Unexplored - The Far North

Meals on our Vietnam small group tours and some of the classic local dishes you’ll come across

Laos – land crossings and airports A brief rundown on the various land border crossings and international airports used on our small group tours to Laos. Airports Vientiane – Wattay International Airport Lao’s capital Vientiane is the arrival point for most, but not all, of our Laos small group tours including;  Highlights of Northern Laos, our Laos and Vietnam tour…

Thailand land crossings A rundown on the Thailand land border crossings which feature on our Thailand and Laos small group tours and our Thailand and Cambodia family tour. Thailand has a common border with Malaysia in its far south and a long, mainly mountainous, land border with Myanmar to the west and northwest. In the north and northeast, the border…

A rundown on Thai airports you’re likely to come across on your Thailand small group tour

Kuang Si Waterfall The picturesque waterfalls, turquoise cascades and limestone-edged ponds of Kuang Si, nestled amid forest some 30 kilometres southwest of Luang Prabang, are an understandably popular destination with both locals and foreign visitors. Though not far from town, it did used to be a bit of an arduous trip along either muddy or dusty, but always bumpy, trails…

Lao money | Which currencies would I be using on a tour of Laos and how much should I take?

Chiang Mai Markets Any visitors wandering the lanes and ancient temples of what passes for downtown Chiang Mai would be forgiven some distinct small-town impressions but the city does sprawl and, as home to some 1 and a quarter million residents, is officially Thailand’s second city. Every district has its own local market while you’ll find several more handicraft-orientated, weekly,…

The Plain of Jars The World Heritage Plain of Jars, situated in remote northeastern Laos, is a seriously off-the-beaten-track destination although, fortuitously, visits are facilitated by Xieng Khouang Airport which serves the adjacent town of Phonsavan and provides daily connections to the capital Vientiane. At present, the far-flung provincial capital has just three road connections. Route 7 leads west to…

Luang Prabang The picturesque town of Luang Prabang is justifiably one of the highlights of the small, landlocked Southeast Asian nation of Laos. The historic, ancient northern capital, added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list back in 2013, comes with a stunning location – nestled amid mountains on the banks of the Mekong – and houses a mixture of ancient Buddhist…

See and do in Chiang Mai Justifiably one of Thailand’s most popular destinations, Thailand’s northern capital is another of those Southeast Asian destinations you could spend a long time exploring or just chilling out in and, if we’re not careful, our best things to see and do in Chiang Mai post could become very lengthy. Consequently, we’re limiting our suggestions…

When’s the best time to visit Laos? Probably the most frequently asked question in respect to this part of Southeast Asia is ‘when’s the best time to visit Laos’. In our opinion, there’s no simple answer so read on for a brief overview of Laos weather and a few of the pros and cons of travel at different times of…

Laos World Heritage Sites The latest addition to UNESCO’s Laos World Heritage List – inscribed in 2019 and to our minds, long overdue – is the Megalithic Jar Sites of Xiengkhuang, commonly known as the Plain of Jars. Usually associated with adjectives such as mysterious or enigmatic the site consists of over 2,000 giant jars, carved out of solid rock…