The Mekong River is one of the world’s longest, running for 4000km from the Tibetan plateau, through southern China, along the borders of Myanmar and Thailand, across Laos, Cambodia and flowing into the South China sea through its massive delta in Vietnam. The Mekong supports the livelihoods of more than 50 million people. The two-day…
If you’ve found yourself in Huay Xai, Laos, you’ve most probably crossed over the border from Thailand and you’re just beginning your Lao adventure. If that’s the case, don’t jump on a slow boat bound for Luang Prabang just yet. Take a couple of days (or more) to explore the Huay Xai area – there…
Huay Xai, in north-west Laos, lazes beside the tranquil Mekong River (it really is tranquil this far north), facing Thailand across the river. Most visitors don’t see a lot of Huay Xai. Some travellers might stay in town for a night before embarking upon the Gibbon Experience, which is a multi-day zip-lining expedition through the…
We’re in South-East Asia again – this time spending a month exploring Laos – so Chiang Rai in north-east Thailand was a one-night stopover point on the journey to the northern Thai-Lao border. Chiang Rai itself doesn’t have a lot of attractions. It’s commonly used as an entryway into the Golden Triangle – the convergence…
We were well overdue for a family adventure when school holidays rolled around last week. Our twins are halfway through their first year at school, and I’ve had two crazy terms in a new teaching job, so a little escape from the daily grind was in order. In our typical last-minute fashion, we found a…
The last couple of Easter long weekends we have found ourselves out in the wild, gazing into a campfire and sleeping under the stars. Well, in a tent under the stars. My sister and her family are our camping buddies, and going bush seems to have become a bit of a tradition for us. There’s just…
When holidaying on a tropical island surrounded by reef, it’s hard to pass up the chance to head into the deep blue for a dive, so on our recent trip to Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands, I was keen to get into the water. If you’re not familiar with Raro, it looks like this: The…
Steve and I have always enjoyed a hike, and we’ve tried to find a track or two on our adventures at home and on our overseas trips. Hill tribe trekking in Thailand, climbing Mt Kinabalu in Borneo, scaling volcanoes in Costa Rica, and hiking the Inca Trail in Peru – we’ve smashed them all. Okay,…
One of the activities we were told is a must when visiting Rarotonga is a cruise on the lagoon at Muri. A couple of operators run daily glass bottomed boat adventures, which include snorkelling, musical entertainment, a barbeque lunch, and a “coconut” show, including palm tree climbing and coconut husking. It all sounded very package…
Rarotonga – where do I start? When you arrive at a small international airport at 1am and you’re greeted by a live performer on guitar, singing sweetly in the local tongue, you know you’ve found a pretty special place. Hustled through customs quickly because we had kids and it was past midnight (note to people…
Raising Explorers 