Bali, the Land of the Gods. Separated from mainland Indonesia, this island paradise has a belief unique from the rest of the country, practicing Hinduism instead of Islam. With it comes temples, lots of them, sacred grounds carved on mountainsides, built over lakes, and standing over cliffs, all dedicated to their faith’s gods. And they literally have millions of gods, thirty three million to be exact.

HINDU IMAGERIES ON BALINESE TEMPLES

Imagine how hard it was for us, unfamiliar with Hinduism, to choose which temples to visit—each Balinese village having no less than three temples on their soil. We consulted guidebooks and read about Sad Kahyangan, the six cardinal temples of Bali, the holiest and most revered pura or temples in the whole of the island. But not all of these are easily accessible, being located on the heart and perimeters of Bali, and this island is huge.

Without umbrellas, we braved the incessant rains and visited the olden temples of Nikko. It was pouring harder than the previous days and it was incredibly hard to go from one place to the next. The scenery, century-old temples on backdrops of pre-autumn foliage was nothing short of poetic. But taking photographs was out of the question as our lenses quickly filled with droplets the moment we train them on anything. One thing was for sure, we needed umbrellas!

USING THE NIKKO TRAVEL PASS

As with our one day Hakone Free Pass Tour, we booked our Nikko Travel Pass from Klook right after booking our cheap flight from Manila to Tokyo via Cebu Pacific. We got it the same day we booked our previous tour via the easy-to-use app on our phone—easy breezy. The pass can be used for two to four days in Nikko and Kinugawa—including transfers from Tokyo and back—and it is unlimited. As a bonus, you can also utilize it for discounts on selected tourism facilities and souvenirs shops in Nikko, Kinugawa, and even Asakusa!

I’ve been hearing a lot about a certain temple in Cebu which many dub as the Taj Mahal of the Philippines. While I’m not much for comparing places we have in the Philippines with those abroad, but for many, that’s usually the easiest and not to mention, the catchiest way to promote a place. And so it was that on our last day of our weekend in Cebu, we decided to add at least a single tourist spot on our itinerary, the famed Temple of Leah.

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THE MOUNTAINOUS AREA OF BARANGAY BUSAY

Located on the hills of Barangay Busay, where the equally popular Tops Cebu and Sirao Garden is located, the graceful temple rose from the ground in 2012. Fairly recent, but judging from the number of visitors we have to dodge that weekend, its popularity with both local and foreign tourists, seemed to suggest otherwise.

► TO HELP YOU GET STARTED, HERE’S A LIST OF TOP THINGS TO DO IN CEBU BY GUIDE TO THE PHILIPPINES

We walked the same path leading to the Imperial Citadel of Hue, the same one we trodded on twelve hours ago. The difference was, it was fully dark then—the former imperial capital of Vietnam, its red walls shining bright like a gem against a darkened sky. Now, with a background of gray brooding skies, it looked drab and lifeless. But we really didn’t have much of a choice, we can’t wait for bright blue skies and sunshine with less than a day left in Hue.

THE CITADEL FLAG TOWER IN HUE

Waking early from Flora Hotel Hue, we hailed a cab that took us straight to the ancient Imperial City. It was about thirty minutes away by foot, definitely walkable, but we were chasing time. We exit out of Hue towards Hanoi that same afternoon—we’re thinking of Kiwitaxi, one of the most reliable transfers in Vietnam.

While temples and museums are alright with us, visiting a slew of them in one go is simply too much. We’ve had our fair share of temple runs in Siem Reap, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Ayutthaya, Penang, and Yogyakarta, and we always felt, well, ran out, afterwards. It was too much of a sensory overload. This time, we’re having it at, of all places, Vietnam. I’d never thought there’d be that many temples (and museums) in a single area on a socialist country like Vietnam.

