Special Sub-Topic: Backpacking Asia Click Here To Play: Backpacking Asia

Let's start with one of the essentials of life...food. Where in Asia will the cash challenged traveller find wonderful bread and cheese stuffed in bus windows and sold on corners for pennies?

Vietnam. Vietnam's colonial heritage is nowhere so clear as in the magnificent baked goods that are still available everywhere. Truly a rarity in Asia as the bread in most other countries tastes distinctly odd to the western pallet

Now on to some shopping. This Bangkok street has become something of a mecca for backpackers. You won't find girlie bars or ancient temples, but you can get a heck of a deal on a Rolox watch.

Kho San Rd. Kho San Rd has grown and sprawled to include many of the surrounding alleys and roads. Anything and everything is for sale and rooms can be had for as little as a few US dollars a night. Bring the industrial strength bug spray and some earplugs as things tend to stay loud all night.

Time for some relaxation...This small island on the east coast of Thailand is famed the world over for its raucous Full Moon parties. Flanked by Ko Samui's upscale resorts and Ko Tao's myriad dive spots what is the name of this party isle?

Ko Phan Gan. Authorities are apparently trying to reign in the excesses of the monthly Full Moon Soirées, so if this is your bag you best get a move on. For the Millennium, DJ's and partygoers swarmed the relatively small beach for a party that lasted all night and well into the day.

Time for a little culture. This great temple complex and city was lost to the jungles of Cambodia for centuries until the relatively recent past.

Angkor Wat. There are now direct flights available at brutally low prices from Bangkok to Siem Reap which serves the Angkor Wat area. A guide is mandatory and relatively cheap and you should allow at least two days to wander about. Well worth the trip.

Next stop Taiwan...This small island nation exists in the international grey area of non recognition thanks in large part to the diplomatic maneuvering of their possessive big brother China. What language should you brush up on for your trip to the fair Formosa?

Mandarin Chinese. Though many residents do in fact speak the local Chinese Dialect known as Taiwanese, Mandarin Chinese has become a fairly universal language. Cantonese will be useful for your stopover in Hong Kong as you haggle for better rates at the hideously bad hostels on Nathan Rd.

Speaking of China, while the splendor of the great wall is a must see, these lesser know fellas are considered by many to be an even more impressive work of ancient craftsmanship. Created to guard the slumbering King, the Terra Cotta Warriors were first discovered in which Chinese city?

Xi An. A national cultural treasure and one of the (relatively) few left in China. Upon his defeat in 1949, General Chiang Kai Shek gathered up many of China's most wonderful works and brought them with him to Taiwan where they remain to this day in the oddly named National Palace Museum located in Taipei, Taiwan. A country which never had a king and contains not one palace.

Time for another relaxation break. Karaoke began in Japan and has spread throughout Asia as a popular choice for business meetings and weekend parties. Usually involving hideous caterwauling and excessive drink, what are Karaoke Parlors called throughout SE Asia?

KTV. KTV's are generally enormous structures filled with tiny private rooms each equipped with a TV, several microphones and all the food and drink you could want. Be warned, however as a night at the KTV is likely to take a big chunk out of the wallet as this ultra popular diversion has become quite pricey. Best to wrangle an invite from a local as they will most likely be thrilled to go.

Another stop in the sun brings us to wonderful Bali. An active Volcano, tremendous surfing, black sand beaches and cheap, cheap lodging are all to be had at this island paradise. The first step however is obtaining a visa, to which nation should you apply?

Indonesia. Bali is one of the many islands that make up the most populous Muslim nation in the world, Indonesia. The dominant religion in Bali is not Islam but a form of Hinduism making Bali unique even within its own country.

Which of the following is a cheap and colorful means of getting from place to place in Asia?

All of these (Cyclo, Tuk Tuk, Jeepney). Jeepneys are the Philippines answer to the taxi cab. Decked out so garishly that a Vegas developer would blush,they are a quick and cheap way to get around. Tuk Tuks consist of a chair mounted on a platform welded to the rear of a very loud and smoky motorcycle in Thailand. Cyclos are the evil Vietnamese twin of the Tuk Tuk and both are often piloted at suicidal speeds by dodgy old men who have little regard for their lives - or yours.

Ahh, you've made friends. A local man offers you a brimming cup of warm snake's blood with the broadest of smiles. Is this...

A delicacy believed to improve virility. Snake's blood is believed in many places in Asia to do wonders for your, er serpent. As such it is tremendously expensive and if it is offered to you it is probably best to grin and just gulp it down. If you can't bear it, no one will be grievously insulted, but as they say...When in Rome.