Scenic Truc Lam Tay Thien Zen Monastery is breathing new life into Viet Nam’s cradle of Buddhism. Trung Hieu has the story.

Vinh Phuc, Vietnam -- It was a hot afternoon at the end of June. Heat that brings sweat to your forehead at the very thought of going outside, especially when outside means streams of motorbikes and people jostling each other as they are about their daily business.

If you are looking for inner peace and spirituality, Lantau Island is the place to go to.

Hong Kong, China -- After nearly 10 days in Hong Kong, a British colonial land of yesteryears, I still felt I was missing something. I had crisscrossed between Kowloon and Hong Kong islands several times, exploring some of their star attractions, photographing the exube rance of the islanders and of course the ultramodern skylines.

Hanoi, Vietnam -- The Perfume Pagoda festival is an annual pilgrimage that takes place in the mountainous Perfume Pagoda region south of Hanoi.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- For many people, this teardrop-shaped tropical island at the southeastern edge of India did not come up in conversations until the devastating Dec. 26 tsunami. It left at least 30,000 dead and more than 1 million homeless in Sri Lanka, which suffered the second highest toll among countries hit by the disaster.

Gaden, Tibet (China) -- One of Tibet’s most prominent monasteries, Gaden, was completely destroyed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution but has since re-established itself in India. JAMIE KHOO visits the new site.

Singing prayers and songs, a bunch of feisty travellers lend a festive flair to Bodhgaya and other Buddhist holy sites during a pilgrimage to India and Nepal

Bodhgaya, India -- It's not everyday that you get to sing the Thai national anthem and other songs at the top of your pitch in India, Bodhgaya to be precise, where Lord Buddha attained enlightenment. With a senior monk leading the chorus, our group of 60 or so Thais joined in, straining our lungs in a show of nationalistic zeal that - had the Enlightened One been hearing - would have certainly left him amused.

It is said that if the Buddhist murals at Dunhuang’s Mogao Grottoes were joined together, they would stretch for 30km.

Dunhuang, China -- I LOOKED out the window of the train to see the pale glow of the sun rising in an insipid grey sky. We had boarded the train at a station an hour’s drive from Turpan the night before and had been travelling for nine and a half hours.

BODHGAYA, INDIA -- IN HARDLY any other place in India do economic poverty and spiritual wealth go hand in hand than in the north-eastern state of Bihar. Bihar is one of the poorest areas in the country as evidenced by its dilapidated system of roads.