India is a vast South Asian country with diverse terrain and is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Myanmar (Burma) and Bangladesh to the east. Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Since its independence in 1947, the country has maintained cordial relations with most nations. In the 1950s, it strongly supported decolonisation in Africa and Asia and played a lead role in the Non-Aligned Movement. Economists estimate India to have been the largest economy by GDP throughout the 1st millennium CE, accounting for a third of the world economy. Much of Indian architecture, including the Taj Mahal, other works of Mughal architecture, and South Indian architecture, blends ancient local traditions with imported styles. Vernacular architecture is also highly regional in it flavours.

Egypt, the most populous country in the Arab world, claims one of the world’s oldest cultures, descending from an ancient civilization that emerged in the 10th millennium BCE. It is best known as the home of the ancient Egyptian civilization, with its temples, hieroglyphs, mummies, and - visible above all - its pyramids. Less well-known is Egypt's medieval heritage, courtesy of Coptic Christianity and Islam - ancient churches, monasteries and mosques punctuate the Egyptian landscape. Egypt stimulates the imagination of western tourists like few other countries and is probably one of the most popular tourist destinations world-wide.

Russia, also officially known as the Russian Federation - the world’s largest nation, borders European and Asian countries as well as the Pacific and Arctic oceans. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a medieval state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this proper name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants "Русская Земля" (russkaja zemlja), which can be translated as "Russian Land" or "Land of Rus''.  Its landscape ranges from tundra and forests to subtropical beaches. It’s famous for novelists Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, plus the Bolshoi and Mariinsky ballet companies.

Vietnam is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. Vietnam's history is one of war, colonisation and rebellion. Few years back since the savagery and slaughter of the American War, this resilient nation is buoyant with hope. It is a country on the move: access is now easier than ever, roads are being upgraded, hotels are springing up and Vietnam’s raucous entrepreneurial spirit is once again alive and well as the old-style Communist system gives way to a socialist market economy. The country have transformed from one of the poorest in the world, with per capita income around $100, to lower middle income status within a quarter of a century with per capita income of over $2,000 by the end of 2014. It's colour, chaos and natural beauty bring a new adventure every day!

Cambodia is a Southeast Asian nation whose landscape spans low-lying plains, the Mekong Delta, mountains and Gulf of Thailand coastline. It was once known as the Khmer Empire. With a population of over 15 million, Cambodia is the 70th most populous country in the world. It's busy capital, Phnom Penh, is the political, economic, and cultural centre of the country. Now a modest player on the world stage, Cambodia was once the seat of one of Asia’s most magnificent early civilizations - the mighty Khmer empire of Angkor, whose legendary temples continue to provide a touchstone of national identity as well as attracting millions of visitors every year. 

China (officially the People's Republic of China (PRC) – an ancient, mysterious and beautiful land, is always appealing to adventurous foreign visitors. The first thing that strikes visitors to the country is the extraordinary density of its population. In much of China, villages, towns and cities seem to sprawl endlessly into one another along the grey arteries of busy expressways. The main tourist highlights – the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Army and the Yangzi gorges, are relatively few considering the vast size of the country, and much of China’s historic architecture has been deliberately destroyed in the rush to modernize.