Hospitals, latrines, cafeterias, meeting rooms, hallways -- all underground. Anti-colonial forces began digging these tunnels in the 1930’s for resistance maneuvers against the French and Japanese, and continued to expand the 75-mile network during the Vietnam War. To escape American troops, they would stay underground for days or weeks at a time. Frustrated, American soldiers carpet bombed the entire area; large holes show the site of these explosions. Squeeze down the tiny tunnels, now a major tourist attraction.

An elegant city built on marshland, the economic center of Vietnam, a metropolis of heavy Soviet architecture and sprawling American-style hotels. Ho Chi Minh City (still often called by its former name of Saigon) comfortably -- and profitably -- combines Vietnam's competing colonial influences. See French symbolism at the Notre Dame Cathedral and City Hall, either of which would look right at home on the Côte d'Azur. The War Remnants Museum looks unflinchingly at the wars with both the French and the Americans, and at the damage inflicted on the country and its residents during the wars. You can almost step back into that time at the Reunification Palace, preserved as it was on the morning of April 30, 1975, when South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam.

Accompanied by a knowledgeable guide, cruise over the shimmering surface of Tonlé Sap Lake to see floating villages and observe the surroundings for rare wildlife; and watch agricultural traditions of harvesting, rice planting and cricket catching.

Phnom Bakheng is a Hindu and Buddhist temple in the form of a temple mountain. Dedicated to Shiva, it was built at the end of the 9th century, during the reign of King Yasovarman.

Angkor Wat was built in the first half of the 12th century (113-5BC) and is the largest religious monument in the world. It is estimated that it took 30 years for construction to be completed. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu god, Vishnu.

The Bayon is a richly decorated Khmer temple. Built in the late 12th or early 13th century as the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII, the Bayon stands at the center of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom. Following Jayavarman's death, it was modified and augmented by later Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with their own religious preferences. The Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and smiling stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak.

Bangkok grew up from rather watery beginnings -- while the original temples and royal palaces were on dry ground, ordinary residences were on bamboo rafts on the river -- into a modern sprawling city. Old secrets and traditions still run deep within the city, however. The sacred Emerald Buddha, for instance, a tiny figure carved from glowing jade and considered to have miraculous powers, is a bit of a clothes horse. Thailand's kings have amassed a full wardrobe for the figure, including gold shawls for the winter and monastic robes for the rainy season. You can peek into his closet in the Grand Palace complex, which is a bit of a dandy itself -- one of the buildings is called "the foreigner with the Thai hat" because of its classical Western design topped by three-tiered Thai tower. A heartier Buddha resides at Wat Po, whose sacred image is 150 feet long (the Buddha's smile alone is 15 feet long). The picturesque spire of the Temple of the Dawn rises across the river. The colorful flower mosaics on the temple were created using bits of pottery donated by local residents.

Thailand's kings used to make annual processions down the Chao Phraya River, surrounded by an elaborate 51-boat entourage. The king's own boat was 150 feet long, carved from a single tree into the shape of a swan and covered with gold and glass mosaics, and required 54 men to row. We can't promise you such luxurious accommodations, but we can guarantee a beautiful ride down Bangkok's main river.

Thailand's celebrated cooking combines fresh vegetables, spicy chilies, sweet coconut milk, and splashes of lemon and lime to create outstanding noodle and rice dishes. Sample some of the best at this buffet.

Buddhism entered Thailand at Nakhon Pathom, Thailand's oldest town. The Phra Phathom Chedi (a stupa, or type of temple) commemorates the Buddha's stay here, and is therefore one of the most holy temples in the country. Shaped like an inverted bowl, the temple's spire reaches 400 feet into the air.

During World War II, the Japanese invaders forced Allied prisoners of war to build a railway bridge connecting Thailand to Burma. The conditions and treatment of the prisoners were so harsh that thousands died during the project. Allied bombs destroyed the bridge, but a new bridge is still in operation. The history of the project is chronicled at the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre, and the seven-thousand dead are honored at the War Cemetery.