Travelling at the last minute can be stressful, there are many things to think about and getting all your ducks in a row can be problematic, remembering to turn off the gas may be the least of your worries.
Peru is an incredible country, full of ruins that attest to its full and complex history. But one of my favourite experiences was visiting a living culture on Lake Titicaca.
"We have to go cycling, it's very Dutch. " It seemed like everything we did that day was "very Dutch". Luckily, that was what I wanted, given that we were in the Netherlands, hoping to experience as much Dutch culture as possible.
The sixties and seventies were arguably the golden age of travel for backpacking vagabonds, hippies and soul searchers. I can remember stories about the overland trail to Kathmandu that fascinated me with their richness and mystery.
In a country where speed is measured by how fast your buffalo roams it is not surprising that visitors to Laos suddenly find themselves in a different world, where distances are defined by days rather than hours and fourth gear is just wishful thinking.
As culturally rich, architecturally interesting and historically awe-inspiring as European cities can be, sometimes you crave something smaller, more intimate, and dare I say the “a” word: genuinely authentic.
After several days in the mountains of northern Vietnam at the lovely town of Sapa, it was time to turn my attention to Laos.
The heat of south and central Vietnam is oppressive, only the cool of an air-conditioned room can assuage it but what then of seeing the country and the sights you have travelled thousands of miles to see? Well, one has to suck it up and sweat like the rest of them and the best...
Having just spent far too long in Nha Trang than was justified, any more than a day in my opinion, I was happy to drag myself off the express train as it pulled into Da Nang Station.
Kampot and Kep are sleepy towns in the south of Cambodia, a world away from Phnom Penh and well worth the trip down if only to savor the local delicacy of cracked crabs swimming in Kampot pepper, followed down with a cold Angkor beer!

Craig and Linda have been travelling the world for three years now and we love them because they use Travel Generation to plan and schedule all their travels. Follow their itineraries here.