Religious Sites

3 days, 12 nights, May 8-20 and June 12-24, 2015. Highlights: In Sofia, BULGARIA, Alexander Nevski Cathedral, Ivan Vazov National Theatre, Royal Palace, Sofia Synagogue/Rila Monastery/in Plovdiv, second-century Roman stadium/in Kyustendil, Dimitar Peshev Museum/in Rhodope Mountains, 11th-century Bachkovo monastery/in Skopje, MACEDONIA, Holocaust Memorial Center, Bet Yaakov Synagogue/Lake Ohrid/in GREECE, Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki. Land, $2,880 ppdo. Single supp., $440. Joseph Benatov (Philadelphia, PA; 267/970-1817, www.sephardicbalkans.com).

My husband, George, and I made a 3-week visit to Southeast Asia, including a 6-day side trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia, Jan. 21-26, 2014. Our goal was to really see and photograph Angkor Wat and its environs.

I lucked out and found a wonderful tour company online: ABOUTAsia Travel (ABOUTAsia House, Charming City, Charles de Gaulle Ave., Siem Reap, Cambodia; phone +855 63 760 190, www.aboutasiatravel.com). 

In Japan, Christmastime has some Western-style decorations, with many cities displaying elaborate light shows and tree decorations, but many Japanese celebrate Christmas on the 24th rather than the 25th.

For young couples, Dec. 24 is the most romantic day of the year, while many families go to Kentucky Fried Chicken for their dinner and later have a Christmas cake that can cost $20 or more.

New Year’s Eve is rather quiet, with no big fireworks celebrations or crazy parties.

On a cruise around India, we stopped at Tuticorin and took a day trip to Madurai to see the remarkable 17th-century Meenakshi Sundaram Temple. It was well worth the trip (more than three hours each way). The temple, dedicated to Shiva, is adorned with thousands of gaily colored sculptures of gods, goddesses and mythical beasts. Most impressive! — BETTY SILANDER, Ludington, MI

18 days/16 nights, Oct. 25-Nov. 12, 2008.

10-day/8-night tour, Oct. 3-12, 2008.

Highlights: In Thessaloníki (founded 316 B.C.), Aristotle Square, Byzantine Aghia Sophia Church, mosaics, Archeological Museum of Salonika/Royal Tombs and golden artifacts from King Philip II in Vergina/archaeological site of Dion/Great Meteoron monastery in Meteora/in Delphi, follow Sacred Way to Temple of Apollo, Delphi Museum/in Olympia, Temples of Zeus and Hera/in Athens, Acropolis, Parthenon, Plaka.

$3,795 from New York. $4,195 from West Coast. Land only, $2,995.

Twelve cultural sites in Kyoto, Japan, not open to the public before are open until March 18, 2009. Included is Myoshin-ji, Kyoto’s largest Zen temple, containing 46 sub-temples. And Myoko-ji, a temple in a bamboo forest, is showing a print of the Edo painting “Fujin Raijin Zu Byobu,” which the temple used to protect.

Visit www.kyotowinterspecial.com or contact the Japan National Tourism Office (New York, NY; 212/757-5640, www.jnto.go.jp/kws).

Predating Angkor Wat by 500 years, the Sambor Prei Kuk archaeological site — halfway between Phnom Penh and Angkor Wat, Cambodia — contains over 100 temples and other structures dating from the seventh century AD.

Located in Kampong Thom province, the complex consists of three groups of temples spread over a three-square-mile area. The temples are dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. The site, once called Isanborei, was the capital of the kingdom of Isanapura.