There’s something primal and ageless in seeing the sun rise or set. It’s one of the few connecting tissues that crosses all barriers – time, class, age, race, location. For as long as we’ve been here, humans have been staring at that huge ball of fire in the sky and going “Whoa.”

Don’t get us wrong – watching the sun rise is pretty awesome too, but if you’re anything like us, you’ve seen plenty more sunsets in your life than you have sunrises. With that in mind, here are a few of our favorite spots to kick back and watch day become night.

Kuta Beach, Bali, Indonesia

Yes, it’s overloaded with tourists, but they come for a reason – Kuta is a truly spectacular beach that just happens to face directly west. Come sunset, that ball o’ fire in the sky starts to dip toward the horizon, and if the conditions are just right, your entire field of view gets lit up as if the sunset is actually happening inside your eyes. Great photo ops too, especially the ol’ ‘silhouetted-people-walking-on-the-beach’ kind.

Bagan, Myanmar

Did you know that in 1286 Kublai Khan – Genghis’ grandson – sent his Mongol forces into Myanmar and defeated the Bagan army? Perhaps they came for the sunsets. A few centuries later, the thousands of temples that remain scattered across the barren, grassy plain make for a superb backdrop as the sun drops behind the Arakan Mountain range, with each successive ‘layer’ of temples and hills fading into shadow the further away they get. Truly an amazing sight.

[Tweet “Did you know that in 1286 Kublai Khan sent his Mongol forces into Myanmar & defeated the Bagan army? Perhaps they came for the sunsets”]

Ko Lanta, Thailand

Because most of Lanta’s best beaches are on the west side of the island, almost any place with a view gives you a superb sunset. Our favorite is the rocky outcropping at the northern end of Kantiang Bay, where you can stand on a cliff overlooking the ocean and watch as the sun turns the sky from blue to purple to orange to red. It also helps that there’s a bar right there. You know, for soda and juice and healthy thinks like that.

Vang Vieng, Laos

This popular backpacker town used to be like the Las Vegas of Laos, but after a social order crackdown, things have calmed down a bit. If you’re able to head up into the hills to the east of town, you’ll be rewarded with a superb view across houses and temples, over the Nam Xong River, and into to the Luang Prabang mountain range as the sun dips behind the limestone peaks. Just make sure you bring a flashlight for the trip back home.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Let’s be honest – this stunning, massive temple complex would be amazing even if you had to explore it by touch alone. But standing on top of a centuries-old temple looking across a thick jungle canopy to the setting sun is a pretty spectacular way to experience the end of the day. The bad news is that everyone knows it’s awesome and lines up with cameras ready. The good news is that Smiling Albino knows a few secret spots that the masses don’t…

Ngwe Saung Beach, Myanmar

It’s hard to find an awesome beach with a great sunset that allows you a people-free picture (see Bali, above), but when you do, oh mannnnn, it’s great. Whenever SA heads to Myanmar, we try to make it to Ngwe Saung Beach, which is in the southwest corner of the country. Only recently opened to tourism after decades of isolation, this part of the country has almost no development, thus, no buildings or huge crowds to cramp your style as you watch the sun set.

Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

The endless, rolling tea plantations of Malaysia’s central highlands are a stunning place to watch the end of the day. If you manage to get to a place where there’s no traffic (which is fairly easy up here) you can enjoy the event in almost total silence as the light filters through clouds and casts mountain shadows across the tea leaves in striking, changing patterns.

[Tweet “The endless, rolling tea plantations of Malaysia’s central highlands are a stunning place to watch the end of the day”]

Plan For the Perfect Sunset

Have someone on the ground plan the perfect trip and help with knowledge of the best spot and best time to watch the sunset. Contact Smiling Albino info@smilingalbino.com.

Check out our upcoming Myanmar tour “Asia’s Golden Land” with founder and Adventurer-in-Chief Dan Fraser this November 2014.

The post Best Spots to Watch Sunset in Southeast Asia first appeared on Smiling Albino.

As with many questions that arise in the middle of a vacation, there is no one answer that fits everyone, but there are a few simple truths that everyone will experience when they arrive at either place. But first, a quick primer:

The temples at Siem Reap, Cambodia – part of the giant Angkor complex – are easily the country’s most visited, most famous, and highest earning tourist attraction – so famous they appear on the national flag! The Angkor ruins have rightly been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and are simply one of those things that has to be seen to be believed. The main temple, Angkor Wat, was built in the early 1100s and served as the heart of the Hindu-then-Buddhist Khmer kingdom until its decline in the 1400s. The main temple and hundreds of other temples large and small were subsequently abandoned and then ‘re-discovered’ in the late 1500s. The entire complex now stands as a magnificent monument to the might, ingenuity and sheer artistic badassery of the Khmers. Learn more about what there is to see in Cambodia.

On the other side of Thailand we have Bagan, Myanmar. At its peak, it was the center of the Buddhist Kingdom of Pagan, which was established in the mid 800s, and from the mid 1000s to 1287 (when the Mongols finally sacked it) it was the center of a thriving and powerful empire. Surprisingly, the site has not been named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to the large number of restorations that have taken place, but don’t let that fool you – there are plenty of ruins here – over 2,200 to be precise – stretching across 100+ sq.km and are a magnificent site any time of year. Much like the ruins of Siem Reap, they simply have to be seen to be believed. See more of what Myanmar has to offer. 

But now the big question – which one should you see?

In broad terms, Siem Reap is a much slicker experience. Given a huge economic boost by foreign investment and relentless (and successful) international promotion, the town of Siem Reap is thronged by tourists and offers all of the comforts of a western city, from French pastries to hip bars, to cool music, and shopping. Transport around the town and temples is well-planned and some amazing hotels offer first-rate accommodation.

On the other end of the spectrum is Bagan, which is a much more rustic, challenging place to get around, although what it offers – or rather, doesn’t offer – might be a greater attraction. There are no convenience stores here, no well-paved roads, no western chain restaurants or well-organized international tourism campaigns to bring people in. Decades of repressive rule have left the country much like a child stepping into the sun after a long nap, blinking, yawning, but ready for big adventures. If you enjoy a slower pace and don’t mind occasional unplanned power cuts, internet that’s spotty at the best of times, and infrastructure that’s generously described as “crumbling chic”, then you will probably have a ball in Bagan.

Both Siem Reap and Bagan can easily be seen as two sides of the same coin – majestic, historic, spiritual, stunning, memorable sites that provide a powerful connection to the past. One is a few decades ahead of the other, but both provide a unique travel experience that should not be missed. So why just choose just one? The only way for you to know which is better is to experience both firsthand! Tell us everything you want to see in Southeast Asia and we’ll make it happen.

We personalize every trip and make what seems impossible, possible! Inquire with us!

The post Rustic Chic Bagan vs. Classic Siem Reap first appeared on Smiling Albino.