Places daveschaaf Wants to Go

This striking landscape in northern Vietnam contains both geological and archaeological wonders.

An extravagant monument to an extravagantly unpopular Emperor.

This Vietnamese hell cave lets visitors take a walk through a devilish underworld full of demons.

This bridge is embedded with a giant steel dragon that breathes fire from its mouth.

Twice a day a speeding train passes only inches from the homes of this residential neighborhood.

This spectacular bridge supported by two gigantic hands looks like something out of a fantasy universe.

This grand temple complex from the Old Silla era of Korea is home to a stone pagoda that was build in the 7th century.

Visiting this grotto is symbolic of a spiritual journey into Nirvana.

From mid-September to early November, dreamy fields of pink muhly grass spring up all over South Korea.

This human-made pond is part of a Korean palace complex first built in the 7th century.

Numerical symbolism abound at East Asia's oldest observatory.

One of only a handful of seaside temples in Korea, this sacred space is home to a legendary healing Buddha statue and a traffic safety prayer pagoda.

The 400-year-old remains of the samurai invasion of Korea.

One man and his wife have turned a barren Korean island into a fantastical botanical wonderland.

The headquarters of Korea’s provisional government later became the site of a prominent statesman's assassination.

A symbol of hope, survival, and national character, especially after it rose phoenix like from the flames.

The supreme shrine of the state.

The burial ground of two kings and a queen is now a calm city park in the middle of bustling Seoul.

This pagoda was once the central feature of a Buddhist temple that no longer exists.

Its humdrum facade only adds to its electrifying appeal: a rooftop with panoramic views of a shapeshifting metropolis.

The name of the only golden Buddhist temple in Korea translates as "the temple that protects the country."

A unique structure located on the grounds of one of five grand palaces that were built by the Joseon dynasty.

Buy your fish and have it cooked to order in this bustling, eight-floor seafood market.

A chilling monument to Korean patriots who resisted the Japanese occupation.