Exotissimo Travel Blog

Ideally located in the bustling heart of Hanoi, this colonial-style hotel is surrounded by stylish shops and tree-lined boulevards and is just minutes from Hanoi Opera House and Hoan Kiem Lake. Featuring 265 sumptuously appointed rooms and suites and a beautiful interior garden, Sofitel Metropole has been Hanoi’s legendary landmark since its establishment at the turn of last century. Excellent French cuisine is available at the Le Beaulieu, refined Hanoi specialties at the Spices Garden and the hotel’s Bamboo Bar, La Terrasse Du Metropole, Le Club Bar and Met’Pub are popular and atmospheric city venues. Check the availability and book your room at Sofitel Metropole Hanoi now.

Located in Kep on the south coast of Cambodia, this beautiful property consists of three villas, one of which was built in 1962 by a protege of Vann Molyvann, the renowned Khmer pupil of Le Corbusier. The exclusive residence boasts a wooden dining pavilion, reading room, large pool and garden and private bar, and the villa’s three buildings are linked together by outdoor staircases and passageways. Boasting as much indoor space as there are terraces, this home has eleven bedrooms beautifully appointed with Cambodian artefacts and antiques. There is also a large salt water swimming pool carved out of volcanic rock for romantic al fresco dining. Excursions to nearby sights can be arranged through the concierge and the property is also close to Bokor National Park, a vast tropical upland forest and one of the country’s largest protected areas. Check the availability and book your room at Knai Bang Chatt Resort in Kep, Cambodia now.

A former guesthouse of King Sihanouk designed by French architect Laurent Mondet, this classic sixties structure has been converted into a calm oasis on the outskirts of bustling Siem Reap. The tranquil property offers a multitude of relaxing opportunities within its private garden enclave including a sultry curved slate swimming pool and fine cuisine is available in a dramatic setting at The Dining Room, previously the screening room of King Sihanouk. The 24 suites are decorated in a classic Indochinese palette of cool grey, pristine white, dark timber and ivory with private courtyards and soothing water features, and 12 feature private swimming pools. The Roof Garden offers pre-dinner drinks in the evening and invigorating yoga sessions at dawn, and the hotel’s spa features traditional Cambodian treatments and a range of soothing organic products. Check the availability and book your room at the Amansara in Siem Reap now.

Picturesquely set along the Nam Khan river close to the Lao UNESCO World Heritage Site of Luang Prabang, this beautifully renovated 100 year old farm house offers guests an exceptional holiday opportunity. Located directly opposite an elephant camp, guests at the Elephant Lodge can explore the area in style on the back of an elephant or even learn how to feed, wash and ride one under the guidance of the park’s team of mahouts. The lodge’s five apartment rooms offer close-to-nature comfort with cozy furnishings, private verandas and stunning views of the Nam Khan river and surrounding mountains. Check the availability and book a stay at Elephant Lodge in Luang Prabang now.

Just 60 kilometers away from Kanchanaburi town in Central Thailand, this bucolic resort set in large private grounds offers 56 luxuriously appointed and fully air-conditioned chalets and traditional Thai thatched cottages on the banks of the Kwai Noi River. The resort is an ideal base to explore the rugged natural beauty of Kanchanaburi and staff are happy to organize river rafting, elephant trekking, canoeing, fishing and other activities in the area on request. Classical Thai cuisine is served up in the resort’s riverside restaurant and the open-air resort spa offers traditional massage treatments. Check the availability and book your room at River Kwai Resotel, Kanchanaburi now.

Set in the rural highlands of Dalat on 35 acres of suburban parkland, Evason Ana Mandara, the 57 room resort, restaurant and spa comprises seventeen fully restored French colonial villas each originally constructed between the 1920’s and 1930’s. The property boasts striking views of the surrounding town and countryside and each of the luxurious villas have been lovingly restored to their former glory with many featuring open fireplaces, traditional claw-foot baths and fully equipped kitchens. Out of villa dining can be found at nine, the resort’s signature restaurant and a range of treatments to relax and rejuvenate are available at the resort’s renowned Six-Senses Spa. Check the availability and book your room at Evason Ana Mandara Resort in Dalat now.

A member of the Sanctuary Resorts group, a hotel organization dedicated to sustainable tourism, The Shinta Mani is both an intimate boutique hotel and institute of hospitality located in the center of Siem Reap. All 18 rooms are elegantly appointed and equipped with free wireless internet, and the property also boasts a library, art gallery and small outdoor pool. The hotel’s award-winning ‘Sanctuary Spa’ features luxurious single and couple treatment rooms and the restaurant offers elegant indoor dining and casual terrace dining and dishes up organic Khmer and Western cuisine. Check the availability and book your room at The Shinta Mani in Siem Reap now.

