach paradises.”

Home to a New Wonder of the World – the amazing underground river that flows close by – Palawan’s capital promises a relentless assault of natural glory. Founded by the Spanish in 1872, Puerto Princesa is one of the Philippines’s largest centres – but the Green City is also one of the country’s most spacious and lush. Whether it’s the innovative environmental credentials, or the dense vegetation clinging to scenic limestone cliffs nearby, Puerto Princesa welcomes you to a rich, green, and astonishingly beautiful corner of the world. View less

The underground river of glowing emerald water slices into the limestone rock and runs through inky darkness for five miles, amid dark stalactites and elaborate natural rock sculptures. A subterranean wonder, sail into the cave in a canoe to witness this UNESCO World Heritage Site firsthand and explore a gaping interior, where bats flutter overhead. The scenery is just as impressive above the earth, with tropical beaches and rainforest-cloaked waterfalls nearby. Travel between attractive bays and islands, alive with diverse flora, as well as monkeys and monitor lizards wandering freely. Island hop the stunning sandy isles that pepper the turquoise water of Honda Bay, to investigate characterful idylls that beg to be snorkelled, surrounded by seawater stocked with starfish. Puerto Princesa itself is dotted with cultural and historical sites – including the harrowing World War II history of Plaza Cuartel. Where a massacre of American soldiers took place. Elsewhere, you can visit the thought-provoking Iwahig Prison and Penal Colony – which aims to reform prisoners through farming and agricultural practices. Head for the Baywalk to try some local foods, and to soak up the palm-lined waterfront atmosphere.

The town of Sandakan, once claimed to have the greatest concentration of millionaires anywhere in the world during its heyday as a timber centre, began on its present site in 1879, after an earlier settlement accidentally burned down. The region had been known for centuries for its pearls, camphor, bee’s wax, sea cucumbers and edible birds’ nests. This attracted traders from the nearby Sulu sultanate and from as far away as China.

Kota Kinabalu, the state capital of Sabah, is a relatively new town; the original one was destroyed during World War II. Strung out along the coast with jungle-clad hills as a backdrop, Kota Kinabalu, or KK for short, is home to a population of about 300,000. It was known as Jesselton before the war.
The state of Sabah occupies the northern part of Borneo and is about the size of Ireland. After World War II, the British declared Sabah a Crown Colony. In 1963, Sabah gained her independence and joined the Federation of Malaysia. The old seafarer’s name for Sabah was “Land Below the Wind,” referring to the state’s location just below the typhoon belt.
Kota Kinabalu’s deep-water harbor gave the town strategic significance, evoking a Japanese invasion in 1942 and heavy bombing by the Allies. Following the war, the capital was moved from Sandakan to Jesselton and renamed Kota Kinabalu after the mountain.
The pride of Sabah is Mount Kinabalu. With 13,431 feet, this is the highest mountain in Malaysia and a spectacular sight. For centuries, the Dusuns, Sabah’s largest ethnic group, regarded the mountain as the final resting place of their departed. High priests still perform annual rites to appease the spirits.

Advanced, airy and elevated, Singapore is a spectacular, futuristic vision of utopian city life. A healthy population of almost six million call it home, but this is a city designed with space to breathe, and gorgeous outdoor parks, massive indoor greenhouses and beautiful recreational spaces spread between the City of Gardens’ skyscrapers and soaring structures. Once a quiet fishing village, now a glistening island city-state and an international beacon of science, education and technology. View less

Singapore is almost intimidatingly clean – and the hyper-efficient public transport system whips residents and visitors across the city’s neighbourhoods in a heartbeat. Glorious fountains and audacious skyscrapers loom up – nodding to traditional feng shui beliefs – and putting on dazzling illuminated displays after dark. The lush green botanical gardens are a spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Site, covering 52 hectares and decorated with impressive colourful orchids. Or breathe in more of the freshest air by heading up to wander the canopy strung bridges of MacRitchie Reservoir Park. Head for the iconic Marina Bay – a landmark of the city crowned by three interconnected towers, which watch out over island sprinkled waters. Jaunt between Little India and the atmospheric Chinatown in minutes, where beautiful temples – like the Chinese Thian Hock Keng Temple and Hindu Sri Mariamman Temple add rich cultural intrigue. Singapore’s cuisine is a mouthwatering fusion of its Indian, Chinese, Indonesian, and Malay influences, taking and enhancing the best of each. Enjoy dishes in towering restaurants, or toast the glowing skyline with the city’s eponymous gin-soaked cocktail – a Singapore Sling.