Places sciencepenguin Wants to Go

An extravagant monument to an extravagantly unpopular Emperor.

Perhaps the only one of its kind, the nearly-forgotten site once held mortal (and rigged) gladiatorial games between tigers and imperial war elephants.

Giant pagoda houses the car that drove Thích Quảng Đức to his death by self-immolation.

A cityscape of burial tombs that you can easily lose yourself in.

The spot where the two men ate together now stands enclosed in glass.

The notorious "Hanoi Hilton" where Vietnamese colonial subjects and later American POWs, including John McCain, were imprisoned.

Home of the unusual art of water puppetry, one of Vietnam's oldest curiosities.

Walk through a clothing store, across a courtyard, and up several flights of stairs for delicious coffee with a side of beautiful views.

Life-sized painted illusions let pedestrians blend in with the street art.

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

A gift from the Soviet Union in the 1980s, this is the only statue of the Soviet dictator in Southeast Asia.

Under Hanoi’s medieval citadel sits a secret military headquarters from the final years of the Vietnam War.

Ho Chi Minh's perfectly preserved body has been on display here since 1975.

Monument to a brutal, ineffectual US bombing campaign and a sobering reminder of the human cost of the Vietnam War.

A treasure trove of pathological, forensic, parasitological, and anatomical specimens.

Bangkok's men with dangerous jobs come here in search of protective talismans.

Chronicling the history of Thailand’s unique currencies, from the silver “bullet money” to porcelain gambling tokens of various shapes.

This statue took 60 years to complete.

Remainders of the defenses established at the start of the previous era in Thai history

Bangkok celebrated its shifting monarchy with a militaristic homage to democracy.

Visit a century-old sweet shop serving gold-standard mango sticky rice.

Sidle up for this Chinatown watering hole for Thai moonshine accompanied by traditional live tunes.

This enormous gold Buddha statue was hidden inside a stucco decoy for centuries.

Founded during the Ayutthaya era, this unique Buddhist temple remains shipshape to this day.