Brunei’s Natural Splendor
Brunei is rightly proud of its conservation efforts, most recently joining the Heart of Borneo initiative which is acting to save one-third of Borneo’s rainforests where endangered species such as the orang-utan, pygmy elephant and clouded leopard can be found. More than 70% of Brunei’s land area is covered by primary rainforests, and the country […]
If I Had 2 Weeks In Southeast Asia Id…
SoutheastAsia.org asked its writers what they would do with 2 weeks to spend in Southeast Asia. Call me sentimental, but I’d probably spend most of my two weeks growing weepy and wistful, retracing faded steps, especially through Laos, my home for two years in the 90s, just as it was emerging from the sloth of the […]
Underground Marvel: the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River
Beneath the limestone peaks of the St. Paul’s mountain range in Puerto Princesa, an underground river has delved deep into the rock, carving a cave with impressive rock formations and crevices teeming with life. From its source in the mountains, it travels 8.2kilometres through a series of massive cathedral interiors until it empties into a […]
Time To Take A Break: Surfing Southeast Asia
No matter where your trip through Southeast Asia takes you, it is possible to be surfing somewhere within hours of arrival. Needless to say, for any serious surfer, visiting Southeast Asia is a must. Along with the world famous wave magnets of Indonesia, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea are the lesser known surfing jewels […]
Ketinting and Close Encounters with Kiluan Bay’s Dolphins
Dolphins are a regular, playful presence in Lampung’s Kiluan Bay in Sumatra. The bay is a regular migration stop for spinner and bottle-nosed dolphins, both of whom regularly jump out of the water in groups (scientists suspect this helps herd fish, which in turn aids in feeding). To see these dolphins up close, you’ll need […]
Surfing in Southeast Asia: Two Surfers Spill their Local Secrets
When your travel bug demands you pick up a surfboard and head on out to Southeast Asia, we’re certain you have one island on your mind, to the exclusion of all else. Bali’s so prominent as a surfing destination in Southeast Asia, that in a newly-collated top ten list of surfing spots in the region, this […]
South East Asia’s Soft Adventure
A couple of years ago the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) revealed a series of tourism trends in Asia Pacific[1]. A few of those are relevant for South East Asia’s tourism development. To start with, a very positive trend for the region is that Asia’s tourism is growing comfortably above the world average and will […]
Adventure Tours in Southeast Asia
To extreme thrill-seekers, life without the imminent risk of death is as boring as a box of cauliflower. (How else do you explain something as blatantly mad as base-jumping?) But you don’t have to risk losing limbs to get endorphins pumping. There’s plenty of safe adrenalized action, well-organized by experts, to be had in Southeast […]
“La Procession”: the Luang Prabang Half Marathon
The Luang Prabang Half Marathon melds three things into one unlikely combination: charity work, sporting competition and sightseeing down one of Laos’ most culturally significant settlements. Nicknamed “La Procession” (after Luang Prabang’s daily morning ritual procession of monks receiving alms from devotees), the charity race accepts no more than 500 competitors, all of whom run […]
Taking The Plunge
Screams of anxiety fill the air when a small, capsule-like open cabin with four people on board is catapulted into the Singaporean sky with a speed of 120km/hour: welcome to the world of reversed bungee jumping![1] Surely, it’s not the launch of a spaceship, the cabin being tightly held by cables securely connected to two […]