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South-East Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the most famous and popular region of Asia. Fairy tale beaches of Thailand and temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia are known all over the world. South-East Asia is a region of good food, massage under palm trees, turquoise waterfalls, thai-boxing, Buddhist temples and a relaxed lifestyle close to the tropical nature. It is this region of Asia that is most often associated with the ‘tropical paradise on earth’, although South East-Asia has a lot more to offer.
The division of Southeast Asia
The region of South-East Asia is situated between the Far East, the Indian Subcontinent, and Australia and Oceania. South East-Asia includes the Indochinese peninsula, the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines. The entire region covers an area of nearly 4.5 million km2 and a population exceeding 550mln.
South-East Asia map.
There are different divisions of regions but my own I treat as the only right one, and that’s why to South-East Asia I include the following countries:
- Indonesia
- East Timor
The map of South-East Asia.
It is also worth noting that one of the largest islands of Indonesia – the New Guinea is divided into two parts. The western part belongs to Indonesia and the eastern part is an independent country, called Papua New Guinea. Certain literature indicates that the entire island of New Guinea is located in Oceania, both the Indonesian and the Papuan part, although I do not agree with such division.
Politically speaking, to me and to most geographers South-East Asia ends with the border of Indonesia, and Oceania begins with Papua New Guinea. According to some geographers the Pacific country of East Timor is also a part of Oceania, but I include it to the region of South-East Asia.
To South-East Asia I also include the Indian Andaman and Nicobar islands, because they are located in the Andaman Sea 150km from the Indonesian Aceh.
I also recommend my press publication about Burma titled: “Burma; the Country of Golden Pagodas“.
Tourist attractions of South-East Asia
From the point of view of tourism South-East Asia is a very attractive region because there are paradise beaches, mountains, fairy tale waterfalls, pleasant warm climate, interesting art and culture based mainly on Buddhism, but also on Islam. Breathtaking are exotic flora and fauna, rich flavours of Oriental cuisine, massages and martial arts.
South-East Asia has also some of the most interesting metropolis of Asia, such as: Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore or Saigon; and the famous ruins of ancient civilizations, such as for example: Angkor Wat and Bagan. Apart from that South-East Asia has a well developed tourism, and to many it is a paradise that tourists don’t want to leave.
Sea turtle, which I met at the bottom of the sea, whilst diving in the archipelago of Semporna islands. Sabah, the Malaysian Borneo.
Southeast Asia is easy to get around and you can travel on a low budget. For travellers it is primarily an attractive region of the world rich in natural beauty and attractive cultural and architectural wealth left by their ancestors. More demanding travellers, i.e. those who need a challenge can also travel through remote islands of Indonesia, they can trek through primeval rain forests of Malaysia and they can sleep in the biggest caves in the world.
The richness of this region is breathtaking. For a person from Europe, beautiful and calming and attractive are also simple things, which for local people are ordinary and boring. While in Thailand I lived on an exotic island in a wooden house. The roof was thatched and the walls were made of palm fronds with toke geckos running around.
While travelling through the jungle in Laos I slept in a bamboo hut and my guides cooked chicken for me inside bamboo. When entering water in Malaysia a huge monitor lizard swam past me, and it was larger than many crocodiles I have seen; and another time, while diving I saw a huge sea turtle at the bottom.
Finally, there are very impressive Buddhist temples that are different in Thailand and different in Burma. I rate people from Southeast Asia much better than for example people from South Asia. (I don’t believe in equality.)
Thailand – Hong Island, (Andaman Sea).
(I recommend articles about specific countries, where there is more information. The main purpose of this article are mainly location of the region and its division).
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