Escape the tourist traps

Look beyond the main attractions of Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, writes Rob Woodburn.

Thailand
With its many attractions, Bangkok is regularly voted one of the world's top city destinations. Visitors keenly tick off seeing the gorgeous Royal Palace and temple of the Emerald Buddha, then Wat Po with its golden reclining Buddha before crossing the Chao Phraya river to Wat Arun, the temple of dawn, or to visit a floating market. After that they usually go shopping or hit a spa. Here are a few alternatives.

Cycling and cooking

Expend some renewable energy on two wheels while exploring an area of the city less frequented by tourists. Cycle across the river on Rama 8 bridge and pedal the historic Thonburi network of lanes and forked alleys. Thonburi was the Thai capital until 1782, when the seat of power was shifted across the Chao Phraya for strategic defence reasons.

During the 13-kilometre guided half-day ride you'll stop to see the Buddha statues in a tiny local temple, hear local lore, discover ancient stupa tucked among the backstreets and admire the ornate decorations of a royal temple. You'll negotiate sharp bends in narrow alleys, steer around sleeping dogs, whiz past locals chatting on their doorsteps and follow canal paths to visit the last family-run bronze factory in Bangkok. The ride reveals everyday city life along byways far off the tourist trail, providing an insightful adventure you'll neither regret nor forget. A half-day ride costs $US35 ($32). See grasshopperadventures.com/tour-ghtb07.php.

Learning secrets of the Thai kitchen is one of the great pleasures of Bangkok. A lesson at Amita Thai Cooking Class first involves getting to school via a magical boat trip on the Chao Phraya before passing through the flowing arteries of "khlongland", the Thonburi area where houses sit alongside an extensive network of canals (khlongs) filled with turbid brown water. It's a journey through what is both literally and figuratively the other side of Bangkok.

Amita's owner-chef, Tam, is a gentle taskmaster. She welcomes students with intriguing sample dishes that use blue butterfly peas, red ixora flowers, cowslip and palm sauce, designed to awaken the taste buds and sense of smell. A tour of her compact garden stocked with herbs, spices and edible plants comes before lessons in the open-air kitchen.

A typical class covers three to four dishes. We wrap pandanus leaves around chicken to make the snack gai hor bai toey, create the fiery prawn soup tom yum goong, try our hand at ka nom krok (coconut pancakes) and cook phat kra pow moo sab, a dish of wok-fired ground pork with basil. An evident lack of kitchen skills is part of the fun. Best of all, having made our own lunch we then eat it. Is there a better motivation to excel? A three-hour class costs 3000 baht ($90). See amitathaicooking.com.

Big day out
The world's largest living land animal is the star of the biggest-ever event of its kind, the 10th anniversary of the King's Cup elephant polo tournament.

Hosted by the Anantara hotel group, this annual charity bash is on September 5-11 in Hua Hin, a seaside town 190 kilometres south of Bangkok, and raises funds for Thai elephant care. The Tourist Association of Thailand rates it one of the country's leading events. Players from 15 countries in 16 teams, including an All Blacks contingent, will contest this year's cup riding a total of 32 elephants steered by their mahouts. Each elephant plays two 14-minute spells a day and they are rotated among teams for the sake of fairness. Some elephants are expert at polo. Others may choose not to perform at all.

Hua Hin was the location for the original King's Cup held in 2001. It's also where, in 1923, King Rama VI chose to build a summer retreat, the Maruekhathaiyawan Palace, an amazing building that is open to the public and worth visiting. The town's other palace, Klai Kangwon, is still used by the royal family and therefore private. Anantara has special accommodation and polo packages from 9000 baht. See huahin.anantara.com.

CambodiaAfter being abandoned in the 15th century the extraordinary temple complex at Angkor, former centre of the ancient Khmer empire, was slowly enveloped by encroaching jungle. Angkor was "rediscovered" by Western travellers in the 19th century and has since become Cambodia's most hallowed attraction.

Surrounded by a moat, Angkor Wat is the largest and best preserved of the temples, but there are many other equally enthralling structures spread around the vast archaeological park. Guide books list as many as 29 individual sites, including the fortified city of Angkor Thom with the Bayon temple at its centre and the incredible Ta Prohm, where giant fig and banyan tree roots are entwined within the stone walls. It's the sort of place you'd expect to bump into Indiana Jones.