INSIDE ONE OF THE MANY MUSEUMS IN HOI AN

We never really signed up for this, it was totally forced on us. While entering the Hoi An Ancient Town, we were stopped by a guard and was asked to buy a ticket containing five entrance stubs to any temples, museums, or workshops we would like to go for VND120,000.00 (USD5.30 | PHP270.00). They didn’t tell us we don’t really need this to enter old town. And should they have, we would have entirely forgone this part of our Hoi An tour.

The sun rose like a god. Breathing life to layers of what was once a dark and lifeless landscape. Giving forms and shapes to a massive temple, unfolding seconds by brighter seconds, right before our very eyes. It awakened the land, birthing a brand new day. But for travelers who got up at the ungodly hour of two in the morning to witness this rebirth, it awoke something else entirely; the switch button from the heavy cameras hanging about their necks.

Crumbling angled brick walls, terraced several feet high from each other, surrounded me as I stepped on one of its edges. I gazed down, admiring the remains of this ancient Sinhalese fortress with its now muddy pools, dusty stairways and ruined terraces. To be honest, it really wouldn’t stand out from all the temples I’ve visited around Asia, especially those in Siem Reap, except this one is built on top of a massive natural rock, 660 feet high from the ground and with no natural stairs to climb on to.

THE CAVE TEMPLE OF DAMBULLA

We’ve been eyeing Sri Lanka’s so-called cultural triangle ever since we obtained our tickets to this country. We knew we’d just have to pass by the area during the middle of our Beach Hop Asia 2016 tour. Sri Lanka is the longest country we’d be staying in for our two-month trip around Asia.

I was trying to conserve my energy as I climbed the 272 steps towards the main chamber of Malaysia’s Batu Caves. It would’ve been easier if the sun wasn’t at its zenith. It would’ve been easier if there were no monkeys careening up and down the steps waiting for an easy snatch from tourists. It would have been easier if I wasn’t carrying ten kilos worth of photographic equipment.

There were a lot of it would have beens, but after what seemed like an eternity (kidding), those would have beens ended as I found myself staring at the dark maw of Batu Cave’s mouth.

GANESH IS EVERYWHERE AT BATU CAVES

According to the stamps on my passport, I have flown exactly 16 times to Kuala Lumpur. And on each one of those trips, I’ve always wanted to visit Batu Caves. Indeed, along with the Petronas Towers, it is one of Malaysia’s most iconic tourist spots. And for the life of me—I just don’t know what happens—we always seem to miss going to the cave.

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Hundreds of hands reaching out to the heavens crowd over a pit. It looks like a scene from a rock concert mosh pit or even a scene from a horror movie depicting hell. But it definitely isn’t both, in fact, it’s the farthest thing from anything you might imagine. This is actually the entrance to one of Thailand’s most famous landmarks—Chiang Rai’s White Temple.

HANDS REACHING OUT REPRESENTING OUR EARTHLY DESIRE

From the city’s old bus station, we left our bikes—which our hotel, Chayadol Boutique Resort, provided for free, by the way—in the middle of our Chiang Rai temple run and boarded a bus that would take us to Wat Rong Kun. This structure, which was formerly a run-down Buddhist temple fifteen kilometers south west of town, is now one of Thailand’s most iconic places to visit.

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Before crossing over the Mekong River onwards to Laos, we decided to hang out for a few days on the northernmost city of Thailand. We reached Chiang Rai after taking a four-hour bus ride from Chiang Mai. And after taking the rest of the afternoon and evening off at Chayadol Resort, we braved the streets of the city on bikes for the obligatory Chiang Rai temple run the next day.

A YOUNG MONK AT WAT PHRA KAEW  /  OUR BIKES FOR THE COMING TEMPLE RUN

From our map, we marked four temples within the downtown area, plus one more—the famous Chiang Rai White Temple—farther off the city limits. It was easy enough to race through the five ones, well if you consider dodging motorized vehicles easy, but the White Temple put us on a quandary.

