Central Asia
Our journey to Central Asia begins with one of the greatest environmental tragedies of the 20th century - the shrinking Aral Sea. In 1960, it was the world's 4th largest lake with a surface area of over 26,000 sq mi - but with the rivers feeding it being diverted countless times for cotton farming, it's less than 10% of that size today. While there have been small improvements in the northern half with a recently completed dam, the rest of the lake is still in dire straights, with entire parts drying up completely in recent years. To make matters even worse, the exposed seabed is littered with harmful chemicals and cotton fertilizers - which have blown over the surrounding landscape, causing a whole host of health issues for the locals who still live in the area. The ship graveyard of Moynaq in Uzbekistan is an eerie reminder of the past - once a bustling port, the city now lies nearly 100 miles from shore.
Further north past the Kazakhstan border is the city of Aral'sk - just like Moynaq, this city used to be a vital seaport in the region. Many people's entire livelihoods depended on their catches, using this port for years - but now all that remains is rusted cranes and ships lining the harbour. There is hope however. While the southern half is likely on it's last leg - the Dike Kokaral, built in 2005, has been restoring water levels in the northern half of the sea considerably in recent years. There's been talk about the city once again becoming a port - but it'll take quite some time to get there.
The next destination is the Nurek Dam of Tajikistan - one of the most impressive sights in all of Central Asia. Towering some 997 feet above the town of Nurek, this Dam was built by the Soviet Union from 1961-1980 was once the tallest dam in the world. Since overtaken, it's still the largest earthen dam in the world - there's really nothing else that compares to it.
For many people of central Asia, nomadic herding is a way of life. The steppes of Kyrgyzstan are an excellent place to do this with plenty of places for cattle to graze - and the many small creeks and steams that line the valleys make great places to set up a yurt as well. Evenings are special here - there's a simple beauty to watching the sun set over an endless field of grass.
Our next stop is the sacred Namtso Lake, located high up on the Tibetan Plateau. The locals believe that the waters here are sacred and pure, bestowed by Buddha himself - and can wash away the sins of mankind. A number of stupas are located around the perimeter of the lake - used for meditation and to make offerings, they have a vital role in the life of a Buddhist.
We climb further into Tibet and soon approach Lhasa and the Dalai Lama's home - the Potala Palace. This is one of the must see attractions of Tibet - towering above the surrounding landscape, it's been a sight to behold for well over a thousand years. Snowstorms here are rare, but when they do occur it makes for a magical atmosphere.
Travel some 300 miles west and you'll come face to face with the world's tallest mountain, 29,029 ft Mount Everest (Everest seen in the middle - the world's 4th tallest, Lhotse, can be seen directly below it), located on the Tibet/Nepal border. First climbed in 1953 by Nepali Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary - some 5,600+ have made the ascent ever since. Despite relatively low fatality rates compared to other 8,000m+ mountains - make no mistake, this is still one of the deadliest mountains in the world, especially in winter.
In winter, no mountain on the face of the planet is more terrifying than the world's second tallest peak, 28,251 ft K2, located on the Pakistan/China border. With winter temperatures routinely in the -40Cs, huge gusts of 30-50MPH winds, and regular avalanches - it's not hard to see why no one's ever made a winter ascent here. With only a little over 300 people making the ascent in total - it's one of the most difficult climbs in the world, and lives up to the name "The Savage Mountain".
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-korver
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Replies for "Southeast Asia"
@JP Schriefer Thanks for the nice words again, glad you enjoyed it!
@feyss Thanks for the comment 
@elavery Thank you!
@mike_oxlong Thanks!
@EvansRE4 Thanks! I strive to make my pictures the most realistic SC4 pictures ever, so I appreciate it
@mrsmartman Thanks! I definitely plan on covering the entire earth this year, I'm going to make it as global as possible
@kingofsimcity Thank you, appreciate the comment on Bagan!
@Simmer2 Thanks 
@Scribosilyn Thanks Scribosilyn! The terraces are actually on hilly land - they look pretty decent from all view levels and rotations. To make them, I used some of the SM2 stones (I recolored the FSHs brown to resemble mud though and repacked them into the DAT file w/ GoFSH - so no PS) and used a lot of Sparaxis/some slightly resized seasonal feather grass to cover up the top of the stones and make it look like there was an actual terrace there - and it worked pretty nicely.
@_Michael Thanks! 
@Abrams124 Thanks for the comments! Btw, I have been doing even more research on Lake Balaton too - I have so many great ideas now for that update...
@Ln X Thanks for the kind words!
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@Ceafus 88 Thanks for stopping by, appreciate the kind words!
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@sucram17 I think your comment got eaten up lol.
@tariely Thanks, glad you liked it
@MillionSeven Thank you for the kind words
@Odainsaker Thanks for the comment When I was constructing the Angkor Wat picture, that was one of the first things I noticed - the massive size of the entire complex and everything beyond just Angkor Wat. It was truly impressive, just a shame there weren't enough good models out there to recreate it with. (And by the way - you used to play SC2K/still do and tried recreating some of that stuff? That's impressive. I used to play SimCity 3000 Unlimited alot a loooong time ago and the Asian tileset was my favorite - but I remember how difficult it was to do anything in that game, especially with the insanely griddy 1x1 blocks that you landscaped with)
@HighTower76 Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
And finally, big thanks @v701, @JP Schriefer, @feyss, @Thin White Duke, @RandyE, @mike_oxlong, @matias93, @scotttbarry, @Silur, @jakis, @Oerk, @Odainsaker, @mrsmartman, @Fantozzi, @_Michael, @kingofsimcity, @Simmer2, @Scribosilyn, @Ln X, @raynev1, @Ceafus 88, @nos.17, @Takingyouthere, @tariely, @Elenphor, @Ducio, @Robban040, @_marsh_, & @Cyclone Boom for all the likes!
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