This Kyoto Starbucks takes coffee drinkers back in time.

With over 12,000 different species of plants, this botanical garden is Japan's oldest and most diverse.

This glass wall is gradually filling up with paper cranes, in honor of Hiroshima’s past and dedication to its future.

An eerie reminder to the horrors of World War II.

Bangkok's take on the High Line is a park on a traffic bridge above the iconic Chao Phraya River.

This statue took 60 years to complete.

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

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

This Bangkok high-rise looks like a rudimentary LEGO elephant.

A shrine built to combat the bad karma of a commercial venture.

The headquarters of the Mahanikai school of Buddhism, Thailand's largest monastic order.

This dazzling Buddhist temple was constructed from over one million ceramic tiles salvaged from a British shipwreck.

A bustling bazaar with an elaborate facade in Central Asia’s underrated capital.

Next to a newer mosque in Khujand’s main square lies the city’s oldest mosque, whose interiors are spectacularly intricate.

The largest Lenin statue in Central Asia was moved to an empty field rather than being destroyed.

The largest dam in the world and the site of a potential disaster.

Where the father of Persian poetry is laid to rest.

This dark, damp, perilous tunnel is the only passage from north to south Tajikistan.

This medieval citadel once guarded the western entrance of the Pamir Highway.

The first version of this stalwart construction appeared around 3,000 years ago.

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

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

Only the foundation remains of the rest stop building that was hit by three large tsunami waves, killing 47 visitors.

A neglected bell tower in modern Colombo is a symbol of the city's colonial past.