5 places in Asia to unleash your inner Indiana Jones, from an ancient wonder in India to prehistoric cave art in Thailand and a relic of empire in Cambodia
- With Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny showing in cinemas, we explore five sites in Asia where you can unleash your inner adventurer
- Among them are caves – one full of prehistoric paintings, others the ghosts of World War II soldiers – and a Khmer temple you’ll likely have to yourself
With archaeological derring-do again in the spotlight, thanks to the recently released Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny film, we explore five sites across Asia where visitors can unleash their inner adventurer.
1. A prehistoric art gallery, Krabi, Thailand
Silence arrives as the engine of our long-tail boat gliding along the Tha Pring river is cut. A colossal limestone peak disappears behind us as we turn into a narrow tributary draped in dense forest.
“Here, here,” says the guide, pointing through foliage at the wide opening to a dark cave. This watery path is the only way to reach Phi Hua To cave.
An hour north of the tourist hub of Krabi, Ao Nang, the cave in Than Bok Khorani National Park has been home to “Mr Lining” for up to 5,000 years.
After climbing into the chamber, at the base of a karst mountain, my guide and a flashlight introduce me to this fellow, a painting of a horned figure wearing a striped red cloak.
Phi Hua To contains perhaps Thailand’s most important rock art. Scattered through its two chambers are more than 200 paintings, depicting people, animals, boats and natural scenery. Scientists believe they prove communities lived here as far back as 3000BC.
2. An arena of death, Hue, Vietnam
