Unwrapped travel

People are always asking where is a good spot to go that doesn’t get the crowds. Well we’ve just added two such spots — Bang Saphan Yai and Ban Krut. Be sure to give them a read if you’re looking for a sleepy layover on the way south.

Phnom Penh has a broad range of places to stay, spread across the entire city — this feature, What is a good guesthouse in Phnom Penh, looks at all the main areas of the city and recommends the best places to stay for most budgets. Read more about Phnom Penh guesthouses and hotels here.

Rolf Potts has an excellent story on Why we buy dumb souvenirs that is well worth a read and a chuckle.

So what’s the dumbest souvenir you ever bought?

In my case it was a 3kg lump of lava from the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands — unfortunately I purchased it towards the start of an eight month trip and had to carry it the entire way.

I’ve still got it — buried in the bottom of a cupboard somewhere in my my parent’s house in Sydney.

What does a 3kg lump of lava look like you ask?

Oh a big rock more or less…

Everyone knows about Hua Hin, but what do you know about the sleepy provincial capital of Prachuap Khiri Khan? We’ve just added new and comprehensive coverage to this under-rated destination, so if you’re looking for a beach-side getaway far from the tourist hordes, you better read on. You can read more about Prachuap Khiri Khan here.

The IHT reports that one of the oldest and largest of the monuments within Angkor Thom, the Baphuon is to reopen after a decades-long renovation finally comes to a close. The renovation, which took some 50 years and was delayed due to the Khmer Rouge period involved putting together some 300,000 stones — talk about the mother of all jigsaws.

If you’re planning a trip to Thailand, the very amusing Totally Gone blog may be worth a peek…

Anyhow, back to Koh Yao Yai. It may sound like a dull kinda place to you, but the best thing about a dry destination is that the Club Med brigade are, surprise suprise, nowhere to be seen. Downtown Watford, teleported to a sandbar by some cheap charter, is a different dimension, light-years, light-millenia away.

Totally Gone — check it out

Everyone thinks Bangkok is nothing more than a big smelly lump of concrete, but just across the river are the lungs of Bangkok — a lush green jungle escape from the mayhem and maniacs of Bangkok — we jumped on some bikes and checked it out. Read on for the full story.

The Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has recently launched an e-Visa programme that enables travellers to apply for their Cambodian visas online. With this new service, applicants are able to obtain a visa in 3 days, with just a few clicks.

To apply for an e-Visa, applicants need to have a passport valid for at least 6 months, a recent passport size photo (JPEG/PNG format) and a valid credit card (Visa/Mastercard).

The visa costs US$20 and there is a $5 processing fee. Note this visa is only good for arrival to Siem Reap and Phnom Penh international airports.

For more information, or to process your application, please see the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation website.