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Asia is a vibrant, dazzling and dreamlike destination of the world that has some unique surprises hidden in its every nook and corner. It is vast and beautiful, hilly and holy. From multi-cultural and sophisticated cosmopolitans to remote villages and off-the-beaten path places, Asia is an enlightening potpourri of some incredible stories. A heartland of human triumph, it is a fusion of colours, sounds and scents, where the spiritual is interwoven with the material needs and practices of the people. It’s an adventure seeker’s challenge and a nature aficionado’s delight. Asia is a prime example of Mother Nature’s exuberance of offerings. Traverse to the chilly Siberia, sail down the Volga in Russia, trek the Tibetan tabletop lands, roam in the lush rainforests of Malaysia, take a camel ride through the Thar Desert of India, explore the swamp lands of Vietnam or laze around the Indian ocean coastlines of Thailand, this is Asia for you. This land is packed with interesting things to discover. Walk through the streets of Asia and experience the aromatic scents of spices, curry powder and incense. Its ancient alleys beckon you to a treasure trove of silverware, brassware, ethnic jewellery, Indian cottons, Chinese silks, multi-coloured floral garlands and street-side food stalls. Catch a glimpse of fortune-tellers, snake-charmers, intricate ‘henna’ patterns on palms, the Zen practises and listen to the captivating hymns that flow out of Buddhist monasteries, Hindu temples and Sikh shrines. Asia is the birthplace of some of the greatest civilisations and technological and educational advancement. From Ayurvedic medicine to Reiki therapies, martial arts to yoga and meditation to natural herbs, each Asian country has something special in offer to elate your body and mind. Such a huge and rich conglomeration of literature, religion, mythology, arts, science, technology and history alleviate Asia to mythical proportions. Moreover, the continent has so much of mysticism attached to it yet shelters some of the most flourishing economies and greatest metropolises of the world.
Asia is the largest landmass in the world that houses nearly 60% of the total human count on earth. Home to more than 50 independent countries, this continent is also the most populous region of the world. However the population distribution is more concentrated in the south-east, north-east and bit of western potion as the northern and central areas including Siberia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Xinjiang, Tibet, Qinghai, western Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are sparsely populated. On its western frontier, Asia shares the landscape with Europe and Africa, which are denoted as Eurasian and Afri-Asian region. The demarcation with these two continents starts with the Isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea that separates African territory from the Asian one. It continues through the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, through the Black Sea, the Caucasus Mountains, the Caspian Sea, the Ural River to its source and the Ural Mountains to the Kara Sea near Kara of Russia. This series of natural elements mark the boundary with Europe and thus, Russia becomes a bi-continental country with its terrain divided between Asian and European lands. The continent is stretched from Cape Chelyuskin, Russia in the north to Cape Piai, Malaysia in the south and Cape Baba of Turkey in the west to Cape Dezhnev of Russia to the east. The continent is spread over an area of approximately 49,694,700 sq km and encompasses several countries and hundreds of islands. The Asian landscape is basically made up of the Indian Subcontinent, Arabian subcontinent, and a piece of the North American plate in Siberia. Some disputes remain over parts of Turkey, the Middle East, Russia, Australasia and Oceania, which are controversially claimed to be parts of different continents.
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For statistical and geographical convenience, Asia is subdivided into different sub regions that include Central Asia, East Asia or Far East, North Asia, South Asia or Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Southwest Asia or West Asia encompassing the Middle East. The Central Asia consists of Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Mongolia, parts of Russia and the western regions of China. This area is basically mountainous and semi-arid with not much of arable lands. Here the weather conditions are more or less dry and thus famous Gobi desert emerges in this part. The East Asia comprises of the Korean Peninsula, larger part of China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Taiwan and Japan. Here the landscape is more lush and includes many major river basins and experience tropical climatic conditions. The vast plateaus of Tibet are also often considered to be part of East Asia.
North Asia sprawls over the chilly and snow-covered Siberian territory and reels under the influence of polar climates.
The Indian subcontinent takes up the southern half of Asia. It includes the countries lacing the Himalayan and Indian Ocean region such as India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The major Indian Islands of Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep are also part of South Asia. The vast stretch of the towering Himalayan mountain ranges is the dominating geographical feature of this region. It houses the highest peak of the world, the Everest and also some huge glaciers that give birth to the rivers like the Ganges and the Jamuna. Apart from this, the tabletop landscape of the Deccan Plateau, the Thar desert and arid stretch along the India-Pakistan border, the mangroves of Bangladesh and volcanic peaks of Andamans are other prominent features. The wettest place on earth, Cheerapunji in northeast India is also located in this part of Asia.
The Malay Peninsula, Indochina and islands in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean make up the South-East Asia. This is the tourism den of the world with tropical nations of Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, East Timor, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Finally, the region of Middle East comprising of the Anatolian region, Arabian Peninsula, Iranian Plateau and the Caucasus region denote the West Asia. The nations of Syria, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Yemen, Kuwait, Iran, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan come under this region.
Apart from the geographical wonders, Asia presents a striking display of historical events. It has been home to some of the most ancient civilisations of the world including the ones of Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and the Yangtze. Starting with migrations of the Aryans or Nomandic tribes from European territories, Asian countries have suffered foreign invasions in different periods of time. From Mughals, Huns, Portuguese, Dutch, French to British forces, each of them reined over different nations and established their colonies. Even today, relics from the ancient ages, ruins and debris, well-maintained colonial era structures and other historic remains adorn the places of interests in different parts of Asia. Today, almost all the Asian countries are independent republics with democratic or semi-democratic political set ups.
Economically, Asia has taken a giant leap in last few decades and has emerged as the most promising section of the world in the 21st century. Specially, nations like China, India, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia are developing in a rapid speed and are addressed as the “Asian Tigers”. In fact, People's Republic of China is the largest economy in the world only second to the United States of America. Agriculture, mining, manufacturing of electronics goods, export of natural resources and handicrafts, heavy engineering production and tourism are the mainstay of most of the Asian economies.
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