At Yok Don National Park in central Vietnam, “Elephant Experience” day tours allow visitors to observe elephants without encroaching on their personal space. The four elephants, once ridden by park visitors, now roam freely. With an English-speaking guide, up to five tour members will ride mountain bikes or motor bikes, then hike in search of the elephants and watch and learn about them from a distance. 

A full-day tour costs $60 per person and a half-day (2-2...

Scuba divers in Fiji may see up to eight species of sharks on “The Shark Dive” with Beqa Adventure Divers (Lagoon Resort, Fairway Place, Pacific Harbour, Fiji; phone +679 3450911, fijisharkdive.com). 

On the 2-part dive, divers first descend to a maximum depth of 100 feet, where they may see bull sharks, before ascending to shallower waters to view smaller species. After snacking in the boat while heading to the next site, divers then reach a depth of 55 feet to feed...

Shuri Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the city of Naha on the island of Okinawa, Japan, burned down on Oct. 31. The castle, which was the largest wooden structure on Okinawa, was a reconstruction of the original 500-year-old castle that was destroyed by US troops during the Battle of Okinawa in World War II.

Shuri Castle was the seat of the Ryukyu Kingdom, comprising the Ryukyu Islands, until the islands were annexed by the Japanese Empire in 1879. The islands rim the East...