Cambodia: Phnom Penh and the Khmer Empire of Angkor
Visiting Cambodia is something I tell people is an absolute 'must do' experience in your life time. In fact, it was so good, I did it twice! Sampling the magical Angkor temples is a life changing event. Angkor Wat itself is the world's largest religious building, a mix of both Hindu and Buddhist. However, there are dozens more spectacular ruins around it to explore. Take this one fact, that at it's absolute height, the city of Angkor, including its hundreds of temples and hou
Vietnam: Hanoi to Saigon in two weeks
My fascination with Vietnam goes back decades, to when I was a young geography and history student, studying the wars of Indo China. I write this blog with a sense of excitement and an appreciation of what this small but powerful country has achieved during the last century. One cannot visit this relatively small, densly populated country with little or no knowledge of it's turbulent past, and really do it justice. It took until I was aged 39 for me to reach this thriving nat
Laos: Exploring the World Heritage Site of Luang Prabang
Heading to Laos is not something most people 'choose' to do for a trip. Let's be honest, most people go there because they are passing through from Thailand on their way towards Vietnam or vice versa. Nonetheless, I defy anyone to miss Laos out because it has a unique charm and friendliness, almost a sense of innocence compared to her more dominant neighbours. If entering from Northern Thailand, there are three ways in which to enter this strange landlocked country. There's t
Thailand: Bright lights, islands and highlands
I first visited Thailand way back in 1995, when travelling wasn't the booming and trendy industry that it's now become. Thailand was still fairly off limits to most people other than a newly flourishing backpacker crowd. However, since the mid 1990s, this beautiful country has kept drawing me back and I've now done 5 visits over the last 20+ years. So just what is the big draw to this bustling Southeast Asian country? There isn't one single big draw that gets the crowds of tr
