A guide to Cambodia's top places, plus our lesser-known favourites

Swathed in a blanket of pine trees and dotted with secluded temples, Bukhansan National Park rears up behind Seoul like a jagged granite crown. Its myriad peaks will allow you to pick your level of exertion quite precisely – anything from a gentle forest stroll to an exhilarating pant to the top.

Korea’s bustling second city often comes out in first place with visitors, and it should be no surprise – as well as boasting the country’s most popular beach and Asia’s biggest film festival, “Seoul by the sea” has spent the last decade cementing its reputation as the country’s hippest destination.

A cultural crossroads, seaside Calicut is refreshingly un-touristy – despite having plenty to see and do, from medieval mosques to martial arts.

With green, rolling hills and cool mountain air, the Cameron Highlands are your chance to escape the heat for a day and picnic among strawberry farms, wander colonial-era tea plantations or search for medicinal herbs in mist-cloaked moss forests.

Chambal is fascinating: tales of outlaws, river safaris, camel treks to ruined cities and villages full of haveli mansions — all totally under the tourist radar.

You’d never guess it now, but Champasak was once the seat of an independent royal kingdom that thrived for over 200 years. Today, this tiny, sleepy, riverside town is best-known as the gateway to the lush and laid-back 4,000 Islands.

Purpose-built in the wake of Independence, Punjab’s capital is a yin-yang experience: Brutalist architectural masterpiece meets exuberant, surrealist art garden.

Nearly everyone who comes to Singapore will begin their journey in Changi, but very few will actually get out and explore. All the more reason why you should.

Stay at one of India’s most beautiful heritage properties and let the Singh family introduce you to their home, countryside and local community.

Young, vibrant and always in the throes of change, Chennai is one of India’s most exciting and creative cities — with some of the best street-food anywhere.

A land of ghostly, abandoned mansions, like the ruins of a fairytale kingdom, Chettinad is one of the most spectacularly unexpected destinations in India.

In contrast to the mile-a-minute chaos of Bangkok, Chiang Mai is a breath of fresh air. Here, leafy boulevards and European architecture survive alongside temples dating back to the twelfth century.