28/12/2025

ON SUNDAY December 28, 2025 theSunday Special VIII

7 Asian countries for a short escape

I F your annual leave balance is whis pering “Use me” and the ringgit needs a friendly destination, this is for you. American actress and singer Jaime Lyn Beatty has a fantastic quote ZH VKRXOG DOO OLYH E\ ³-REV ¿OO \RXU SRFNHW $GYHQWXUHV ¿OO \RXU VRXO ´ 6XUHO\ WKDW¶V WKH QXGJH \RX QHHG WR ORFN LQ D VKRUW escape before the year wraps. L XFNLO\ IRU XV 0DOD\VLDQV ZKR DUH bargain hunters, local airlines have regular discounted fares. AirAsia, for example, continues to roll out periodic sales on its SURPR KXE ZKLOH 0DOD\VLD $LUOLQHV OLVWV RQJRLQJ R̆ HUV DQG FDUGKROGHU GLVFRXQWV WKURXJK 2FWREHU %DWLN $LU 0DOD\VLD LV DOVR running seasonal deals on select routes. &KHFN WKRVH SDJHV EHIRUH \RX ERRN DV fares change fast. Below are seven destinations that tend WR À\ XQGHU WKH UDGDU IRU 0DOD\VLDQV \HW are easy to reach for a few days of culture, nature or outright food crawling. From %UXQHL¶V VXUSULVLQJ VKLSZUHFN GLYLQJ VLWHV WR 8]EHNLVWDQ¶V 6LON 5RDG PDUYHOV WKHVH spots are primed for anyone craving fresh stamps in the passport without stretching annual leave.

Brunei: From rainforest slow travel to shipwreck diving B UXQHL LV RIWHQ RYHUORRNHG DQG VRPH LQWHUQDWLRQDO WUDYHOOHUV HYHQ VD\ LW¶V D boring country. However, this is exactly ZK\ LW¶V ULJKW IRU D UHVWRUDWLYH ZHHNHQG B DQGDU 6HUL %HJDZDQ LV FRPSDFW clean and easy to explore by water taxi. Visit Kampong Ayer for stilt-village river life, then day-trip into Ulu Temburong 1DWLRQDO 3DUN IRU FDQRS\ ZDONV DPLG SULVWLQH UDLQIRUHVW 5R\DO %UXQHL DQG RWKHU FDUULHUV RSHUDWH GLUHFW ÀLJKWV IURP ./ DQG 0DOD\VLDQ SDVVSRUW KROGHUV FDQ enter Brunei visa-free for stays up to 30 days. Tip: Aim for an early morning boat ride when the river is mirror-still. If you ERRN GXULQJ D IDLU RU VDOH EXQGOH ÀLJKWV with a short eco-tour to save the hassle of transfers. Keep an eye on the airline promo pages mentioned above. F RU DGYHQWXUH VHHNHUV %UXQHL LV DOVR an underrated diving destination. The ZDWHUV RII 0XDUD DQG %UXQHL %D\ DUH KRPH WR PRUH WKDQ NQRZQ VKLSZUHFNV ranging from World War II vessels to decommissioned oil rigs that have turned LQWR DUWL¿FLDO UHHIV 7KHVH ZUHFNV WHHP

Taiwan

ZLWK PDULQH OLIH PDNLQJ WKHP H[FHOOHQW VSRWV IRU VSRWWLQJ EDUUDFXGD UHHI VKDUNV and colourful corals. With calm waters DQG UHODWLYHO\ XQFURZGHG VLWHV %UXQHL¶V VKLSZUHFN GLYLQJ RIIHUV D UHZDUGLQJ add-on to a short holiday. Taiwan: Street-food capital with an easy nature F URP QLJKW PDUNHWV LQ 7DLSHL WR F\FOLQJ DURXQG 6XQ 0RRQ /DNH 7DLZDQ FUDPV D ORW LQWR D ZHHN 0XOWLSOH DLUOLQHV À\ GLUHFW IURP ./ WR 7DLSHL DQG 0DOD\VLDQV HQMR\ YLVD IUHH HQWU\ IRU XS WR GD\V 7DLZDQ¶V 0LQLVWU\ RI )RUHLJQ $̆ DLUV DQG %XUHDX RI &RQVXODU $̆ DLUV FRQ¿UP WKH H[HPSWLRQ and its current validity period. I I \RX FUDYH JUHHQHU\ WDNH WKH PHWUR to Yangmingshan or hop the high-speed UDLO VRXWK IRU 7DLQDQ¶V WHPSOHV :LWK IUHTXHQW VDOHV RQ UHJLRQDO ÀLJKWV 7DLSHL RIWHQ SULFHV RXW FKHDSHU WKDQ \RX¶G H[SHFW IRU D FLW\ EUHDN &URVV FKHFN IDUHV GXULQJ WKH 0$77$ )DLU ZLQGRZ DQG RQ DLUOLQH promo pages for extra savings. T DLZDQ LV DOVR NQRZQ DV D 0XVOLP friendly travel destination and was even UDQNHG WKLUG DPRQJ QRQ 2,& 2UJDQLVD tion of Islamic Cooperation) countries in WKH *OREDO 0XVOLP 7UDYHO ,QGH[ .

Brunei