Our favourite places in Malaysia

Ninh Binh’s landscape of jagged peaks could be taken straight from the pages of Vietnamese legend, but it’s real enough — and whether you explore by boat, bike or foot, it always delivers.

Stunningly beautiful yet eminently accessible, Mai Chau’s rice paddy scenery and ethnic minority villages offer an introduction to rural Vietnam that comes with comfy beds, Western loos, and loads of adventurous activities.

Combining canary-yellow French palaces with colourful and chaotic market streets dating back to the imperial dynasties, Hanoi is the place to soak up the atmosphere of old Vietnam.

Jungle-clad islands cloaked in atmospheric sea mist and 2,000 limestone pinnacles thrusting skywards: Halong Bay and siblings Lan Ha Bay & Bai Tu Long Bay are indisputably one of Asia’s great landscapes.

It’s difficult to overstate the importance of Sukhothai in the history of Thailand. Abandoned for four centuries, today its 193 restored temples offer a glimpse into the civilisation that created the Thai alphabet, spread Theravada Buddhism, and gave birth to Thai culture.

The largest and most popular of the Thai Islands has as many different personalities as it has beaches — and that’s quite a few! Pay no heed to those who say Phuket is past its prime: there are pockets of paradise here to compete with anywhere in the world.

Wedged into a narrow valley in Thailand’s far north, with steep-sloped, jungle-cloaked mountains rising on all sides, Mae Hong Son is a laid-back base for adventures through forest and farmland to the villages of Karen, Lisu and Black Lahu ethnic minorities.

Krabi’s coastline is the stuff travel dreams are made of. Emerald vegetation clings to dramatic, gravity-defying cliffs, towering limestone pinnacles teeter precariously over the sea, and hundreds of little islands lie waiting to be explored.

Known for its low-key tourist scene, ultra-luxurious resorts, and peace-loving Muslim culture, Ko Yao Noi is an island idyll hidden among the famous party islands and backpacker beach towns of the Andaman Sea.

With its trifecta of swoon-worthy tropical scenery, cutting-edge spas, and unbeatable, ocean-fresh dining, could Ko Samui be the most indulgent island getaway in the world?

Sandwiched between party-happy Ko Phi-Phi and laid-back Krabi, Ko Lanta is a tiny little drop of beach-fringed greenery in the middle of Thailand’s famous turquoise seas. If you’re looking for a low-key island retreat, this is it.

Khao Sok National Park is the place to stay at a rafthouse lodge, to kayak on Thailand’s most beautiful lake, to follow your nose to metre-wide “corpse flowers”, and trek past whispering bamboo groves and hooting gibbons to remote wildlife sanctuaries.