THIS ARTICLE IS AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH. On Turkey’s pristine south coast, nestled between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, the city of Antalya has long been a favourite holiday destination. Dubbed the new Turkish Riviera, the flanking seaboard offers everything from Roman ruins to hiking or kayaking deep canyons.

Phnom Penh demands your attention from the moment you arrive. Vibrant, exciting and utterly unpredictable are just a few words to describe Cambodia’s capital. It’s a city of stark contrasts: slick SUVs share the road with old-world cyclos; visitors can relax in a posh cafe and think they are in Paris, or join the locals at a pop-up stall selling fried noodles.

Nestled in the foothills of the Phu Pasak mountain range of southern Laos, the ancient ruins of Wat Phou, a UNESCO-listed World Heritage site, have a special atmosphere to them, inspiring serenity and bliss in those who walk the sacred grounds. In addition to the site’s clear historical appeal, a trip to the ruins is essential for anyone with spiritual inclinations: the calm surroundings, the inherent mysticism and few visitors make it a great place to meditate.

As the Great Wall of China stretches across most of a massive country, its justifiable fame and beauty make it one of the best known of all UNESCO World Heritage sites. The wall, however, is not the same in all places. From the seas of the east to the western deserts of the Hexi corridor, the Great Wall changes and so does the experience of a visit to this massive defensive bulwark. Each part nevertheless provides a new vista of and new justification for its 1987 inclusion on UNESCO’s vaunted list.