South East Asia Items

Man completes 5000 mile trek using Google Maps on his smartphone

A US Marine has completed a 5,000-mile trek across Southeast Asia using Google Maps on his smart phone to plan his route while ‘on the road’.

Speed dating with ... Luang Prabang

Not sure where you want to go on your gap year, why not spend five minutes speed dating with some of the world’s best loved backpacker cities and see which one you fancy? This week we’re in Luang Prabang, Laos’ charming UNESCO World Heritage town.

Are you thinking of a gap year in Cambodia?

Everything you need to know about travelling in Cambodia

Cambodia, in south-east Asia, is something of an up and coming gap year destination. Its fascinating-but-gruesome history, beautiful scenery, friendly locals and cheap living costs mean your money will certainly go far when staying in the country.

Backpackers should see untouched Burma before it's too late

Burma plans development to meet tourism needs

Burma is making plans to become more 'tourism friendly' in wake of a massive influx of traveller interest, according to TravelWire Asia.

Year out in South East Asia with backpacker Esme

Travel Tales: "The chief offered us rat cooked in its own blood"

Backpacker Esme Fox shares her best travel bragging stories with us, after a three month trip to South East Asia. Warning - contains spiders, cooked rats, and horses painted as zebras!

Get involved with construction on a gap year

Where can travellers get involved in building projects?

If you're interested in getting your hands dirty on your gap year by signing up to work as a volunteer on a building project, you'll be making a real difference to the community you are based in. Now you've decided what voluntary work abroad you want to do, the next step is to choose where!

Interview with a backpacker

MaptheGap.co.uk interviews Callie Morris about her gap year trip volunteering in Kenya and backpacking through South East Asia and Australia.

The art of haggling

Haggling is an important and necessary skill when you’re travelling, especially if you’re travelling in South East Asia. If you’re on a tight budget then it’s important to learn a few haggling rules. In certain places you can haggle for almost anything including accommodation, transport and even tours. In many countries haggling has become an art form and if you plan to spend your gap year backpacking around the area you learn how it’s done. So here are some tips on the art of haggling to help you get started.

One of South Thailand's stunning beaches

Feature: The beautiful beaches of South Thailand

Jutting out from the South-East Asian mainland like a huge inverted comma, South Thailand is easily the most popular destination in the whole region. And it’s quite easy to see why! Blessed by year-round heat and skirted by two stunning seas...

Feature: Cambodia and the Temples of Angkor

Welcoming, tropical, spiritual and humid: Cambodia is a fascinating destination that has been cited as the ‘in’ destination in Asia. For the uninitiated, it’s a very poor country, but this only makes a trip here humble and eye-opening...

Feature: Cambodia’s East and South

Flanked by Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, Cambodia is the best of all three worlds. It’s Vietnam without the huge population, Laos with the South China Sea off its southern shore, and Thailand without the tourist tide.

Feature: Vietnam’s friendly south

After World War II and until 1975, the southern half of Vietnam was its own country. Although it’s wow officially joint with the north to make one unified nation, the differences between the north and the south can still be felt.

A Vietnamese woman wearing a conical hat

Feature: Vietnam’s scenic north

With a varied history including Chinese, French and Japanese occupation, war with America and a civil war; travelling in Vietnam is like seeing the old and new mix in bizarre harmony. Ancient Chinese temples decorated with French colonial signs...

Feature: The other side of Laos

Laos. It’s mystical, spiritual, friendly and beautiful all in one. Buddhist monks worship in ancient temples, little children play in the street when the rains come, and the whole country moves at a laidback pace.

Feature: Backpacking in northern Laos

Beautiful landlocked Laos; a land of abundant natural wonder and arguably the most relaxed country on the planet. Many visitors have found that long suffering ailments like muscle aches, asthma and stress related illnesses have all been cured here.

Feature: The cultural marvels of Northern Thailand

Northern Thailand: a place where verdant jungle mixes with hillside hippy towns, cultural cities, huge temple complexes and indigenous tribal communities. Be amazed by open aired markets selling multi-coloured fish and acres of tropical woodland.

volunteering in Cambodia is very worthwhile

Feature: Volunteering in Cambodia

Cambodia is a beautifully green land of tropical flatlands, rainforest, undeveloped shores, ancient temples, and some of the friendliest people on earth. Nestled snugly between Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand in the central South-East Asian landmass..

Feature: Most popular gap year destinations

Taking a gap year – particularly if you’re travelling alone – can be a daunting prospect. But with the tiniest bit of effort it’s very easy to meet tonnes of new friends in every city or town you visit, and also on buses, and in bars.

Feature: Central Thailand’s otherworldly charms

Central Thailand offers a travel experience far removed from that of the country’s southern shores. Here there are no beaches and no resorts packed with tourists, but instead, fantastic floating markets, pristine jungle, and a relaxed way of life.

Feature: Thai adventures in the megacity Bangkok

Imagine mist shrouded limestone peaks, turquoise waters, crumbling colonial towns, 50ft tall religious statues, the smell of frying in the morning, and heaving backpacker parties on paradise islands. Imagine this and you have pictured south-east Asia perfectly.