The mountainous Northwest of Vietnam is not only dramatically beautiful, with towering peaks and dramatic tumbling rice terraces, it is also home to a plethora of colourful tribal minority groups that have largely retained their traditional ways of life. This a land for trekking and cultural discovery.

A visit to a longhouse is often the highlight of a trip to Sarawak, offering a glimpse into the lifestyle of the various tribes who have for generations lived in the remote interior of Borneo. While there are many areas in Sarawak where longhouses can be visited, Ulu Ai is one of the best.

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.

Learn the Indonesian art of batik painting, study traditional Indonesian dance and theatre, learn to make the highly intricate carved masks worn by Lagong dancers and submerge yourself into two of Indonesia's most powerfully independent identities: the Javanese, the 'rulers' of Indonesia, and the gentle, aesthetic Balinese.