Your Favorite Books Related to Travel to Asia

Do you like to read fiction or non-fiction related to your destination before you arrive?I'm curious to hear some of your favorites.
Thanks

for Japan:

books by Natsume Soseki, especially Botchan
books by Haruki Murakami - he is a Japanese writer but not all of his books take place in Japan
Hachiko Waits is a good book for kids

for China:

I know they're dated, but I like Pearl Buck's books
Women of the Silk or The Language of Threads, both by Gail Tsukiyama
Shanghai Girls or Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, both by Lisa See

Maybe they were written quite a while ago, but Maurice Collis's books on Burma and his biographies are utterly fantastic. Collis was a British civil servant in Burma in the 1910s and 1920s. Particularly recommended are The Land of the Great Image, Foreign Mud (about the Opium War), Siamese White, and his biography of Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore.

My all time favorite book relating to traveling in Asia (Vietnam to be specific): Catfish and Mandala. I re-read it at least once a year. I don't think I can do the book justice with my narrative of what the book is about so here is the link from good reads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4370.Catfish_and_Mandala It is funny, entertaining, addicting, eye opening, heart wrenching...I can go on but I won't.

George Orwell also worked in Burma when it was a British colony. He wrote a novel based in part on his experiences there; it's called Burmese Days. I liked it.

And speaking of former British colonies, I'm sure there are a ton of books related to India. I have heard good things about The White Tiger, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I liked the movie A Passage to India, but I haven't read the book. Maybe other readers have more to add?

I thought I'd add one more book. It takes place in the U.S., but it features Chinese and Japanese immigrants in Seattle - so there are a lot of references to their countries of origin. The book is called Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, and it's by Jamie Ford. It was a great book!