As a true blue city girl, most places I travel to tend to be big metropolises, especially in Asia — Tokyo, Bangkok, Taipei and Jakarta most recently. But there’s something to be said about visiting a small town during a holiday. To switch off from the frantic buzz of another hundred people pouring out from trains and opening the curtains of your hotel room to see … yet another brightly lit building staring stonily back at you.

As an antidote to city fatigue, I made an active attempt to head out for the hills and lakes while travelling this year. But one caveat remained for these trips: As a creature who likes her comfort (and who doesn’t?), the place to hole up in for the night had to be plenty comfortable, you know what I mean? What if too much rusticity rewires my system?

Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang has been on the radar of travellers eager to find the next Ubud or Chiang Mai before it’s too late. The bad news is, that might already have happened. The ancient capital of Laos has seen the number of tourists swell since becoming a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995, especially during the peak season from November to February when the weather is cool and dry.

I decided to brave the insufferably sweltering heat during the hottest month of April, before the days of downpour begin. One upside to visiting Luang Prabang during that time is how relatively quiet it is. All the better to take in charming French colonial buildings framed against the foliage of Mekong valley.

Cycling is the best way to see the provincial old town, where you can stop easily to pop into a French-styled bakery along one of its quieter lanes. Such as Le Banneton, which had delicious home-made ice cream — a godsend as I sat back to admire Wat Sop Sickharam temple opposite. I peddled along further and found Arthouse Cafe on on Kingkitsarath Road where I watched the kindly American manager give out painkillers to stooped, wizened ladies who appeared on the doorstep of the café selling vegetables. I learnt they often came, sometimes complaining of aches, because they couldn’t afford doctors.

Other finds included the cosy teahouse L’Etranger which offers up to 70 varieties of teas and where you can rent, buy or exchange a book; Laotian cooking classes along the Nam Khan river held by the popular Tamarind restaurant; Big Brother Mouse, a not-for-profit publishing house of children’s books which encourages foreign travellers to drop off books and educational toys; and last, but not least, Utopia.

Yes, Utopia is an actual place in Luang Prabang — hidden behind meandering alleyways — where you can spend the whole day lying back on a futon, with a cold Beer Lao in hand, and munch on deep-fried riverweed as you stare out to the Nam Khan River to ponder on the virtues of a simple life. Utopia also conducts yoga classes on its deck in the mornings and over sunsets — if Namaste comes in the form of a warrior pose for you.

Utopia of another sort can be had at Kiridara. This beautiful boutique property boasting only 24 rooms recently added six new suites in October where you could luxuriate in Terrazzo bathtub overlooking the mountains. So wonderfully comfortable is the hotel, my pals and I got into a stand-off because one of them refused to leave the hotel to go sight-seeing. It’s hard to blame him when the spa and infinity pool were awesome, and the Laotian staff were so endearing their gentle and attentive ways, ready to dish out another dessert or cocktail if you so please.

Lake Inle

President Obama was in Myanmar just this week, putting the spotlight on this increasingly popular country. Singapore Airlines has launched direct flights from here to Yangon on Oct 28, and Air Asia looks set to do the same in December. From Yangon, it’s another 70 minutes by plane to the town of Heho, followed by an hour’s car ride before you reach Lake Inle.

Lake Inle is one of Myanmar’s highest, sitting at an altitude of 880m. So I’m not kidding when I say the boat journey around Lake Inle was truly a breath of fresh air. The air was crisp and chilly, lending a soft mistiness to the lake ringed by the verdant hills of Shan state. It was incredibly silent and still, Zen-like really, as our boat glided past local Intha (the name translates to “sons of the lake”) fishermen rowing their boats with one leg, floating tomato gardens and entire villages built on stilts.

Lake Inle is famed for the Nga Hpe Chaung (Jumping Cat Monastery) where the monks have taught the fur balls to hop through hoops. But I found the Inthar Heritage House interesting, too. Built in the traditional architectural style of the region, the Heritage House has an enclosure showcasing pedigree Burmese cats which had vanished from Myanmar until the founders of Inthar Heritage House decided to breed and reintroduce them. Then have a meal at the in house restaurant serving local fare cooked with organic ingredients. Even more fascinating were the crumbling ruins of Shwe Inn Thein Pagoda complex. Some restoration work has begun on the 1,094 stupas of the complex, but there’s something more evocative and mysterious about the stupas just the way they are.

Mornings are best spent at the balconies of your hotel. Hotels at Lake Inle command a great view of the surroundings and the newest to join the lot is Villa Inle Resort and Spa which opened last November. The all-villa resort is as lovely and well-equipped as any five-star property (yes, there is Wi-fi, air-conditioning and heating). Rooms are fitted with ceiling to floor windows and you can wake up to a Monet-worthy view of violet water lilies upon the lake before deciding even whether to get out of bed as breakfast is delivered right to your villa.

Bandung

Okay, it’s a stretch to call Bandung a small town when it’s Indonesia’s third largest city. But when well-travelled friends who live in Jakarta extol about the idyllic small-town feel of this hill-top destination, you know it’s a respite for these city dwellers. Or maybe it’s just the weather calling. Located 750m above sea level, the climate is usually temperate and cool — which would explain the jammed highway leading to Bandung from Jakarta during the weekends.

Or maybe it’s the shopping. Families throng the many factory outlets here, although I personally couldn’t find anything suitable even at the “mother of all factory outlets” known as Rumah Mode. I did perk up when I stumbled upon Opus One. It wasn’t the clothes here that got me excited but the many knick-knacks, like home accessories and stationery. So many and so cute. I knew I should have brought a bigger carry-on duffel bag.

Alternatively, you can head straight for the pleasant Paris Van Java mall to find your usual boutiques. But no, the mall isn’t the reason why Bandung’s nicknamed the “Paris of Java”. Bandung has some well-preserved Dutch colonial buildings done in a tropical Art Deco style which are worth the walk like Sate Building, the Merdeka Building and the Savoy Homann Hotel.

While most tourists tend to visit the dormant Tangkuban Perahu volcano, I preferred to check out cafes like the twee pancake house Nanny’s Pavilion which first opened in Bandung and has grown so popular it has branches in Jakarta. Just as pretty is the relatively new Hummingbird Eatery at the Hummingbird Guest House. And it’ll be a shame not to have a traditional Sudanese dinner at Kampung Duan where you dine in a thatched gazebo in a forest and you can hear the waterfalls in the distance.

But one of the best meals I had in Bandung came right from my hotel. The lovely rooms with a view at Padma Hotel are matched only by the scenery you’d enjoy while tucking into the Indonesian-styled spicy beef shortribs. Padma also hosts an Australian Black Angus ribs buffet dinner for just 225,000++ rupiah (S$28.56) every Friday and Saturday night.

Too bad I didn’t manage to try it. But oh well, there’s always next time.