19 DAYS AND 16 NIGHTS FROM LOS ANGELES -- Hong Kong (3N) Bangkok (3N) Kuala Lumpur (3N) Singapore (2n) Jakarta (2N) Bali (3N)
Depart tonight by widebody jet to Hong Kong, crossing the International Date Line en route.
Tour includes a tram ride up Victoria Peak for a "once in a lifetime" view of this legendary deepwater harbor and stunning skyline -- from the skyscrapers of Central, the financial and commercial district, to the dazzling shopping malls and hotels across the water in Kowloon's East Tsimshatsui. Then visit Repulse Bay's beaches, Stanley Market and Aberdeen's "floating village." Enjoy here a banquet on a night-lit "floating restaurant" as introduction to the wondrous variety of top-flight restaurants here, European, Asian and All-China: Cantonese, Peking, Szechuan, Mongolian, Chiu Chow, Shanghai. .
Shopping here is a pastime second only to dining, whether dim sum establishments in Central, French cuisine in East Tsimshatsui hotels or the eclectic eateries on Food Street. Browse for bargains in the attractive designer shops, fancy malls, shoe and carpet streets, electronics district, jewelry, furniture and antique shops, and the legendary customized tailor and fashion outfitters. Sightseeing include harbor cruise, night tram tour with cocktails, Yau Ma Tei walking tour in Kowloon, Sung Dynasty village, Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club tour, and any of Hong Kong's 235 other green, scenic islands such as Lantau, Cheung Chau and Lamma.
Fly this morning to Bangkok, Thailand's capital on the Chao Phraya river and residence of South Asia's only still reigning monarchy, the Chakri dynasty, whose founder Rama I established Bangkok as the capital in 1782 (the mid-19th century rule of the versatile and accomplished Rama IV is represented in "The King and I."). City tour features the sumptuous Royal Grand Palace built by Rama I, particularly the dazzling Wat Phra Keo complex with its splendid Emerald Buddha, the legendary statue of pale green jasper believed to be the symbolic guarantor of the country's independence; also visit nearby Wat Po, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn) and Temple of the Golden Buddha.
Free days for further sightseeing and shopping for local wares, from teak desks to ruby rings to hand-turned pottery. Other best buys in Bangkok include Thai silks and less expensive cottons, nielloware, silverware, bronzeware, pottery and celadon, a gray-green porcelain, pewter, gems and jewelry, folk handicrafts -- those from the northern region of Chiang Mai are highly prized -- and custom-tailored clothing which can rival the products of Savile Row at much less cost. Those interested in the fascinating history, production and folklore of Thai silk should not miss a tour of the legendary "Silk King" Jim Thompson's Thai House with its magnificent art collection and adjacent weavers' village.
Morning flight to Malaysia's capital, located at the junction of the Kelang and Gombak rivers (Kuala Lumpur: "muddy estuary"). Despite its prosaic name, this sprawling, energetic city has a dramatic variety of sleek skyscrapers, impressive modernistic Islamic monuments and the 1462 foot Petronas twin towers -- the world's tallest -- erected in downtown KL even as a new capital (Putrajaya) was being cleared not far to the south. Afternoon tour of major civic buildings, the handsome National Mosque with its serene pools and fountains, the Lake Gardens, the "Green Belt" (where the National Monument was designed by the creator of Washington's famous Iwo Jima sculpture) and National Museum. .
Free days to explore the busy Central Market or fascinating Jalan Petaling (Chinatown), sample the delicious variety of Asian, Continental or Malaysian specialties like satay, shop in KL venues from giant department stores and complexes (Bukit Bintang Plaza, Sungei Wang Plaza) to colorful bazaars, small shops (lanes off Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman) or specialty outlets such as the Karyaneka Handicrafts Centre, Batik Malaysia Berhad, Jalan Masjid India (sarees) or Selangor Pewter Showroom and Factory : Optional tours: immense Batu caves and their spectacular Hindu shrines (discovered by an American naturalist in the last century), scenic Templer Park or make a day trip to the luxurious Genting Highlands Resort or to the historical town of Malacca occupied successively by the Portuguese, Dutch and English.
