holidays in ASIA - LITTLE KNOWN PLACES

Holidays in Asia. Who doesn't dream of them? I recommend destinations for total peace and quiet that are worth visiting.

EIGHT DESTINATIONS IN ASIA WORTH RECOMMENDING

I receive requests from you to indicate interesting destinations in Asia. Many of you ask about places that will allow you to relax in peace, away from civilization, with few tourists, on deserted beaches, but at the same time you want them to be interesting places for tourists. There are many such places in Asia. Below is my subjective list.

Asia for me is peace and quiet. Being close to nature, healthy food, walks and yoga. I quickly escape from big cities where the plane from Poland arrives. I like Bali but in Asia there are less popular places where you can spend beautiful moments.

FLORES ISLANDS, INDONESIA

These are a dozen or so smaller islands located close to each other and it is worth finding a place on one of them. It is close to interesting tourist places such as the Komodo or Rinca islands, where Komodo dragons live. I flew to Labuan Bajo from where I took a boat to the Seraja island where there was only one ecological hotel, no signal and basically no internet. I lived in a bungalow right by the sea and after swimming literally 20 meters a beautiful underwater reef full of turtles and colorful fish began. In moments free from diving you can go trekking around nearby mountainous islands from where beautiful views spread out, you can sail to the so-called pink beach and sail to bays full of rays. This really is a hidden paradise.

GILI DEGE, INDONESIA

A small and peaceful island with a few hotels. There are 26 Gili Islands in total, but this one is an oasis of peace and quiet, unlike Trawangan Gili where there are endless parties. You get here from Bali by boat. The island is called "secret" by the locals and is only 4 km long. Despite the fact that it is a small island and I had the impression that our hotel was the only one on the island, there were villages inhabited by very nice locals around. The island is surrounded by beautiful beaches with moraine bays where you can swim with young sharks. Indonesian villages are very interesting because everything happens outside. People sleep on terraces on stilts in front of their houses, farm animals walk peacefully next to them, and children play and look at tourists with interest. I had the impression that my family and I are a huge attraction for them.

KERALA, INDIA

It is worth visiting Kerala and sailing through the beautiful Karelian backwater channels. A plane from Poland will take us to Kochi, from where we can travel further to the very source of Ayurveda. It is worth finding an Ayurvedic center and staying there for two weeks. You can find more in my post "Ayurvedic treatments in Kerala" - where I describe in detail what a stay in such a center looks like.

GAYA ISLAND, MALAYSIA

It is a large Malaysian island near Kota Kinabalu, where I flew by plane and then sailed by water. It can be a boat provided by a hotel or a small public ferry. This time we chose a hotel consisting of houses on the water, so we could jump straight from the bedroom into the clear blue abyss. Gaya Island is located in a national park, so the hotel we stayed in was fully ecological. It had another big advantage - there was a marine educational center next to the hotel. The Marine Ecology Research Center is a scientific center where you can learn a lot about ocean life. You can also take a piece of coral reef under your care there and "plant" your own coral, and then receive photos and reports on how it grows until it is transplanted from the nursery to a real reef. Our family supported the reconstruction of the coral reef in Malaysia, and my children were very proud of it.

GOA, INDIA

A state of India known for its tourist attractions with beautiful, golden beaches and coconut palms. There are many small hotels offering tasty, healthy food, yoga courses and spa treatments. The Goa coast is green, full of lush vegetation. Banana and mango trees grow here, rice and spices are grown. Everywhere you can see white chapels from the times when the Portuguese ruled here and colorful Hindu temples. I recommend going to Calangute, where there are beautiful beaches and small charming hotels. We spent a few days in such a hotel after an exhausting visit to Delhi.

SABAAH, BORNEO, MALAYSIA

You can have a wonderful holiday in the middle of the jungle, but without beaches or swimming pools. This is a good place for guided hiking. It is quiet, wonderful and very close to nature. I recommend Borneo Rainforest Lodge in Danum Valley Conservation Area, a place carefully guarded by the Malaysian authorities. It is a national park, where you can only enter if you have a spot in the Rainforest Lodge. There are no such random people, the place is protected from poachers and noisy tourists. I watched with surprise as our documents were checked in front of a huge barrier blocking the entrance to the jungle. I spent two weeks in the middle of the rainforest, observing animals in the wild, walking on hanging bridges, which make it very easy to observe nature. It is full of charming places - bays and waterfalls with fish. You have to watch out for the omnipresent leeches, but this is real wildlife at your fingertips.

KOH SAMUI, THAILAND

I don't know about today, but a few years ago Koh Samui was a quiet, peaceful island full of spas, massage parlors and fantastic open-air bars serving the best Thai cuisine for pennies. We can relax here on beautiful beaches, but we can also do some sightseeing - it's worth visiting the Wat Phra Yai temple and the Big Buddha, as well as the complex of temples with the statue of the Chinese goddess of mercy Guanyin. We traveled around the island in search of the best beaches and interesting tourist spots, which took our breath away. However, everything is less intense and calmer than in Phuket and there are fewer tourists.

PHU QUOC, VIETNAM

A large island in the Gulf of Thailand, on the border with Cambodia but full of quiet, wild and peaceful places with access to your own beach. Here we dived, practiced yoga, meditated and ate delicious Vietnamese dishes. Peace and quiet with the possibility of visiting interesting places and sailing to smaller islands. Here you can really relax.