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
Your insider guide to Southeast Asia asiaunmasked.com Your Week in Southeast Asia This week, in what is possibly the region’s most progressive country, Vietnam’s northern highlands, the world’s largest bamboo resort has just opened inside a national heritage landscape – offering us a reminder that luxury and environmental responsibility don’t need to pull in opposite
Issue No. 6 | Thursday 30 April 2026 Your insider guide to Southeast Asia asiaunmasked.com Your Week in Southeast Asia This week we’ve covered developments across the region, including a resort on Palawan Island that has received a full eco-luxury make-over, which bodes well for the future of The Philippines – a country that has
Issue No. 5 | Thursday 24 April 2026 Your insider guide to Southeast Asia asiaunmasked.com Your Week in Southeast Asia This week the region produced a mix of wins and warnings worth paying attention to. Two bear cubs were pulled from a Facebook listing in Laos within 24 hours of it going live – a
Issue No. 4 | Thursday 16 April 2026 | asiaunmasked.com Your insider guide to Southeast Asia Vietnam’s national tourism masterplan places eco-tourism and community-based experiences at its core. Demand at the country’s largest travel fair this month confirmed that visitors are catching up. Your Week in Southeast Asia This week, Southeast Asia made several decisions
From July 2026, Vietnam introduces two new long-stay visa categories for skilled professionals and their families. The headlines have been generous with the enthusiasm. I’ve read between the lines and here’s the honest version. Vietnam has been quietly rewriting its immigration story – and for those considering a longer stay, the latest chapter is worth
Issue No. 3 | 9 April 2026 Your insider guide to Southeast Asia | asiaunmasked.com Editor’s Note The world has seemingly lost its marbles this week. Flight chaos, Middle East tensions, markets more jittery than a Sihanoukville casino gambler. Yet none of this chaos has managed to cancel Songkran. In five days’ time, the streets
This week: Borneo’s first eco-certified resort opens bookings, Thailand’s tourist fee edges closer, flying to Southeast Asia just got more expensive, and a record pangolin bust in Jakarta. Plus what’s on across the region through April.
Real-time data, AI-powered itineraries, and sustainability tracking—Vietnam’s new platform could reshape how the entire region manages tourism growth Visit Vietnam’s real-time data dashboard allows authorities to monitor destination capacity and manage visitor flows across the country Vietnam officially launched Visit Vietnam on 20 December 2025—a national tourism data platform designed to manage the country’s booming
Phu Quoc ranks third globally. Five villages earn UNESCO recognition. Ten eco-hotels set new standards. But can Vietnam sustain this—or will success become its undoing? Phu Quoc ranked third globally in 2025 for service quality, scenery, beach beauty, and local hospitality—but rapid tourism growth creates both opportunity and risk Vietnam is doing something genuinely different
