In rural areas hungry Indonesians have taken to raiding food warehouses, shrimp farms and paddy fields.

FORBES: What devaluation hath wrought

In the lowlands of Japan, terraced paddy fields have become a rare sight.

ECONOMIST: Sunset for the men in suits | The

The backwaters are similar to south Vietnam's Mekong Delta, featuring canals, lakes, banana trees and paddy fields, only much less populated.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Travel Watch | Afoot and Afloat, Kerala Is Worth the Journey

Siu was trying to become a small-town developer, building and selling houses among the paddy fields near his village, and Wong opened his own restaurant.

NEWYORKER: The God of Gamblers

Here you will find emerald paddy fields studded with egrets, the bright-saris of farm workers, lazy rivers, herds of wandering oxen, and hidden beaches almost entirely without the big resorts, sprawling hotels or frenzied nightlife of elsewhere.

BBC: Uncovering the best beaches of Goa

From there, the behemoth chugs south alongside the freeway until it turns off into the jungle, offering views of pristine mangrove swamps filled with egrets and herons, traditional kampongs, beaches and stretches of lush, green paddy fields.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Travel Watch | Detour

And I learned to love Indonesia while flying kites and running along the paddy fields and catching dragonflies, buying satay and baso from the street vendors. (Applause.) I still remember the call of the vendors.

WHITEHOUSE: Indonesia��s Example to the World

Further south again, South Goa lays claim to the very best of the state's beaches, a slower pace both of life and of tourism development, and a heady combination of emerald paddy fields, white sands beaches and warm, azure waters.

BBC: Goa's boutique gems

As we head back out into the paddy fields, he lights a clove-scented cigarette and points to the shadowy, still-active volcano that shares its name with him - Gunung Agung, the tallest, most sacred mountain on Bali, from which rivers are said to flow and the volcanic soil gains its rich fertility.

BBC: High spirits in Bali