Indonesia

Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world. It is also the fourth most populated country. The landscape and language are quite similar to Malaysia's but the culture is completely different. It is also very diverse and there are over 300 ethnic groups within its borders.

 

Jakarta

Gunkarta



Jakarta is the Indonesian capital and has grown quicker than Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok and is the 17th biggest city in the world. It is known for being quite polluted and chaotic so I won't talk too much about it.

A lot of interesting buildings can be seen which were built by the Dutch when they controlled Indonesia such as the former town hall on the top right.

Aceh

paxsimius

What makes Aceh interesting is that it's the only place outside of Saudi Arabia/Iran where Sharia Islamic Law applies in full. This means that the women have to cover up outside the house and the Islamic faith is the only religion allowed. Outside of Aceh, people can choose if they want to follow Sharia Law or not.

Surabaya

baskoro f19

Surabaya is the easiest place to see orangutans without having to venture into wild, tribal Borneo. Since they are a protected species, they are often very hard to see. It is also a smaller, cleaner alternative to Jakarta and contains a lot of Dutch colonial buildings.
According to The Guardian, a recent scandal has emerged about the treatment of the animals. A number have died, including orangutans because the zoo hasn't got enough funding and also there are suspicions that some staff may be involved in animal trafficking.

theguardian.com

Bali

Jos Dielis

The one place in Indonesia that everyone knows! This island is a popular tourist destination due to its beautiful beaches and Indonesian cultural experience. Also, it is extremely near the equator so it has very good weather!

Also, people come to see the monkeys which can be found pretty much everywhere.

Bair175

Borobudur

Gunawan Kartapranata

Borobudur is a Buddhist temple that was built during the 9th century. It is located outside the city of Mangelang, 5 hours drive from Surabaya. It is covered in stone mounds called stupa which have Buddha statues inside them. This is a must see if you are in Indonesia.

Singapore

video by SoltauCruiser

Nicolas Lannuzel

Singapore is a tiny city-state located south of Malaysia that I had the pleasure of visiting about 3 years ago. It is home to about 7 million people and has made a reputation for being extremely clean and safe. For example, it is safe to walk the streets at midnight! There's no telling what could happen if you did that here in Ireland...

The best way to get here is through Singapore Changi Airport, continuously voted Best Airport in the World. It has a swimming pool, free internet access, luxury shops and a tropical butterfly garden (every airport should have one!).

doobybrain.com

metrogreece.gr

Things to do

Singapore Flyer

David

The Singapore Flyer is a huge observation wheel similar to the London eye (but bigger!) that opened in 2008. It's the largest one of these in the world. I've been on it once and I think it took about 35 minutes to go the whole way around. Inside the base, there's a tropical garden with streams and trees. There are also lots of restaurants, a fish spa (very popular here) and even a flight simulator (?!).

Sentosa Island

sengkang

If you are interested in beaches/theme parks, Sentosa seems like heaven on earth. It is home to the only Universal Studios in Asia and has many beach side hotels and other interesting things for people to do. To get to Sentosa, you can use the boring way and go by car over the bridge (which is a toll bridge) or take the cable car or the very colourful (and very busy) Sentosa monorail.

Marina Bay Sands

bryantse

This is the world's most expensive casino/hotel property. It sits just across the river from the Singapore Flyer and contains many different facilities, from casinos to exhibition centres. It also has a so-called "Infinity Pool"...

media.tripadvisor.com

I'm not so sure I'd want to swim right at the edge of this pool!

Orchard Road

Gabbe

Orchard Road is heaven on earth for all shopaholics out there. It's a whole street lined with some of Singapore's most expensive designer shops and hotels. Ngee Ann City, Singapore's largest shopping centre is here and is stuffed to the brim with expensive clothes shops.

These are some of Singapore's main attractions but there is so much more to see in this tiny state.

Thailand

wanderlustmike.com

Thailand would probably be my favourite of the countries I mentioned in the introduction. The country itself is so beautiful and there's lots to see and do.

calflier001/russavia

The easiest ways to enter Thailand are Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) or Phuket International Airport (HKT).



Phuket

Oberpepe

Phuket is an island province in the Andaman Sea just south of the Thai Mainland. It is an extremely popular as a tourist destination due to its climate and the beautiful beaches it has to offer. Phuket is famous for the limestone peaks in the sea.

The island used to be very quiet and peaceful but the western coast has been developed into tourist centres and Phuket City is on the east coast. There are still many quiet places though.

Below there are some pictures of Phuket and I will let them do the explaining.

 

ticketspy.nl

tourismzone.com

travelholidaygallery.com

 

impressivemagazine.com

Bangkok

Paul 012

Bamgkok is the Thai capital and is a very big and busy city. It is home to about 7 million people and is extremely polluted as a result. However, there are still many interesting things that can be found here such as the Grand Palace (centre left), Wat Arun (centre right) and the Giant Swing (bottom right).

Wat Arun

Diego Delso

This is a Buddhist temple located inthe centre of Bangkok. It is one of the most well-known temples in Thailand and is located on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River. Each part of it represents a different symbol from Buddhist mythology.

Grand Palace

mda with modifications by sodacan

The Grand Palace was built in the late 1700's when the capital was moved from Ayuthaya to Bangkok. It was the seat of the kings of Thailand/Siam until the constitutional monarchy was established in 1932. Today it is only used for official state and royal events but it mainly functions as a tourist attraction.

Giant Swing

mattana

The Giant Swing is a religious monument located in the centre of Bangkok. It was constructed in 1782 and has been renovated several times due to weather damage. The most recent renovation was its entire reconstruction in 2005. It was reopened in a royal ceremony in 2007.

That pretty much sums up what you can see in Thailand and theres so much more but the blog would be really long if I did all of it...

Malaysia

Malaysia

Golbez, Mdzafri

Anyone who's seen the news recently will know all about the trouble that happened here in the past 3 weeks, the missing plane, #prayformh370 and all that goes with it. The Malaysian government has been heavily criticised, mostly by the Chinese, about how they dealt with the situation but apart from that Malaysia is a perfectly stable country and much safer than neighbouring Indonesia in terms of crime rates.
The capital is Kuala Lumpur but other major cities are Johor Bahru, Putrajaya, Kuala Terengannu and Malacca.

Kuala Lumpur

Compiled by Azreey

Kuala Lumpur has many interesting things to see and do. The Petronas Towers are the tallest twin towers in the world and are both linked by a bridge. The Chinatown (top centre) is a popular destination because of its exotic flavours and shops but I always wonder why people don't just go to China for that kind of thing. There's also the Jamek Mosque, one of the oldest mosques in Malaysia. (top right)

Penang

Goh PS

I first heard of Penang because there is a Chinese restaurant near me called Penang Garden. When I looked it up I discovered Penang was actually in Malaysia...

This is the second smallest state in Malaysia (apparently Perlis is smallest but I don't know much else about it) and is mostly on an island with parts on the mainland. It is famous for the beaches, the tropical climate and a Chinese opera festival that takesplace every year.

Dreamtrooper

Sabah

TUBS

Sabah is located on the island of Borneo. It is known for its beautiful landscapes and rainforests. The capital of the state is Kota Kinabalu. I'll let the pictures do most of the explaining...

Oscark

Tony Jones