The Travel List: Khao Yai National Park

Khao Yai National Park, Thailand

Where: Khao Yai National Park is located near Pak Chong, approximately 4 hours by train from the capital Bangkok.
Money: 1 USD buys 30 Thai Baht (May 2013), park entrance fee of 400THB (USD 14)
Language: Thai

Incredible waterfalls, diverse wildlife and most of all, cool temperatures. (The lowest ranges of the park lie 350m above sea level) The park boasts a network of hiking trails, but some effort is needed to get there as this is not a typical tourist spot. Overcome that, though, and there are some amazing sights for the adventurous traveller, including the Heo Suwat waterfall, made famous by Leo DiCaprio (give that man an oscar!) in the Beach. Excellent information here.

The Travel List: Vang Vieng, Laos

Vang Vieng, Laos

Where: Vang Vieng is located in central Laos, approximately 4 hours from the capital Vientiane.
Money: 1 USD buys 7,700 Laotian KIP (May 2013)
Language: Laotian

Apparently Vang Vieng would be what the world would look like if teenagers were in charge. What put Vang Vieng on the map was tubing, basically a pub crawl while floating along the river. Not going to kid, that sounds awesome. But clearly also a magnet to general western debauchery. I hear that last year there was a crackdown on the pubs along the river that might have quietened things up. Nevertheless, Vang Vieng makes it to my list for one very clear reason; I love mountains, and the Karst mountains (which you can see in pretty much every picture above) are pretty breathtaking in my head.