Bad news Sweden: Phuket is full. Well, not full exactly, but the Thai island (and its smaller nearby cousins, known for their white sand beaches and DEET-laced alcoholic cocktails) is on path for another record-setting year, with an estimated 4.7 million visitors expected to visit the island in 2012, up from [...]

I’m not a very touchy person. Hugs are reserved for good friends and family, and I can’t remember the last boyfriend whose hand I actually enjoyed holding. I’ll slap you a good ‘ol American high-five but please do not force me into the fashionable double-cheek kiss scenario. This preference for [...]

Southeast Asia is probably the best place in the world for your first extended backpacking trip. The food is delicious, the locals friendly, the beaches extraordinary, the accommodations well-established and the sites varied and unforgettable. You’re likely to return home with plenty of fond memories and incredible photos of Southeast [...]

Monsoon rains in Thailand have been causing an already drenched country to get even wetter, with water now sweeping from the north southward into Bangkok, one of Asia’s largest cities. As the WSJ reports: Most of Bangkok’s central business district remained dry on Thursday and operating more or less usual, [...]

“Tan Khao Ma Rue Yung?” asks our cooking instructor, as she holds up ginger root, also known as khing in Thai, its sharp and slightly tangy scent awakening my sense of smell. We are standing in a Chiang Mai market choosing fresh ingredients for the day, and she has just [...]

GoMadNomad.com founder and friend of our site Stephen Bugno spent a good part of this year traveling through Southeast Asia as part of his nomadic wanderings. To try to encapsulate such a trip in 10 or 11 pictures would be futile, but I asked Stephen if I could share with [...]

The limestone steps were nearly vertical at some points, each varying in length and width, distorting my perception of depth, and causing me to stumble like a lame bird. I peered over the edge and sighed at the lush landscape of verdant highlands almost 800 feet below; a magnificent view [...]

A seventh mysterious death of a traveler occurred this week in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and little to no answers have been given for their causes. As reported in the New Zealand Herald yesterday, Canadian Bill Mah died after using the Downtown Inn facilities, including their swimming pool. The same hotel [...]

Okay, I’m just putting this out there: Maybe Thailand (and Bangkok) is such a backpacker mecca because of the food? I mean, where else in the world do you find dishes so catered to both the eat-cheap and eat-on-the-go crowd? From banana roti (a perfect late-night snack to enjoy with [...]

The gap year is a foreign concept to most Americans — most high school graduates here head straight on to college. But for the British, the gap year is a hallowed institution, the year-long break before Uni (that’s university to you Yanks) where the budding minds of the best and [...]