Sri Lanka

Despite logistically hanging on the shirttails of India, Sri Lanka has spent thousands of years developing its unique personality.

The capital, Colombo, is a sprawling, noisy, but nonetheless exhilarating city, with a largely Buddhist population who imbue it with a degree of spirituality.

Since ongoing fighting between Tamil guerrillas and the government may restrict travel, it is a blessing that the island can boast such a varied landscape within such a short distance of the capital.

Along the southwest coast, seamless beaches run alongside the colonial houses and Portuguese churches of Galle. Inland, the jungle breaks for the occasional paddy field, before the land rises to an altitude where Sri Lanka's most famous export, Ceylon tea, grows.

The colourful wraps of the tea pickers stand out against the groomed plantation hillsides, and tea never tasted better than in the crisp and scented air of Nuwara Eliya.

Riding through the humid mountain mists in an open-sided train is the best way to visit the island. Under your own steam, you can bike around the 2000 year-old ruins and dignified stone Buddhas of the first royal capitals, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. Certainly not a 'little India', Sri Lanka is a country apart.