Trek on foot and by elephant through the mountains and forests to meet some of Thailand's fascinating and colorful ethnic minority hilltribe people. Stay at unique homestay guesthouses, built in traditional styles, and help to preserve a valuable but threatened way of life.

With more than a thousand limestone peaks rising out of its crystalline, emerald waters, Halong Bay is is rightly viewed as one of the natural wonders of Vietnam, and is one of the country's five UNESCO World Heritage sites. Lesser known, and therefore less touristed are the equally stunning Lan Ha and Bai Tu Long Bays.

From the mountains of North Thailand to the temple-filled plains of Central Thailand, the Chiang Mai to Bangkok by Bike ride winds the through the mountains and through the central highlands, home to ancient Khmer temples.

Thailand's cultural and social roots are firmly set in the countryside, in fact, when Mahatma Gandhi said of his home country "... the real India is in the villages". He could just as easily have been referring to Thailand, a country whose political and cultural birth was in the "million rice fields" of the ancient Lanna Thai Kingdom.