Asia

Asia is bounded by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Pacific to the east and the Indian Ocean to the south, with the Ural Mountains, the Caucasus and the Bosphorus conventionally marking the western edge. The Himalaya and Karakoram carry Everest, at 8,849 m the highest point on Earth, while Lake Baikal in Siberia is the deepest lake. The Yangtze, Yellow, Mekong, Ganges, Indus, Ob, Tigris and Euphrates drain very different landscapes. UN statistics divide the continent into Eastern, Southern, South-eastern, Western and Central Asia, with Siberia sitting in Russia's north. Southern Asia holds about 2 billion people and Eastern Asia about 1.6 billion. Scale shapes every itinerary: the Trans-Mongolian train from Moscow to Beijing takes about six days, and a single country such as Indonesia or Russia can need several flights.

Much of the ancient world can be visited. In Pakistan, Mohenjo-daro and Harappa preserve Indus Valley cities, and in Iraq the ruins of Babylon and the ziggurat at Ur belong to Mesopotamia. Persepolis in Iran recalls the Achaemenid Persian empire, and Petra in Jordan the Nabataeans. In China, the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army near Xi'an date from imperial unification, while the Registan in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, recalls the Silk Road. Buddhist and Hindu sites include the Ajanta caves in India and Borobudur in Indonesia. Angkor in Cambodia, spread over about 400 square kilometres, preserves the capitals of the Khmer Empire. Mongol rule left fewer standing monuments, though Erdene Zuu monastery in Mongolia stands near the site of Karakorum. European colonial ports remain in Old Goa in India and the Dutch-built fort at Galle in Sri Lanka.

The main long-haul hubs include Dubai (DXB), Doha (DOH), Istanbul (IST), Delhi (DEL), Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK), Singapore Changi (SIN), Kuala Lumpur (KUL), Hong Kong (HKG), Beijing Capital (PEK), Seoul Incheon (ICN) and Tokyo's Haneda (HND) and Narita (NRT). Low-cost carriers such as AirAsia from Kuala Lumpur, Scoot from Singapore, IndiGo in India and Cebu Pacific in the Philippines link many neighbouring capitals. On land, Japan's Shinkansen and China's high-speed network are the main fast rail, Indian Railways covers the subcontinent, and the Trans-Siberian and Trans-Mongolian lines cross Russia towards Mongolia and China. Ferries connect Singapore with Indonesia's Riau islands and Busan with Fukuoka. Fly across Indonesia and the Philippines, much of Siberia and Central Asia, and between the Gulf and East Asia, where overland routes are impractical.

Asia has no single season. South Asia's southwest monsoon brings heavy rain from about June to September, so Rajasthan and Delhi are better from November to March, when days run roughly 20 to 28°C, while May and June can exceed 40°C. Mainland Southeast Asia is wetter from about May to October and drier from November to April. The Philippines and Vietnam are exposed to typhoons between roughly June and November. East Asia suits March to May and September to November, with Japan's cherry blossom in late March and April. Gulf summers from June to August are commonly above 40°C, and November to March is milder. Siberia's winters fall far below freezing. Peaks affect bookings: Lunar New Year in January or February, Songkran in Thailand on 13 to 15 April, Japan's Golden Week from late April, China's National Day holiday from 1 October, and Diwali in October or November. Ramadan moves earlier each year.

There is no continent-wide currency: Japan uses the yen, China the yuan, Thailand the baht, and India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka each issue their own rupee. Plug types vary: Japan uses A and B, China A, C and I, India mainly D, Thailand A, B and C, while Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the UAE use G, so carry a universal adaptor. Traffic drives on the left in Japan, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong, and on the right in mainland China, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines. English helps in India, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, Russian across Central Asia, Arabic in the Gulf and Mandarin in China.

• Everest, at 8,849 metres, is Earth's highest point and lies in Asia.
• Lake Baikal in Siberia is the world's deepest lake.
• The Trans-Siberian Railway is the world's longest railway line.
• Angkor Archaeological Park in Cambodia covers about 400 square kilometres.
• Asia is home to roughly 60 per cent of the world's population.