When I travel, I always enjoy going to museums. When my girlfriend and I spent several months backpacking around Vietnam in 2018, we make a point of going to every museum that we could! Today, I'd like to share with you five of my favorite museums that I've visited in Asia.
Tokyo National Museum
The Tokyo National Museum is one of the most impressive collections of Asian art in the entire world! You can spend days wandering through the museum's several different buildings and never see all that it has to offer. After a night of flying to Tokyo, I always enjoy spending my first day in Japan relaxing in Ueno Park and leisurely browsing through the Tokyo National Museum. It's a fantastic collection, and the best way to spend a jet lag day.
Museum of Islamic Art
The Museum of Islamic Art in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is the largest museum of Islamic art in all of Southeast Asia, and holds one of the world's most impressive collections. Though I spent quite a lot of time enjoying the museum's exhibits, I spent just as much time enjoying the museum itself. The collection is housed in what is honestly one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever been inside. Each exhibition hall had a domed ceiling, every one different.
National Museum of Cambodia
The National Museum of Cambodia is situated alongside the Mekong River in Phnom Penh, just across a plaza from the Royal Palace. The collection it houses is impressive, but the building that houses it is just as beautiful. Sadly, the kingdom's National Museum was abandoned during the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s. It's taken a long time to restore the museum to its former glory, but today, the museum is once again open and home to an impressive collection of Khmer and pre-Khmer artifacts.
Macau Museum
Macau's national museum is a beautifully-presented collection of ancient, colonial, and modern Macanese history. The best part is, if you happen to visit on a Tuesday (which I did), the museum is free! Here, you can learn all about the unique blend of Chinese and Portuguese culture that makes Macau what it is today.
Independence Palace
One of the coolest and most fascinating museums that I've ever visited is the remarkably well-preserved Independence Palace, which was once the residence of the President of South Vietnam as well as the headquarters of the South Vietnamese government. This huge mansion was once the site of some of Southeast Asia's biggest parties, and you can still enjoy an ice-cold beer on the helipad just outside of the rooftop ballroom. It's also fascinating to visit the underground bunker from where the government planned its battles against the North Vietnamese and Vietcong armies.
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