Unwrapped travel

Yeah I know it’s a spammy headline, but it’s true — make use of the Discovery Airpass and you could well fly around SE Asia on the cheap. We’ve just put a new feature on the site explaining just how the Discovery Airpass gives you cheap flights in Asia.

With the 2007 opening of the Prek Chak / Xa Xia border crossing between Cambodia and Vietnam it’s now possible to travel from Ko Chang in Thailand all the way along the Cambodian coastline and into Vietnam. For beach and boat lovers, this is a great trip as from Ko Chang you’re able to visit Ko S’dach, Sihanoukville, Ko Russei, Kampot, Kep, Ko Tonsay, Ha Tien and Rach Gia, before finishing off on the glorious Phu Quoc Island. Here’s a step by step guide taking you through the entire trip, commencing in Trat and finishing on Phu Quoc.

We’ve just released the new edition of our Siem Reap Travelfish Guide for 2008. It’s been expanded considerably with fully updated accommodation listings and far more sights and attractions covered. It now weighs in at 19 pages and over 30,000 words of densely packed travel intelligence. Not bad value for US$4.95. You can read more about the Siem Reap and Angkor Wat eBook here.

This November we celebrated our 10-year anniversary of living and travelling in Southeast Asia. In that time we’ve had the good fortune to live in three of Southeast Asia’s most interesting countries (Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand) and to travel extensively throughout the region. We arrived from Sydney, Australia back in 1997 with just the two backpacks, and by the time of our most recent move (Phnom Penh to Jakarta in 2005) the two rucksacks had bred — giving birth to a 20-foot container. In the past decade, aside from accumulating enough flotsam to fill a very big metal box, we’ve collected the following 15 pieces of advice that we hope will help you get the most out of your trip.

Everyone knows about Pai, Muang Sing, Siem Reap and Sapa but what about if you’re looking for somewhere a little bit more off-the-beaten-track when it comes to exploring Southeast Asia’s great interior. Not surprisingly there’s loads and loads of places that you’ll read precious little about in your guidebook, that could be just the spot you’re looking for. Here’s a few of our favourites across the countryside.

December arrives and with it peak season. Guesthouses fill up, train tickets get harder to find and, of course, cheap airline seats vanish. Simultaneously, traveller message boards across the web light up with people asking after unspoilt beaches, deserted valleys and pristine hideaways. So here’s the scoop — here at Travelfish we’ll be sharing a few of our favourites — pointing you in the right direction to find some of those unspoilt beaches, deserted valleys and pristine hideaways. Lets start off with some strips of sand to keep you sane.

Looking for somewhere special to lay your head during your holiday in Cambodia? A good starting point is our new feature “Five special hotels in Cambodia”.

Questions about travel money are among the most popular topics on the Travelfish message board, with people regularly asking about the how’s and where’s of travel cash. We think the best way to organise your money while travelling in Asia is to first become aware of the fees involved and then research the best card. Read on for advice on how to pick the right card and how to manage your money in a way that maximises convenience without being overly risky.

John O’Mahony recently spent some time wandering around Cambodia and had some greats thing to say about Cambodia’s south coast, including night-swimming off Ko Tonsay. He also alludes to the increasing investment and development that is going into that part of Cambodia — to quote O’Mahony:

If you want to experience the coast of Cambodia in its raw, elemental and often dazzling natural state, don’t wait a moment longer.

You can read the full story here.

We’ve just polished off a comprehensive update of our Kampot, Cambodia coverage. It includes, new places to stay, restaurant and sights information and of course, the skinny on how to get there. You can read our full Kampot coverage here.