Approaching anywhere by boat is generally impressive, but nothing had prepared me for the approach to Pangkor Laut. Wooden villas in stilts perched over the water, strips of white sand all backed by dense rainforest rising high into the interior of the island. Just four hours previously, I’d been in the hustle and bustle of Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur — a world away from the quiet beauty of Pangkor Laut.

The temples and shrines of Kushinagar, in India, attract devout Buddhists and spiritual tourists

A group of ordinary Afghans from a remote area of that war-torn nation set out with a dream — to scale the country’s tallest peak in the name of peace. 
Aunohita Mojumdar tracks their epic journey all the way to the top.

Kitzbühel, in the Tyrol region of Austria, has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the finest winter sports destinations in the world.

Designers of the 17th century Taj Mahal, the finest piece of Mughal architecture, employed the same unit of measurement used by the Harappan civilization as far back 2000 BC, according to a study by an IIT-Kanpur professor. These units were used by builders in India till the British imposed their own units in the 18th century.

Buddhist and Hindu architecture and motifs dot the charming Yogyakarta in predominantly Muslim Indonesia

SHANGHAI – Global travel may be ailing, but China’s biggest city of Shanghai is pursuing luxury travelers with a vengeance, bent on restoring a reputation for opulence and elegance that once made it the Paris of the Orient.

FOLEGANDROS, Greece – Imagine a place isolated enough that dissidents of the state are sent into exile there.Now, make that place so intoxicating that some exiles choose to settle there.