Off limits to Westerners till relatively recently, Vietnam is the South East Asia that Elvis knew.

Cruise the Upper Mekong River between the historic ancient capital of Luang Prabang, a World Heritage site, and Houei Xay, located on the border at the northernmost point of Thailand, near to the infamous Golden Triangle.

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.

For those who do not have time for an extended sailing cruise, or whose taste for being on a boat extends only to a few days, a short sailing cruise to the Komodo National Park is a must do component of any Indonesia visit.