Three countries in three weeks—Southeast Asia makes it easy

Our series Bespoke Behind the Scenes lets you in on some of the incredible trips that B&R Experience Designers create for travellers. Whether it’s a multi-generational family reunion or an exploration of a dream destination, our team works one-on-one with travellers to design original journeys that meet every need and desire. Here, Experience Designer Nathan Lane shares the story of a cross-border adventure in Southeast Asia. 

Sometimes travellers have a specific destination in mind. At other times they have a very confined period in which they can travel and are open to how—and where—that time is spent. This group of friends had a specific three weeks for their trip and were intrigued about Vietnam. Then they spoke with Nathan Lane, B&R’s Experience Designer for Southeast Asia.  

“They were travelling in fall, a time of year that is rainy in Central Vietnam, where we usually do our cycling, so we expanded their exploration to include time in neighbouring Cambodia and Laos,” Nathan says. 

While these countries are geographically close, their incredible diversity of culture and history made for an immensely rewarding experience. Adding to the unique nature of this trip were the guides. The group had local guides in each country they visited, top-tier guides who’d been leading groups for decades and offered deep insight into the customs and history of the places they were visiting. To ensure the entire journey, including border crossings, was smooth, their trip leader was on the road with them from start to finish. “It was essential to make sure everything on the trip was seamless,” Nathan explains. 

In Vietnam, they embraced the atmosphere of Hanoi with a cyclo tour through the Old Quarter, then balanced that by exploring the wilderness of Northern Vietnam where they walked through a valley of sweeping rice terraces, meeting with locals in the area’s rural villages.  

Their next stop was Laos, a country that typically isn’t on travellers’ radars. Home to dozens of different ethnic groups, each with their own languages and cultures, it’s a place that keeps visitors guessing. Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the fusion of traditional Lao structures and colonial architecture.  

“It ticks all the boxes of the romance of travel in Asia,” says Nathan. "Every single morning at sunrise there's a couple hundred apprentice monks in orange, from like seven to 70 years old, walking around the town collecting alms. There is good bike riding on traffic-free roads, and boat trips that cruise down the Mekong River.” The group experienced all of this with time for meandering through the city’s neighbourhoods as well. 

And in Cambodia they travelled to towering ancient temples by bicycle and learned about the spiritual history of the country. A highlight of the group’s time here was a takeover of Maison Polanka, a luxe boutique hotel surrounded by lush jungle foliage. The intimate three-villa hotel is inspired by traditional Khmer villages, each structure built on stilts and design inspired by Asian and Cambodian craft. “It’s the coolest hotel experience you can have,” says Nathan.  

Having a property all to themselves, not common in Asia, meant the group got to indulge in private experiences like a candlelit dinner around the pool, adding to the magic of the entire trip.