BACOLOD, PHILIPPINES – How many of us take for granted a band-aid in our bathroom cupboard; a quick visit to a walk-in clinic; Tylenol when we have a headache; food when we’re hungry, toilet paper, running water, soap; or even privacy in the most vulnerable situations?

PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA – The woman yells “Qi Chuang! Qi Chuang!” in Mandarin as she slams our cabin door and orders us to get out of bed and fetch our travel documents for inspection halfway through our 27-hour train journey from Beijing to Pyongyang.

SANYA, CHINA - Hainan, the South China Sea island on which this vacation city is located, is often called “China’s Hawaii.”

MUTIANYU, CHINA - They say China's Great Wall is the only man-made object you can see from space. But on this hazy morning, we can barely see the small portion of the UNESCO World Heritage Wall that snakes through this remote outpost, a two-hour drive from Beijing.

SUZHOU, CHINA - If you believe the Chinese, this grimy, polluted industrial city of 6 million about an hour’s drive from Shanghai is “Heaven on Earth.”

XIAN, CHINA – They call this ancient capital the “Jewel of China.” Maybe it's because It sparkles at night.

BALI, INDONESIA - The traffic jam stretched for almost kilometre. Cars and trucks filled with school children patiently waited as the religious procession slowly made its way along the rural back road.

XIAN, CHINA - Jiang Li (a.k.a. Ella) asked what other city walls I had walked on? “A few,” I responded but before getting a chance to name them, the local girl I met while walking Xi’an’s ancient stone fortress interrupted me and asked: “Okay, how many have you ridden a bicycle on?”

XI’AN, CHINA - We were warned not to take out our cameras and try to photograph the old man hiding behind the hand-held fan.

SHANGHAI – This is the most modern and technologically advanced city in China. But it’s Shanghai's past that will really excites foreigners.