Places to Travel in East Asia

Cherry blossoms and chrysanthemums, sweet smelling clouds at opium dens, the calm of Zen Buddhism, the chaos of the Aum cult cast a spell. Partake in a soothing tea ceremony; watch heaving sumo wrestlers; sample sushi and breakfast on dimsums. Match wits with Taipans, conduct business with the Koreans, but tread wary of triads. Sail on junks down the waterfront, and roam the streets of Kowloon.

The enigmatic east has accommodated a whole new world of electronic gizmos, industrial know-how and technology to emerge as a front-runner in world economy - this is the contemporary face of East Asia.