Cities and Towns in Asia

The small village of Orccha has not yet been discovered by mass tourism, probably because there is not that terribly much to see here. Since there are not many tourists, there are not many places to stay either. However, the town has some beautiful old temples and palaces built in the 16th and 17th centuries, towering beautifully and distinctively in the landscape. Together with the villagers and other pilgrims you can witness sacred ceremonies in the evening in the Rama temple in the city center or stroll around in the small town. And if you're lucky, you might run into a movie set with extras in colonial uniforms....

If you have expected something different than an ordinary Indian town, you might be disappointed with Port Blair. However with a population of only 100,000, Port Blair feels less hectic and the locals are easy going. There aren't that many sights, but the Cellular Jail with its grim history is definitely worth a visit, and so is Corbyn's Cove Beach. Else, there are always the corniche, the anthropological museum and the market.

Pushkar is one of India's oldest cities. There are lots of temples in the city - but the main attraction is the large lake, that has approx. 50 "Ghats" - ie. stairs, which go down to the water's edge. It is interesting to observe both local and Hindu pilgrims, who wash their clothes and bathe in the holy water. Please note that it is not allowed to photograph people who bathe. You should also dress with respect, which means that you must not show knees or shoulders. The rest of the town consists of narrow alleys with camels and stalls from where locals sell exotic food, puppets, orange flowers and white sugar cubes, that Hindus sacrifice to the gods. Traders are fortunately not that aggressive here, so as a tourist you can walk around in peace and quiet.

When you are not on tiger game drives in Ranthambore National Park, visit the nearby town of Sawai Madhopur. Here, the entire city is virtually one big market, and there are stalls with citrus fruits en masse, sugarcanes are crushed into cold drinks, and colorful food markets are found, when you walk into some of the smaller lanes. People are being shaved in the streets, men sit and sew outside their fabric shops, women sit on the ground and sort groundnuts and weave baskets, while longhaired black pigs roll in mud and dirt on the roadside. There are not many tourists here - but the village is worth visiting, if you are in the area anyway.

Sometimes, travelling is more than just visiting a new place, but it's about transporting yourself back in time. A few cities around the world have somehow got stuck in a time vortex and seem unchanged from days-gone-by. Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, is one of those places. Wandering the back alleys of the old town is a wonderful experience. Magnificently intricate balconies and window frames hand-carved from local walnut tress dazzle the eyes, while cute little sweets shops or bakery are a feast for the nose. Mosques, shrines and temples dazzle the banks of the Jhelum River. And best of all, with so little tourism, you're likely to have the place all to yourself.

Varanasi is the holiest city in India. Traffic in town is insane, and you really have to be careful in the vast tangle of bicycle rickshaws, cows, motorcycles and cars. Around two million inhabitants live there, but the city is also constantly visited by approx. half a million pilgrims and sick Hindus, who come there to die. The River Ganges runs through Varanasi, and cremations and Hindu rituals take place along the river bank. At the same time Hindus believe that a bath in the river and a sip of its water is sacred and spiritually cleansing. However, the water is so polluted that 1 liter contains 1.5 million faecal coli form bacteria - usually bath water must contain less than 500 of these!! So don’t go swimming with the Indians, unless you want to experience an Indian hospital as well ...

On the 26th of December 2004, a devastating earth quake of magnitude 9.3 hit Banda Aceh. What wasn't toppled by the quake itself was quickly demolished afterwards by the gigantic tsunami, which continued its apocalyptic ravage to coastal areas all over South Asia. 61,000 people lost their lives in Banda Aceh alone, roughly a third of the city's population. Today, Banda Aceh has been rebuilt and there is not much left of the tsunami aftermath anymore, but every person has a heartbreaking story to tell. To add to Banda Aceh's tragical past, it has also been the centre of armed conflict between government forces and Aceh separatists, but the region of Aceh is on the rebound and on to something good.

Most travellers don't spend much time in Jakarta. They either skip it all together or use it as a travel hub – and for good reason. It's not because Jakarta is horrible, just congested and very low on sights. But that said, you can with some effort spend a day or two of sightseeing and eating some nice food. The usual city tour goes around the National Monument, where you also find the cathedral, grand mosque and some, by Indonesian standards, fine government buildings. For the second day of sights, head to old town Kota (also called Batavia), which once was "the Jewel of Asia" during the Dutch ruling in the 16th-19th century. Of course, not much is left from that time.
On a positive note, it should be mentioned that you don't see much poverty in the central Jakarta and the pace is very slow considering it's Asian metropolis.

Sumatra is not just jungle, volcanoes and other wonders of Mother Nature, it also has Medan, the third largest city in Indonesia and the main gateway to Sumatra. Though it's polluted, dirty and noisy, it's actually not too bad. It still has some jalans with colonial appearance and some interesting markets. Motor becaks (rickshaws) roam the streets and Medan probably has some of the most pimped-out opelets (minibuses) ever - some of them hardly have any space left for passengers due to their oversized speakers which are turned up to max.

Kagoshima would be a fairly ordinary Japanese mid-sized city pleasantly located on the shore of a bay, if it wasn't for the huge and active volcano Sakurajima on the other side. Last major eruption was in 1914 when it covered the town deep in ashes. Today it's one of the most active volcanoes in the world and blows smoke and ashes over the city frequently which makes an umbrella handy. The schools have taken this one step further and added a yellow helmet to their school uniforms, which makes the kids look like Bob the Builder. The volcano can be visited (though not climbed) and please note the many concrete shelters in case of Sakurajima should rumble.