Conservation and restoration work is constant yet, questionably, visitors are still allowed to crawl all over these vulnerable limestone structures. Annual visitor numbers hit two million in 2007 before the GFC put a brake on tourism. But they are on the rise again so go sooner rather than later. The private company that leases Angkor from the government charges visitors $US20 ($18) entry per day. Alternatively, consider visiting the more recently discovered Banteay Chhmar temple ruins close to the Thailand border. Intrepid has a 15-day Best of Cambodia tour, from $1350. See intrepidtravel.com/trips/tksm#overview.

Cambodia &VietnamThe mighty Mekong River is South-east Asia's great artery. It flows through six countries on a journey of more than 4000 kilometres from its source on the Tibetan Plateau to the coast of Vietnam, where it forms a massive delta spilling into the South China Sea. The ebb and flow of river life is best sampled aboard a slow boat. Various cruises ply the Mekong, the most popular being seven- to nine-day voyages, in either direction, between Siem Reap in Cambodia, which is the access town to Angkor, and Ho Chi Minh City in south Vietnam.

Cruise itineraries include passage across south-east Asia's largest lake, Tonle Sap, before mooring beside the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, various land excursions to tribal villages and temples, small factories and farms, and visits to fishing villages and markets on the backwaters of the Mekong Delta.

The best time for a Mekong cruise is October to January. During the later period of the dry season, from late March to August, Tonle Sap in Cambodia can be unnavigable due to extremely low water. In this event a five-hour coach transfer is introduced between Siem Reap and Kampong Chhnang.

Peregrine Adventures has a nine-day cruise from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City, from $2295. See peregrineadventures.com.

Vietnam
City sightsCompared with Ho Chi Minh City, the Vietnamese capital Hanoi has considerable charm. At its heart lies Hoan Kiem, a tiny lake that's the focus of social activity from first light until late. Nearby is the famous Old Quarter, a bewildering, colourful tangle of 36 narrow streets and crowded lanes, each named for a traditional craft.

You'll find a tin street, one for blacksmiths and one for silversmiths, a street for bamboo screens, baskets, bottles, coffins, herbal medicine, mats, hats, pots, incense, pipes, oils and leather. The Old Quarter provides a welcome antidote of authenticity among the proliferation of cheap Chinese-made market goods that flood every Asian city.

Two kilometres west of Hoan Kiem is the venerable Temple of Literature, offering moments of calm repose. Within its walls are placid pools, shady trees and well-tended gardens. This was Vietnam's first national university, dating from 1076, and stone tablets record the names of laureates from the 15th to 18th centuries.

For lunch, try Koto, on adjacent Van Mieu Street, a restaurant created by Australian Jimmy Pham to teach hospitality skills to street kids. For a quintessential Hanoi evening dine at Cha Cha La Vong then soak up the sounds at Minh's Jazz Club, both in the Old Quarter.

TrekkingSapa in Vietnam's far north and the Mai Chau Valley, only 130 kilometres from Hanoi, are both well known for hill tribe treks. Getting to Sapa involves an overnight train ride from Hanoi. The scenery is spectacular but the experience overall has become overtly commercial. A guided three-day Mai Chau trek is an alternative. The countryside is enchanting, the H'mong and White Thai villages remain traditional and you'll see fewer tourists. World Expeditions runs a three-day Mai Chau trek for $640. See worldexpeditions.com/au.

LaosUntil fairly recently, Laos was far less travelled than its neighbours. Now tourism is the country's fastest-growing industry. The capital, Vientiane, has plenty of wonderful temples and Buddhist monuments but the upriver Mekong port of Luang Prabang is more captivating for getting in touch with a spirit of place.

In between is the adrenalin-pumping town of Vang Vieng, a backpacker haunt for river tubing, caving, rock climbing and generally letting loose. In sharp contrast and not far away is the mystical Plain of Jars, an ancient burial site.

Luang Namtha in the far north is a hub for hill tribe treks.

Slow boats ply the Mekong between Nong Khiaw and Luang Prabang and between there and Huay Xai on the Thai border. Water levels are lowest between November and May. Highlights of southern Laos are Champasak's Angkor-like Khmer temples and Si Phan Don, the "4000 islands" region of the Mekong, close to the Cambodia border. TravelindoChina has a 17-day Inside Laos trip, including Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang and trips along the Mekong River, from $3010, including daily breakfast, and one domestic flight. See travelindochina.com.au