Places ridgleakatherine Wants to Go

Where an entire elephant skeleton, a snakeskin table runner, and thousands of animal remains become art.

This mountain sunrise is one of the most breathtaking views in Thailand, yet well off the tourist trail.

A small museum in the Golden Triangle tells the story of the opium drug trade that gripped Northern Thailand.

A Buddhist shrine in a cave protected by macaques next to dark passages lined with creepy paintings.

How often do you find security guards patrolling tropical beaches to protect rare sea turtles from poachers? 

This remote island known for its balancing boulder may have inspired Peter Pan's Neverland.

The world's largest reclining Buddha, the Giant Buddha of Mudon.

The ruins of this prominent glass factory yield hidden treasures buried among the jungle floor.

This extravagant villa built by a Burmese merchant is part pagoda and part European mansion.

This gem-encrusted temple is said to contain some of the Buddha's hair which can make the deaf hear and the blind see.

Caves full of Buddhist statues, incredible rock formations and a deserted lagoon.

A precariously perched golden rock defies gravity and brings pilgrims from across Myanmar.

Gigantic unfinished stupa and the world's 2nd largest bell.

A grand imperial capital left to fall into magnificent ruin.

These serpents are considered holy and pampered accordingly.

The tower claims to be the world's only pagoda made entirely from Myanmar's lucrative gemstone.

The oldest teak bridge in the world is made from the remains of a royal palace.

This golden temple is surrounded by hundreds of stone tablets that comprise the "world's largest book."

A vast, otherworldly collection of Buddhist stupas.

A series of tiny artificial islands rich with produce bob atop the surface of the lake.

This unique temple complex remains off the typical tourist trail.

Over 2,000 ancient temples dot the Myanmar landscape at the site of this famed archaeological site.

Myanmar's Mount Olympus atop a 2,500-foot volcanic plug.

These muddy eruptions are less deadly than actual volcanoes but also more holy.