Mini Siam, Pattaya, Thailand,

If you're feeling a little guilty because you skipped over the temples in Bangkok in favor of hitting Thailand's famous beaches, never fear! Mini Siam, in the coastal city of Pattaya, has created a cheat sheet of the country's most famous buildings. From the majestic Temple of the Emerald Buddha to the crumbling Khmer temples of Phimai, you can Cliffs Notes your way through the cultural landmarks and still make it back to the beach in time to work on that tan. As a bonus, you'll also get to walk through Mini Europe. Here you'll be greeted by two of Snow White's dwarves, standing roughly as high as the nearby fun-size Arc de Triomphe. Also in Europe? Egypt's Abu Simbel looming over England's Tower Bridge next to the Sydney Opera House in a pond fed by Singapore's famous Merlion statue. Yeah, we don't get it, either. But when you use the cultural Cliffs Notes, you don't always get the full story.

Mini Siam
387 Moo 6 Sukhumvit Road
Pattaya, Thailand
Tel: 66 38 727333

Next: The world at your fingertips >

Photo: Courtesy of Zhaffsky, Flickr/ CC BY-NC-ND 2.0