Dawn of a new Asian culture

BORNEO TO BE WILD

Peace and tranquillity are the order of the day at the idyllic Gayana Eco Resort in Sabah, northern Borneo.Guests are put up in comfortable villas on stilts overlooking the ocean, from where they can embark on a kayaking adventure and relax on secluded beaches.

There's a range of sumptuous seafood on offer at the resort's own restaurant.Escape Travel (www.escape travel.com.au or 1300 799 783) has a four-day beach break to Gayana which includes three nights' accommodation, breakfast daily, airport transfers, transport by private car, ferry crossings and a welcome cocktail. You'll also be able to learn more about the local sea life at the Marine Ecology Research Centre.

This getaway is from $805 a person twin share. Flight Centre has return flights to Kota Kinabalu for $1141 from Sydney.

MEKONG ODYSSEY

Cruise the mighty Mekong River on an unforgettable seven-night adventure aboard the MS Amalotus or MS La Marguerite with APT (www.aptouring.com.au or 1300 336 932).You'll arrive in Siem Reap and transfer to your ship by boat, gliding past floating fishing villages, and set off over the lake of Tonle Sap as you dine and meet your fellow travellers.

There will scarcely be time to sit around and reflect on your odyssey down this bustling, vibrant waterway, because you'll do it all: side-trips into the wetlands at the mouth of the Tonle Sap river, and to see floating fish farms and entire markets bobbing up and down by the bank.

You'll ride by rickshaw and ox-cart past rice fields to pagodas and Buddhist monasteries. You can walk through the silk-weaving village of Chong Koh (and maybe pick up a bargain), and explore the Cambodian capital Pnomh Penh, with its palace and the Silver Pagoda. The tour ends in Ho Chi Minh City.

The cruise costs $2395 a person and includes all meals, a guide, and airport transfers.Malaysia Airlines flies to Siem Reap from Sydney ($544 one way) and Jetstar flies back from Ho Chi Minh City to Sydney ($539).

LAID-BACK LEAFY PARADISE

Norfolk Island moves at a different pace from the rest of the world, a chilled-out getaway with fresh food, no traffic lights and welcoming people descendants of the famous Bounty mutineers with their own special language and own unique customs.

It's a place of elegant yet functional convict-built Georgian buildings still in daily use, but just a short stroll into unspoiled areas of natural beauty.Poinciana Cottages is a great base from which to explore this island a tiny, leafy resort with five little one-bedroom modern cottages with rolling mountain views.

It's just five minutes' walk to a shopping, cafe and restaurant district in the heart of Burnt Pine or there's a barbecue on site if you feel like eating in.Specialist Holidays (www.specialist holidays.com.au or 131 381) has seven nights on Norfolk with a hire car so you can get around to the beaches, the night life or a Polynesian feast. The price a person, twin share, starts from $1275 from Sydney including return flights on Norfolk Air.

YOUR OWN BLUE LAGOON

Set on 30ha at the edge of the beautiful Erakor Lagoon, Warwick Le Lagon Resort & Spa Vanuatu is perfect for a family holiday.With bags of Melanesian charm but a touch of modernity, it recently had a facelift which added new cascading pools with swim-up bars, a gym, landscaped gardens and a superb Asian fusion restaurant.

There's an amazing range of things to do: work out the kinks in one of the massage huts, practise your backhand on one of the tennis courts, unwind in the spa, or play a round on the 12-hole golf course.

You can hit the water in the resort's canoes, kayaks and catamarans, too.At the moment, Specialist Holidays (www.specialistholidays.com.au or 131 381) are doing a seven-night stay at the resort with three of those nights for free.

The price a person, twin share, starts from $1095 from Sydney.It includes return flights on Air Vanuatu, full buffet breakfast daily, and a tour of the lively Vanuatu capital, Port Vila.

Kids under-14 stay, play and eat for free and there's a kids' club for 3 to 12-year-olds with an exhaustive, and hopefully exhausting, program.If all else fails there are veryreasonably priced Melanesian babysitters to keep your sanity intact.

Source = heraldsun.com.au