Chasing the Dragon Trivia Quiz

Answer: Wales

Also known as Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon featured on the Welsh flag is backed by white and green. It's the busiest in terms of the UK flags listed as incorrect answers since none of the other options feature a complicated graphic; the general Irish flag is tricolour (green, white, orange) while the Northern Irish flag is the Union Jack; the Scottish flag is St Andrew's Cross in blue and white; the English flag is based on Saint George's Cross in red and white.

The Welsh flag, however, was adopted in 1959 though the dragon it bears had been used in Welsh folklore for more than a thousand years prior.

Answer: Bangkok

Amongst the thousands of wats in the Bangkok area, Wat Samphran Temple is unique because unlike many of the low buildings found throughout the Thai capital region, it rises high over Khlong Mai as a red and green cylindrical structure. Oh yeah, and it has a dragon sculpture that winds its way up and around the building, all 17 storeys of it, circling it several times over.

Some portions of the dragon are hollow, allowing the guests that visit to have an opportunity to walk through it when open.

Answer: Indonesia

The island of Komodo, Indonesia holds the distinction of being the home of the wild Komodo Dragons, the world's largest lizards, which live on the twenty-nine islands that make up Komodo National Park. The park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is made up of rugged islands (a small fraction of the nation's total, which tallies up more than a thousand) surrounded by coral-filled waters. Unsurprisingly, the area gets a fair share of tourists, mostly for scuba diving. You'd probably do best to steer clear of the dragons though - they can attack and are venomous.

Answer: Da Nang

Completed in 2013, the Fire-Breathing Dragon Bridge stretches over the Han River in Da Nang, the third-largest city in Vietnam. Crossing two-thirds of a kilometre (at 666 feet), its span is followed along by the arches of a dragon, the head of which breathes both fire and water twice a week in the evening.

The American designers who engineered the bridge are also known for having had their hand in developing and restoring seven New York City Bridges, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Bridge of the Americas in Panama.

Answer: Silver Dragon

Silver Dragons first went into circulation in the 16th century and were used across Far East Asia for hundreds of years as common currency-- think an early Euro for another continent. Containing a minute amount of silver, each coin, while standard, had variants depending on where they were created; the Chinese coin had a different design from the Korean coin, etc. Nonetheless, all of them featured a dragon on one side.

Answer: Bhutan

The nation of Bhutan is landlocked and sits between India to the south and Tibet to the north, though it's not too far from Bangladesh and Nepal either, which should give a bit of an indication of the type of landscape it features. This mountainous country, known for being one of the happiest in the world (based on the National Happiness Index) is steeped in cultural history and sits on the Silk Road.

Bhutan's red and yellow flag features and dragon in the center. Adopted in 1969, this flag purposely uses the thunder dragon to evoke the certain mystique and authority that, really, only a dragon can. All earlier versions of the flag also featured the creature.

Answer: Vikings

Hailing from Scandinavia, the Vikings travelled the seas for centuries in the early Middle Ages, exploring across the Atlantic Ocean in ships of all sizes. Amongst their craft were the drakuskippan, named as such because they featured dragons on their prows. Notably, drakuskippan were used in naval battle formations as aggressive scare tactic - dragons are fierce! There are Viking ship museums in Denmark and Norway which still feature thousand-year-old boats of these styles.

Answer: Ljubljana, Slovenia

The capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana was first established as a city in the 12th century and quickly took the iconography of the dragon to the extreme. Besides adopting a dragon on its flag and coat of arms, visitors who walk the city streets will also find dragons in the metalwork of the city's manhole covers. Dragon Bridge, constructed in the early 20th century, holds twenty of the city's many dragons and crosses the Ljubljanica River.

When it was constructed, it had the third-longest bridge arch on the continent, spanning more than 33 meters.

Answer: Escalator

Although periodically closed, visitors to Beijing only need to travel about an hour outside the city to reach Longqing Gorge and Longqingxia Scenic Area, home to the city's Ice Lantern Festival. One of the many landmarks here, interestingly, is an escalator that ascends more than 250m up the side of a dam, making it one of the world's largest outdoor escalators. Of course, on our theme, the escalator is shaped like a dragon with guests walking into the mouth at the bottom and rising up the back all the way up.

Answer: Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Found on the coast of North-eastern Vietnam, Ha Long Bay emerged as major tourist destination due to its beautiful karst cliffs and welcoming beaches. In terms of vacation spots, it's historically been inexpensive but full of opportunity for both adventure sports and relaxation. Due to the beauty of the region, Ha Long Bay is also one of the sites listed amongst the "New Seven Natural Wonders".

Besides the beaches, it's a popular destination for divers, boaters, and spelunkers. Honestly, any reason to Vietnam is worth the trip.