In a region famous for its delectable cuisine, several Southeast Asian restaurants are now also dishing up opportunities for the local community with their socially responsible policies and vocational training programs.

In Siem Reap, Le Jardin des Delices is the training restaurant of the famous Paul Dubrule Hospitality & Tourism School and was established to provide young, underprivileged Cambodians with an opportunity to train in the skills of the hotel, restaurant and tourism industry.

Delicious Khmer and European fusion cuisine is served on a terrace fronting a lush exotic garden. But the tastiest aspect of all is that while you enjoy the savoir faire of the students, you are also contributing to the sustainability of a vital educational project.

In just five years, the Hanoi based KOTO (Know One, Teach One) has grown from a small sandwich shop to a 120-seat restaurant and an internationally accredited hospitality program that is breaking the cycle of poverty amongst street and disadvantaged youth in Vietnam.

The young people in the KOTO program study hospitality skills and English, while gaining practical skills working at the KOTO restaurant. Indeed, KOTO boasts a 100 percent success rate in placing its graduates in their first job in the hospitality industry.

In Thailand, the popular restaurant chain Cabbages and Condoms was founded by the kingdom’s leading philanthropist and former Minister of Health, Mechai Viravaidya, in an effort to make condoms as common - and as accepted - as cabbages.

The food is consistently delicious (and ‘guaranteed not to cause pregnancy!’) and all proceeds from the restaurants are used to fund the social programs of the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), a non-profit organization founded in 1974 by Meechai himself.

Choosing to eat at socially responsible restaurants such as these can make a big difference to the most vulnerable sectors of the local community. In a region that traditionally suffers from child prostitution and exploitative labor, a socially responsible service industry is now becoming the order of the day.

On your next trip to Southeast Asia, why not sample the delicious fare of these restaurants and support their valuable work? Join the ten-day Best of Vietnam Tour and visit KOTO Restaurant in Hanoi and experience Vietnamese hospitality.

Only an hour’s drive north of Chiang Mai, this award-winning eco-lodge is a sanctuary for the fascinating Lisu tribal group and features 24 comfortable rooms in traditional hilltribe pavilions with thatched roofs, bamboo walls and floor mats. Members of the Lisu staff the rustic lodge and the project has helped the community retain its cultural heritage while benefiting from the progress of responsible tourism. Set in a lush valley, rooms at the rustic retreat are equipped with electricity, private bathrooms, hot water and mosquito nets, and the lodge is a wonderful base for exploring this fascinating region.

Escape the heat in the city and hideaway at the Lisu Lodge in Chiang Mai during this summer. Check the availability and book your room now at the Lisu Lodge now.

Along the borders of Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and China, there are dozens of mountain-dwelling semi-nomadic people collectively known as ‘hilltribes’. Although they do share an elevated lifestyle, these colorful communities actually represent a diverse myriad of languages, cultures and belief systems.

The Akha, one complex hilltribe group in the region, are closely related to the Hani of China’s Yunnan province but speak their own distinct language which comes from a branch of the Tibeto-Burman language group. The Akha are traditionally subsistence farmers, and Akha Zang (The Akha Way) combines animism, ancestor worship and their deep relationship with the land.

Also originally hailing from Yunnan, the Lisu have primarily earned their name as a tribe alive with color, and are considered to use the greatest variety of colors of all the hill tribes. Their confident decision-making and independence is reflected in the way the Lisu use powerful combinations of colors to decorate their costumes.

The Karen are one of the largest hilltribes in Southeast Asia with a total population of about three million spread throughout Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. Famed for the ‘long necks’ of their women, the Karen now live at relatively low elevations in permanent villages, and have developed environmentally sustainable terraced rice fields.

The Lahu are a strongly independent and very diverse ethnic group. In Thailand alone there are no fewer than six different Lahu tribes, some of whose languages are not mutually intelligible. Although primarily subsistence farmers, the Lahu are also proud of their hunter-warrior heritage and are strongly committed to principles of unity and working together for survival.

This brief look at just a few of these fascinating groups illustrates the complex diversity of Southeast Asian hilltribe communities.

Experience these remarkable ethnic groups for yourself on our Shan Homestay in Tham Lod for 3 days 2 nights.