The White Temple near Chiang Rai, Thailand, is an extraordinary piece of Buddhist architecture. Although the temple shares many of the same architectural constructs found in all other Buddhist temples, this temple is dramatically unique in almost every other respect. This stunning, twinkling temple has a fairy-tale look to it that belies its deep religious purpose. Tourists in northern Thailand should put the White Temple on their ‘must see’ list of places to visit.

When I first saw Site 1 at the Plain of Jars, I was struck by how nonchalantly the 250 huge stone jars there were scattered across the landscape. All of them seemed to be planted about one-third below ground level and tossed at an angle, but not always the same angle nor in the same direction. The mystery is that no one knows what the purpose of the jars was.

Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world and has lost little of its grandeur since the time it was built at the beginning of the 12th century. It is also the most recent of some 70 temples the Khmers built over hundreds of years dating back to the 800s. The complex is stunning due to its pure magnitude, its architecture and its carved relief murals. They operate in harmony to create a presence that lends reality to the direct connection between the mortal and divine worlds.

During the French occupation of Indochina, Kep was a palm-fringed beach, lined with villas of French settlers and rich Cambodians. But the French left in the ’50s and the Kymer Rouge destroyed virtually every building in town in the late ’70s. So if you’re interested in seeing how ‘the other half lived’ during French colonial times (as I certainly was) then you should visit this out-of-the-way spot. Otherwise, you could comfortably afford to miss it.

The Grand Palace in Bangkok, home of a dozen awe-inspiring Buddhist, historical and ceremonial buildings built over the last 230 years, easily rates as one of the most memorable sites a world traveler could ever hope to experience.

If you’re a backpacker with a limited budget, have a taste for drugs, enjoy a carefree lifestyle and love clean beaches in a tropical paradise, then Paradise Beach on Koh Rong just may be your dream destination.