Crossing myself three times, we boarded our free bikes and I clumsily pedaled my way to the busy streets of Chiang Rai.

While it wasn’t our intention to visit so many temples or wat during our brief stay in Chiang Mai—being too templed out from our previous Asian destinations—it was totally impossible not to bump into one while walking along the streets of the old walled city.

So besides the massive Wat Chedi Luang, which can be found at the center of the city’s moated grounds, we also got to visit six more temples within a span of two days.

CHIANG MAI TEMPLE DETAILS

With temples in the area eclipsing the three hundred mark, one simply cannot ignore all those graceful multi-tiered roofs, the intricately decorated walls, and the impressive and weirdly intimidating naga creatures that guard their entrances.

Join us, unwilling participants. To the Chiang Mai temple run we go.

Branches on a row of golden shower trees were bowing with the weight of its bright yellow flowers. It starkly contrasted with the fading blue of the late afternoon sky. The low-lying clouds were hinting of joining the cacophony of yellows; warmth, indicating a slowly setting sun on the east. I stood under one of the trees for some minutes, my eyes transfixed at the majestic temple ruin in front of me, Wat Chedi Luang it was called in the vernacular tongue.

BUDDHA OUTSIDE, BUDDHA INSIDE AT WAT CHEDI LUANG

The Temple of the Big Stupa, as we foreign to Thailand calls it, is arguably the most popular temple in the whole of Chiang Mai. And indeed, it was quite the stupa. With a base diameter of 54 meters and an original height of 82 meters, it stood as the highest structure in Chiang Mai for more than 500 years.

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A CURIOUS SIGN ON THE TEMPLE GROUNDS

It was as impressive as it was probably as hard to build. In fact, it took about a century and a half to completely construct. Originally intended as a burial place for the ashes of King Saen Muang Ma’s father in the 14th century, it took until the mid-15th century, by another king, for it to be finished.

Angkor Wat, the name evokes a combination of Indiana Jones, Lara Croft, and books. I have read and heard about this temple during my History of Architecture classes way back in college, have memorized its name for exams. And now finally, years after, I’m gonna see it with my own two eyes and feel its rough stone columns with my own bare hands.

MORNING AT ANGKOR WAT

The first time I laid my eyes on Angkor Wat was on a late Sunday morning. It was during the early month of February, it was a holiday. Instead of stopping and walking along its 190-meter long sandstone bridge and crossing over its mighty moat, I instructed our tuk-tuk driver to speed on and proceed to our next temple. There were just too many people. Hordes and hordes of visitors making some sort of pilgrimage to a tourist Mecca.

► CHECK OUT: SIEM REAP TRAVEL GUIDE

A man carrying a twisted wooden staff and wearing a shiny golden dress emerged from one of the stone towers of Prasat Bayon. I doubled back, are we on a movie set?

We were on our last leg of our Angkor Thom tour. Having previously visited three out of its eight major sites, we were dead tired. That weariness, however, quickly wore off as we emerged on the upper deck of the Bayon temple where massive, serene stone faces greeted us.

LOK LEK FOR LUNCH AT ANGKOR THOM

The sun was at its brightest as we went out from the makeshift eateries near the Leper King Terrace inside Angkor Thom’s enormous complex. We’ve had our fix of lok lek for lunch and were rarin’ to do the daunting Angkor Thom tour. The complex covers an area of 145.8 hectares; it was simply impossible to do this on just one afternoon.

► EXPLORE: SIEM REAP TRAVEL GUIDE

It was our third straight day of temple hopping and to be honest, we were quite templed out. We’ve really had enough of temples dedicated to Shiva and the millions of Hindu gods out there. But this was a special day. Today we get to visit Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. Two temples I’ve read with wonder on my History of Architecture book back in college. Today we get to see them in real life.