Morning flight to Singapore, the former trading post established in this invitingly deep and well-sheleterd harbor for the British East India Company by the far-sighted Stamford Raffles shortly after the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. Afternoon tour of probably the cleanest, most efficiently administered city in Asia: the. city harbor and its famous Merlion statue, the colonial style government buildings, Empress Place (the city's finest neoclassical structure) and its statue of the Founding Father in a fitting pose of visionary contemplation, the market area and colorful Sri Mariamman temple. Also visit the Instant Asia Cultural Show, a dance festival and memorable embodiment of ethnic pride and civic harmony.
Day free in this Asian crossroads for browsing, bargaining and buying in the multi-level malls, sleekly designed plazas and bustling arcades along Orchard Road and Tanglin Road. Equally attractive are local outlets in Arab Street, Chinatown, Geylang Serai, and Little India; a pan-Asian selection of handicrafts is available also at the Singapore Handicrafts Centre. This variety of venues offers a wonderful opportunity for comparison shopping for Kelantan (northeast Malaysian) silk and delicate silver filigree work, Selangor pewter, the rich hues of Javanese and Malaysian batiks, Persian, Afghan and Chinese (Tientsin) carpets, bright Indian sarees and gold, silver, ivory, pearl, jade and other precious stones.
Morning flight to Jakarta, capital of the far-flung and enormous (576,000 sq.mi.) archipelago of Indonesia, a dramatically beautiful land of dense tropical jungles, dark towering volcanoes -- the Krakatoa eruption in 1883 was a memorably devastating event -- and fertile, carefully cultivated rice paddies supporting a diverse population of some 180 million speaking as many as 300 languages. Afternoon city tour includes Merdeka Square and Sukarno's enormous National Monument with its freedom flame, the extremely rich and impressive National Museum collection, the President's Palace, the old town known as Kota or Old Batavia with its Chinatown (Glodok), Dutch-style architecture and old harbor area of Sunda Kalapa plus visit to a batik workshop.
Day is free to visit the "Beautiful Indonesia" theme park with its 27 pavilions for each of the provinces, the huge zoo where the featured attraction is the not-so-beautiful komodo dragon, attend a performance of the unique wayang kulit shadow puppet theater complete with gemalan orchestra -- a central and serious form of entertainment in Indonesian culture -- or make a day trip to Bogor, 40 miles outside the city, to view the spectacular 275-acre Botanical Gardens established by Stamford Raffles. You can shop for handicrafts at such central outlets as the Sarinah department store or the even larger Pasaraya and explore the shops along Jalan Majapahit for antiques, while Plaza Indonesia is a new and comprehensive shopping center
Today you fly east across Java to the legendary island of Bali, where the natives practice -- indeed, live out in their daily lives -- a unique form of Hinduism combining elements of Buddhism and animism which permeate the ritualistic culture of this compact island, a mere 84 miles long by 48 miles wide of amazingly varied landscape of golden beaches, verdant terraced rice fields and dark volcanic mountains intersected by close-knit villages and ancient temples. Afternoon city tour of the capital Denpasar includes market Pasar Banjung, state temple Pura Agung Jagatnatha, the Bali Museum and Abiankapas art complex and a batik workshop. Also attend a colorful barong dance by artists trained at the acclaimed local Konservatori Kerawitan.
Just larger than Rhode Island, USA's smallest state, and a mere speck in the immense 13600-island Indonesian archipelago, Bali nevertheless offers extraordinary natural beauties and cultural riches in a variety of tours and performances. Besides the legong dance admired by connoisseurs, not to be missed is the celebrated Kecak or Monkey Dance, an exciting large ensemble evening show dramatizing stories from the Ramayana. Art tour with prime local shopping opportunities to Ubud with its painters' colony and museum plus nearby Mas (woodcarving) Celuk (gold and silver) and Batubulan (stone carving). Temple tours are extraordinary high points of the Balinese experience: Mengwi (Royal Temple of Taman Ayun) and the breathtaking Sea Temple of Tanah Lot; or full day tour including Goa Gajah Elephant Cave, Holy Springs Temple of Tampaksiring and 13th-century Kehen Temple.
Depart from Bangkok, arriving on the same day due to having re-crossed the International Date Line.
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