For centuries European artists, especially painters, have been coming to Bali to soak in the heady air of complete artistic dedication that is the unique character of the Balinese people. Nowhere else will you find such a diversity of creative skills expressed by so few -- and the "Island of the Gods" could not be a more conducive location.

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.

Mountain bikes are the perfect way to discover the wild spirit of untamed North Thailand, a region of jungle filled valleys, mountain-top temples, meandering rivers, and cultural encounters.

Cambodia's famous Angkor Wat is only one of many ancient temples scattered around this captivating country. The best possible way to explore them, and the rural countryside, villages, rice fields and forests is to ride a mountain bike, following back roads, tracks and trails where few tourists venture.