Around the Region There’s a particular kind of travel news that never quite makes it past the trade press, and this week’s edition is a good example of that. UNESCO quietly added three new biosphere reserves to the map last month, one of them is a first for a country most readers have never had
Around the Region I’m not going to lie, the durian museum that just opened in Kuala Lumpur isn’t tempting me onto a flight this week. I don’t find the notoriously pongy fruit as intrusive as some, but I did once convince myself that there was a gas leak in the apartment (which isn’t connected to
Around the Region Hello from Europe, where I’m currently trading Bangkok’s humidity and incessant rain for a rather more restrained kind of summer, though I won’t pretend I don’t miss the smell of a night market and being able to grab a bite to eat from a street stall at 9pm. Westerners do have stricter
Around the Region We’re well into the wet season here in Bangkok and the city has settled into its slow, sweaty rhythm. The roads are always busy but the streets are much quieter, the afternoon rain is reliable, and anyone who knows Southeast Asia knows this is actually a good time to be paying attention
Around the Region Low season is upon us, and the region is feeling a reduction in visitor numbers at community level. Each nation has its own way of attempting to plug the gap – and in Thailand’s case, that means taxing your arrival and your departure. If you’re flying out of Thailand this weekend, your
Around the Region Regular visitors to this region will understand that Southeast Asia’s natural environment is under more pressure than ever, yet the people working to protect it are making measurable progress. We attempt to champion the good, while recognising the bad. This week Thailand has announced a sustainable development plan for one of its
Around the Region For those of us in Bangkok who found ourselves knee-deep in flood water this week, this is merely a sign of things to come. Briefly, messily, typically a storm can see the water table in Thailand’s capital rise quickly. And this is why you’ll find many older Bangkok residents seeking retirement in
The Cabinet vote on 19 May 2026 reshapes entry rules for 93 countries. Here is a plain-English breakdown of the tiers, the timelines, and the options. Thailand’s Cabinet voted on 19 May 2026 to end the 60-day visa-free window that has been in place since July 2024. Most travellers from the UK, US, Australia, and
Your Insider Guide to Southeast Asia Around The Region That low season feel is upon us here in Bangkok. Heat, humidity and daily downpours is the norm as the monsoon sweeps Southeast Asia. A strange time then, one would have thought, for the government to announce it’s ending the 60-day visa exempt trial and increasing
Your insider guide to Southeast Asia asiaunmasked.com Around The Region Bangkok in May has a quieter quality to it. The crowds have thinned, the streets feel like they belong to the city again, and the afternoon downpours have become part of the daily rhythm. It is, for those of us who live here, one of
Thailand Built a Sustainable Tourism Model in Krabi. Now It’s Rolling It Out in Chiang Mai.
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They Were Feeding Wild Sharks to Give Tourists Their Insta Moment. Bohol Just Put a Stop to It.
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Vietnam’s Best Michelin Restaurants in 2026: The Practical Guide for Conscious Travellers
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