TA PROHM TEMPLE, AMAZINGLY DEVOID OF TOURISTS

Together with our ever reliable tuk-tuk driver from Happy Guesthouse, Nga, we again zipped through the forest roads of Siem Reap. Our target, five temples—Angkor Wat, Banteay Kdei, Ta Prohm. and Angkor Thom’s Phimeanakas, Baphuon and Bayon temples. Our tour is actually a combination of two tours, the Angkor and Little Circuit Tour. We left out some of the temples on the Small Circuit tour—Prasat Kravan, Srah Srang, and Ta Keo—to accommodate the massive Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom temples of the Angkor Tour.

► DIG DEEPER: SIEM REAP TRAVEL GUIDE

A face—eyes closed, chiseled on a rough stone, faded by time. A wall—carved with unreadable inscriptions, strange reliefs running hundreds of feet on both ends. A fig tree—sacred, towering several meters high, roots clinging like a spindly spider legs on a cracked ruin.

A KID PLAYING ALONG THE GROUNDS OF BANTEAY SREI

Siem Reap is like leaping into a real life Tomb Raider game, only we’re not sprinting ahead with Colt 45’s a blazin’, but with Canon and Nikons a clickin’—dodging no tigers nor thugs, but tourists clad in bright, colorful garbs

Welcome to Siem Reap. It was a good day for a run, a temple run.

► PLAN YOUR TRIP: SIEM REAP TRAVEL GUIDE

The sun was hanging low over the ancient temple of Preah Ko as we alighted for the last time from our tuk-tuk. We have just visited two other temples at Roluos, a sleepy town about thirteen kilometers away from downtown Siem Reap, and we were discovering for the first time what Cambodia has to offer to tourists like us.

DETAILS OF A CARVING AT PREAH KO

Siem Reap Temple Pass

Earlier, we availed of Siem Reap’s temple pass at the APSARA (Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap). One cannot simply saunter his way off to any Siem Reap temples without waving a pass to the guards in the area.

► TRIP TIPS: SIEM REAP TRAVEL GUIDE

It wasn’t the time for clouds to quickly scud out of sight and the sun to make a heated comeback. It threw its harsh, unrelenting rays across the courtyards of Bangkok’s Grand Palace, homing in on our heads and zapping us with its death rays one by one.

After a minute of walking, I was already bathed in sweat, my mouth turned down into a grimace and my face resembling that of a yaksha, a Thai demon, lifting a golden slab of whatever.

SPELL O-R-N-A-T-E

It was decided earlier in the day that we were gonna leave the comfort of Sofitel So Bangkok to see just what exactly the city has to offer in terms of temple runs. We checked the major temples, crossing out lesser known ones, until finally, there’s only one left. The Bangkok Grand Palace.

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”Okay, let’s now head to Ayutthaya!” We excitedly exclaimed after visiting the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. Our cab driver scratched his head and told us that we’d arrive there by four in the afternoon and by that time, the temples would already be closed.

The Ayutthaya Historical Park is about 170 kilometers away from where we were and it would take two and a half hours to reach it by car. But promises are promises. We held our cab driver to his word that he would be taking us to Ayutthaya right after our Floating Market tour, be it open or closed.

White pillars rose from the intricately carpeted marble floor of the Kapitan Keling Mosque, moving upwards and tapering off into a flourish of concrete leaves and ivies. Horseshoe arches connected the pillars together, and on their apex, a plaque of King Edward VII rests. The architecture—a combination of Muslim, Indian, Classical, and English—was both disconcerting and very interesting at the same time.

MASJID KAPITAN KELING’S FACADE IN PENANG

Visiting the Kapitan Keling Mosque wasn’t really part of our plan, but Penang’s extremely hot weather made us scurry towards its shaded halls for a quick respite from the heat. From the outside, the mosque—or masjid, as the Malays call their temples—looks interesting enough, with bulbous grey and copper domes and minaret jutting off against the clear blue skies of the city. Except for a few in Melaka and the Manila Muslim Temple, we haven’t really visited these kinds of worship places before.