Ban Gioc Waterfall- Vietnam

A thirty meter high Ban Gioc Waterfall, is the largest one in Vietnam. It ranks as the fourth largest waterfall along the border, after Iguazu Falls, Victoria Falls, and Niagara Falls. It is located in Cao Bang Province, near the Sino-Vietnamese border. Endemic species of plants were rediscovered recently in the gorge, and also treasures of bandits in the cliff-side caves.


The flowing water from Quy Xuan River creates mist in the air, that makes the waterfall's temperature remarkably cool. French people started building cottages during the 1920's for relaxing and to enjoy the magnificent beauty of nature's gift to the Vietnamese people. "How lucky a country to have such a marvelous gift"

As you can see, the sight depicts a palpable sense of beauty mixed with village atmosphere that makes the waterfall truly remarkable." Does that rhyme?"

Sihanoukville Beach Resort - Cambodia

One of South East Asian unspoiled beaches is Sihanoukville Beach Resort. It was originally constructed as a port city in 1956 but is now more cosmopolitan and urbanized than any other towns or cities of the country.



Today, Sihanoukville Beach Resort is more of a beach town than a port town. Local and foreign visitors are increasing steadily, yet the resort has still a relaxing pace of life.

Foreign and local cuisines are available in almost all the bars and hotels around but fresh sea food is the towns most popular menu. A wide variety of bars for night party goers are also open until wee hours especially in the downtown area.



Sihanoukville Beach Resort is a perfect tropical getaway for beach-goers where the white sand beach of Cambodia meets the gulf of Thailand waters.

Myanmar's Most Sacred Pagoda

The most sacred pagoda in the Union of Myanmar is Shwedagon Pagoda. It was built on Singuttara Hill, and according to legend, it's 2,500 years old. With a height of 326 feet (99.4 meters), it can be visible from miles away, and dominates the Yangon skyline. It also glitters in gold, with the perimeter measuring 432.8 meters (1,420 feet).

The Pagoda at night

The place was an anceint sacred site, where the relics of the three previous Buddhas were unearthed. Smaller shrines surrounds the Pagoda, with miracle images of the Buddha, and a wish granting stone. And because it's sacred, tourists need to take their shoes off upon entering.


This is a place that emits a stillness of peace and tranquility....A South East Asian treasure, truly worth a visit.

Tabon Cave -The Philippine Cradle of Civilization

Tabon Cave Facade

Tabon Cave is famous for the archeological findings of fossil human bones, claimed to be 22,000 to 24,000 years old. Dr. Robert Fox and his National Museum of the Philippines team, started excavations from 1962 to 1970, and unearthed burial jars, stone tools, animal bones, etc, apart from the very famous Tabon man skull cap remains.

Inside Tabon Cave

There are 200 caves that make up Tabon cave complex, but only one cave is open to the public. Tabon Cave is located in Quezon, a municipality of Palawan in the Philippines. It’s a 138 hectare of rugged cliffs, connected to the Palawan mainland.

Tabon Cave was declared a Museum Reservation Site in 1972, by the Philippine Government because of its importance to Philippine History. It is 155 kilometers away from Puerto Princesa City, the province’s capital, and are maintained and managed by the National Museum.

Facts about SEA Cities

I was under the impression that Rangoon (Yangon) is the capital city of Myanmar, however, there were sites which claimed that Naypyidaw is the capital and not Rangoon. I was beginning to be skeptic and confused. Can somebody tell me which is which?

I believe the only one who can give me the answer to my question is either an expert of Myanmar, or native of the said country. Given that, I decided to call my Burmese friend Ajarn Naing. He told me that Naypyidaw is indeed the capital city of Myanmar, and Rangoon is its business center.

Now, I am more confident to blog here the capital cities of the SEA nations

Here are the facts:

Myanmar (Burma)

Capital city: Naypyidaw
Area: 2, 723.7 sq mi (7, 054.37 km2)
Population: 925, 000 (2009)

Cambodia

Capital city: Phnom Penh
Area: 290 km2 (112 sq mi)
Population: 2, 000, 064 (May 2009)

Laos

Capital city: Vientiane
Area: 91, 428 sq mi (236, 800 sq mi) The nation as a whole
Population: 200,000 (2005 estimate)

Thailand

Capital city: Bangkok
Area: 1,568.737 km2 (605.7 sq mi)
Population: 8, 160, 522 (July 2007)

Vietnam

Capital city: Hanoi
Area: 3, 344.7 km2 (1, 291.4 sq mi)
Population: 3, 398,889 (2009)

Malaysia

Capital city: Kuala Lumpur
Area: 243.65 km2 (95.18 sq mi)
Population: 1, 809, 699 (2009 estimate)

Brunei

Capital city: Bandar Seri Begawan
Area: 100.36 km2 (38.7 sq mi)
Population: 27, 285 (2002)

Indonesia

Capital city Jakarta
Area: 740.28 km2 (285.8 sq mi)
Population: 8, 500, 000 (2008)

Philippines

Capital city: Manila
Area: 38.55 km2 (14.9 sq mi)
Population: 1, 660, 714 (2007)

Singapore

Capital city Singapore
Area: 710.2 km2 (274.2 sq mi)
Population: 4, 987,600 (2009 estimates)

Timor-Leste

Capital city: Dili
Area: 5,743 sq mi (14, 874 sq mi) The nation as a whole
Population: 150,000 The nation as a whole

Timor-Leste is the world's newest nation of the 21 st century recognized by the United Nations. It is a very small island bordering Indonesia, that was colonized by the Portuguese for 400 years. Gained its independence from the Portuguese but annexed by Indonesia in 1976. On May 20, 2002, Timor-Leste declared its independence from Indonesia and is now a sovereign state.

Anyways, figures shown above for the city's land area, exclude the metros, meaning, all the nearby cities aren't included, just only the capital city itself. As for Vientiane in Laos, and Dili of Timor-Leste, the figures under the land area of each of the country, shows the nation as a whole. Also, the population of Timor-Leste, also shows the entirety of the nation not just the population of the capital city alone.

South East Asian Countries and Its Earlier Inhabitants

There are 11 countries that make up South East Asia.

• Burma
• Cambodia
• Laos
  
• Thailand
• Vietnam
• Malaysia
• Brunei
• Indonesia
  
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Timor-Leste

These are the countries which can be found just below China, and Taiwan, east of India and north of Australia.

The ealriest inhabitants of South East Asia are said to be the Ati (Aetas). These people have curly black hair with dark brown skin. They live in mountians and use bow and arrow for hunting.

According to the recent study conducted by the Department of Genetics at Stanford University. There were people from south of China. the Tai, and Mon-Khmer-speaking immigrants, also Arabs, Indian, Polynesian and Melanesian who migrated to South East Asia, and traded with its people during the bronze and iron age, so people of SEA are not homogenous and far from being it. Intermarriage was also a factor because the genes of the said countries (people) were evident as well. I guess there is no country in the world who can say they are still homogeneous, is there?

A picture of Aetas with their bows and arrows

Perhaps the country that has the most influence to almost all the countries of SEA is China. This can be debated though (violent reactions are always welcome LOL). There are lots of people who have Chinese blood running through the SEA peoples' veins, which is very evident in people's physical features and skin color. Do you agree?

Source: Wikipedia