Places Ryanjames Wants to Go

A blooming house of worship for the masses.

A bulky, ancient stupa marks the site of Siddhartha Gautama's seminal Buddhist teaching.

Known as the wettest place on earth.

A unique interactive bronze sculpture that captures a real-life viral rescue.

This beautifully restored fortification kept the city safe for centuries.

On the Pakistan-India border the militaries perform an elaborate theater of aggression each and every night.

This peaceful Sikh gurudwara serves around 50,000 free meals every day within its gilded walls.

Many Hindus make the long pilgrimage to this holy city to have their remains burned on the banks of the Ganges River.

If you dare visit this fort, fire-breathing hyenas might devour your camels.

This bazaar is one of the oldest in the Arabian world.

This spectacular mosque houses the second-largest chandelier in the world.

This mysterious anthropomorphic statuette is on display at the National Museum of Oman.

The world's second-tallest flagpole stands proud despite dropping rank.

A building facade covered with the statues of 11 giants of Tajik literature.

This stunning 15th-century royal hill fort preserves the age of chivalry in Rajasthan.

Hidden in the shadow of a rocky fortress is one concubine’s long-forgotten legacy.

Once an indicator of social class, the color blue has come to define this city on the edge of the Thar Desert.

A perfect circle of 24 mysterious holes dates back to prehistoric times.

Centuries-old bridges grown from tangled roots.

The beautiful 16th-century stepwell lies in the shadow of a famous fortress.

This opulent 16th-century Maharaja’s palace is a unique mix of Hindu and Muslim designs.

An ancient wall in the shadows of the Amber Castle.

A ruined hilltop watch base in the Aravalli ridge above Jaipur, where broken fort walls and a forgotten lookout overlook Man Sagar Lake, reachable only by scrambling through cactus-covered desert trails.

More than half of this Indian palace is drowned but it looks all the more spectacular for it.