Insight Guides: Southeast Asia

How To Use This E-Book

Getting around the e-book

This Insight Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration for your visit to Southeast Asia, as well as comprehensive planning advice to make sure you have the best travel experience. The guide begins with our selection of Top Attractions, as well as our Editors Choice categories of activies and experiences. Detailed features on history, people and culture paint a vivid portrait of contemporary life in Southeast Asia. The extensive Places chapters give a complete guide to all the sights and areas worth visiting. The Travel Tips provide full information on getting around, hotels, activities from culture to shopping to sport, plus a wealth of practical information to help you plan your trip.

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights in Southeast Asia are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

Youll find hundreds of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Southeast Asia. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

About Insight Guides

Insight Guides have more than 40 years experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.

Insight Guides are written by local authors who use their on-the-ground experience to provide the very latest information; their local expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to stay and eat, so you can be confident that when we say a restaurant or hotel is special, we really mean it.

Like all Insight Guides , this e-book contains hundreds of beautiful photographs to inspire and inform your travel. We commission most of our own photography, and we strive to capture the essence of a destination using original images that you wont find anywhere else.

2014 Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Southeast Asias Top 10 Attractions

A selection of the top sights of the region, from superlative beaches to cosmopolitan cities and handsome old towns, mountain resorts and fascinating ancient sites.

Top Attraction 1

Gunung Bromo . This majestic, smoke-belching volcano high above the padi fields of eastern Java lies within a far larger and more ancient caldera, 10km (6 miles) across. Get there at dawn for stupendous views but remember to wrap up warm. For more information, .

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 2

Angkor Wat . One of the worlds premier ancient sights and the high point of classical Khmer architecture. This massive temple, surrounded by a square moat, is covered in miles of bas reliefs. For more information, .

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Top Attraction 3

Bangkok . From the magnificent Grand Palace to the floating markets and superb food, cosmopolitan Bangkok is a fascinating city. For more information, .

iStock

Top Attraction 4

Boracay . This beautiful island, with probably the highest-profile of any of the 7,107 in the Philippines, has a deserving reputation for powder-fine white sand of crushed coral, tall swaying palms and an aquamarine sea where diving is a sheer delight. For more information, .

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 5

The Andaman Coast . Some of the worlds most perfect tropical beaches can be found on Thailands west coast, from Phuket to stunning Krabi and Ko Phi Phi. For more information, .

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Top Attraction 6

Singapores Chinatown market . Night markets are a feature of Southeast Asia, and the one in Singapores Chinatown is always worth visiting. During the day, teahouses and medicinal emporia are full of delights, too. For more information, .

Singapore Tourism Board

Top Attraction 7

Bali . The icon of tropical resorts, this mountainous Indonesian island is known for its friendliness, and its outstandingly rich culture of music and arts that come together during its many vibrant festivals. For more information, .

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 8

Intramuros, Manila . This old walled city encompasses the 16th-century Spanish town and lies amid the animated Philippine capital. For more information, .

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 9

Georgetown . The main centre on the Malaysian island of Penang is a lovely old town with a Chinese heart. The food is fantastic, too. For more information, .

James Tye/Apa Publications