Angkor was a megacity
Lidar surveys revealed that medieval Angkor sprawled across roughly 1,000 square kilometres, likely the largest pre-industrial city on Earth.
Author not specified in the imported source
Angkor, Cambodia · Asia
External reference (site language): Transport in Cambodia ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Laos is the most bombed country
More than two million tonnes of ordnance fell on Laos between 1964 and 1973, and clearance teams still work today.
Author not specified in the imported source
Laos · Asia
External reference (site language): Laos ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Luang Prabang wakes before dawn
Hundreds of monks collect alms in silence at sunrise, a daily ritual that has continued for centuries.
Author not specified in the imported source
Luang Prabang, Laos · Asia
External reference (site language): Luang Prabang ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Myanmar has thousands of temples in one plain
More than 2,000 brick temples and stupas still stand on the Bagan plain, survivors of over 10,000 built between the 11th and 13th centuries.
Author not specified in the imported source
Bagan, Myanmar · Asia
External reference (site language): Bagan ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Indonesia has 17,000 islands
Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world with around 17,500 islands, roughly 6,000 of them inhabited.
Author not specified in the imported source
Indonesia · Asia
External reference (site language): Indonesia ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Bali's calendar has a day of silence
On Nyepi the entire island stops. The airport closes, lights stay off and nobody goes outside for 24 hours.
Author not specified in the imported source
Bali, Indonesia · Asia
External reference (site language): Bali ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Komodo dragons live in one place
Komodo dragons are found wild only on a few Indonesian islands and can grow past three metres.
Author not specified in the imported source
Komodo, Indonesia · Asia
External reference (site language): Komodo dragon ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Krakatoa was heard 4,800 km away
The 1883 eruption produced possibly the loudest sound in recorded history, audible in Australia and on Rodrigues Island.
Author not specified in the imported source
Krakatoa, Indonesia · Asia
External reference (site language): Krakatoa ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Malaysia's towers are still the tallest twins
The Petronas Towers remain the tallest twin buildings on Earth, joined by a double-decker skybridge at level 41.
Author not specified in the imported source
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia · Asia
External reference (site language): Kuala Lumpur ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Borneo hosts one of the oldest rainforests
Parts of Borneo's rainforest are estimated at 130 million years old, far older than the Amazon.
Author not specified in the imported source
Borneo · Asia
External reference (site language): Borneo ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Singapore is growing
Singapore has expanded its land area by roughly a quarter since the 1960s through reclamation, importing sand from abroad.
Author not specified in the imported source
Singapore · Asia
External reference (site language): Singapore Airlines ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Singapore banned chewing gum sales
Selling chewing gum has been restricted since 1992, with therapeutic gum available only from pharmacies.
Author not specified in the imported source
Singapore · Asia
External reference (site language): Chewing gum sales ban in Singapore ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Philippines has more than 7,600 islands
The Philippine archipelago counts over 7,600 islands, and new surveys keep adding a few more.
Author not specified in the imported source
Philippines · Asia
External reference (site language): List of islands of the Philippines ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
The Philippines has an underground river
The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River flows more than eight kilometres through a limestone cave straight into the sea.
Author not specified in the imported source
Palawan, Philippines · Asia
External reference (site language): Palawan ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Banaue's rice terraces are 2,000 years old
Carved into the Cordillera by hand, the Ifugao terraces are still farmed by the descendants of their builders.
Author not specified in the imported source
Banaue, Philippines · Asia
External reference (site language): Banaue Rice Terraces ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country
Kazakhstan covers 2.7 million square kilometres without a coastline, larger than all of Western Europe.
Author not specified in the imported source
Kazakhstan · Asia
External reference (site language): Outline of Kazakhstan ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Baikonur launches from a steppe
The world's oldest and largest operational spaceport sits on Kazakh steppe and is leased to Russia.
Author not specified in the imported source
Baikonur, Kazakhstan · Asia
External reference (site language): Kazakhstan ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Uzbekistan is double landlocked
Uzbekistan is one of only two countries surrounded entirely by other landlocked countries, the other being Liechtenstein.
Author not specified in the imported source
Uzbekistan · Asia
External reference (site language): Uzbekistan ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Samarkand sat on the Silk Road
Samarkand's Registan square was the commercial and intellectual heart of Timur's empire in the 15th century.
Author not specified in the imported source
Samarkand, Uzbekistan · Asia
External reference (site language): Samarkand ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Turkmenistan has a burning crater
A gas field collapse near Darvaza was set alight decades ago and the Door to Hell has been burning ever since.
Author not specified in the imported source
Darvaza, Turkmenistan · Asia
External reference (site language): Darvaza gas crater ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Kyrgyzstan is nearly all mountain
Over 90 percent of Kyrgyzstan lies above 1,500 metres, and summer pastures are still reached on horseback.
Author not specified in the imported source
Kyrgyzstan · Asia
External reference (site language): Kyrgyzstan ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Tajikistan's highway climbs to 4,600 m
The Pamir Highway crosses the Ak-Baital pass at 4,655 metres, one of the highest paved roads on Earth.
Author not specified in the imported source
Pamir Highway, Tajikistan · Asia
External reference (site language): M41 highway ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Afghanistan hides blue lakes
Band-e Amir's six lakes are dammed by natural travertine walls and glow a deep mineral blue.
Author not specified in the imported source
Band-e Amir, Afghanistan · Asia
External reference (site language): Economy of Afghanistan ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Iran has wind towers older than air conditioning
Yazd's badgir wind catchers funnel breeze down into homes and over underground water, cooling rooms without electricity.
Author not specified in the imported source
Yazd, Iran · Asia
External reference (site language): Iran ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.