Get a feel for Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam with a local

South-east Asia is beautifully picturesque and wonderfully relaxing yet it has that fabulous contradictory ability to quicken the pulse while assaulting the senses. Expect a holiday with a rich mix of sights, sounds, colours and smells set against a diverse landscape of dramatic mountains, stunning beaches, verdant paddy fields and winding rivers.

The best way to fully appreciate any country is to see it through the eyes of the people that live there. That way you’ll experience its cultures and traditions while getting to understand the nuances of what makes its inhabitants tick.

One operator that has made this philosophy its modus operandi is On The Go Tours. It specialises in group and private trips across the world that use only English-speaking local tour leaders. With a comprehensive range of organised packages from eight to 22 days across Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma, it offers guided sightseeing with oodles of free time.

If being part of a group is not your thing, then On The Go can also arrange private tours with tailor-made itineraries to suit various budgets and needs. Whatever your choice, travelling with a local who knows their homeland’s culture is like having a window thrown open to another world.

In fact, the hardest thing is choosing what to do and see. This is a region that is as varied as it is colourful, where around every twist and turn something is sure to surprise or delight. You might see a cavalcade of monks on their way to prayer; water buffalo toiling in the fields; monuments as old as the hills; bustling cities; tiny villages; or romantic islands. Then there’s endless fabulous food to tantalise the taste buds.

You could be standing in the pre-dawn darkness at the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia waiting for the sun to come up. As it slowly rises, the silhouette of this 800-year-old Khmer wonder becomes progressively clearer against the brightening sky. Within minutes a glorious hue of red bathes the surrounding lily pad-covered lakes and spacious grounds.

Or you could stroll through Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam as mopeds zip by carrying precariously-balanced cargoes of chickens, pigs and sometimes even whole families. The aroma of fragrant spices drifts from street traders’ stoves while incense floats out of temples and tiny birds tweet from wooden cages.

Other highlights might include visiting the amazing Pak Ou Caves in Laos, the Cu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam to see the ingenious lengths the Viet Cong went to in fighting the Americans, or the beautiful Bagan Temples in Burma.

Whether you’re part of a group or on a private package, On The Go Tours has unparalelled knowledge coupled with the first-hand experience to ensure that your visit to South-east Asia will be a trip of a lifetime.

There’s no place quite like it on the planet and the chances are you’ll come back feeling like a local.

Source - telegraph.co.uk