Recent Mad Traveller
Luang Prabang 5 Day Itinerary
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Five days is our 4-day itinerary plus a proper culture day: a Tamarind cooking class in the morning, then Ock Pop Tok and TAEC in the afternoon, the two serious craft institutions rather than the night market’s...
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Phuket 6 Day Itinerary (No Tourist Traps)
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Most six-day trips spend the whole stretch on one beach, mostly Patong, and come home wondering why it felt more like a package resort than Thailand. Splitting the week between Phuket Town and a quieter west-coast...
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Angkor Wat: Worth It? An Honest Look
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Yes, and it’s not close. Angkor Wat is the world’s largest religious monument, built in the 12th century under Suryavarman II as a Hindu temple, later reworked as Buddhist, and never actually abandoned the...
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Brasília: Cerrado Hikes and Waterfalls
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Brasília itself isn’t a hiking destination, the Plano Piloto is flat and built for cars, not trails. Real hiking here means driving out to one of three places: a national park inside the urban footprint, a...
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Brasília: The Best Photo Spots
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None of Brasília’s best shots are close together, so budget driving time between them, not a walking loop. Every spot on this list earns its place with a specific angle or time of day, not just “the...
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Kunming: Where to Stay by Area
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Kunming is compact enough that where you base yourself matters less for logistics than for atmosphere, with one real exception: a transit night near the rail hub if you’re catching an early onward train.
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Luang Prabang 4 Day Itinerary
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Four days is our 3-day itinerary plus one genuinely slower day: Tad Sae Falls, the seasonal bamboo bridge, and a half-day escape across the Mekong to Ban Xieng Maen. It’s the first plan in this series where...
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Phnom Penh: Worth Visiting? An Honest Look
Yes, worth it, for two or three focused days as the capital-city leg of a wider Cambodia trip, not a full week on its own. Phnom Penh sits at the Chaktomuk confluence, where the Mekong, Tonle Sap and Bassac rivers meet, and the city carries both a fast-developing riverside energy and, openly, the weight of its recent history. Most travelers pair it with Siem Reap for Angkor Wat, a separate...
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Siem Reap 7 Day Itinerary
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Seven days is our 6-day itinerary with Phnom Kulen added, plus a genuinely slower pace throughout since a week of heat and temples adds up. Less time, the 5-day itinerary drops Koh Ker and Kulen but keeps everything...
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Bogotá 4 Day Itinerary (No Tourist Traps)
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Four days is our 3-day itinerary with Laguna de Guatavita added as its own day, rather than squeezed in alongside Zipaquirá. Both are real day trips, but pairing them on one day means rushing one or both.
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Brasília: Hidden Gems Worth Finding
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Most “hidden gems” lists for Brasília just relabel the main civic buildings on the Eixo Monumental. The real ones sit off that route entirely: a religious pyramid, a living syncretic community out in a...
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Siem Reap 6 Day Itinerary
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Six days is our 5-day itinerary with Koh Ker added as its own day, rather than paired with Beng Mealea in a single long drive. Less time, the 4-day itinerary covers just Beng Mealea; more time, the 7-day itinerary...
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Brasília: Travel Tips Worth Knowing
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The tips that actually matter in Brasília aren’t about handshakes and gift-giving, they’re about how the city itself works: the currency, how you get around, when to go, and where the ordinary precautions...
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Kunming: Where to Eat and What to Try
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Yunnan cooking is genuinely its own regional cuisine, distinct from the Sichuan and Cantonese food most visitors already know, and Kunming is where most of it converges. Here’s what’s actually worth...
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Luang Prabang 3 Day Itinerary
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Three days is the honest sweet spot for Luang Prabang: the old town and its temples, Kuang Si Falls, and one river excursion, with enough slack to actually slow down instead of sprinting between sights.
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Phuket 5 Day Itinerary (No Tourist Traps)
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Five days is enough to add a proper island day and an ethical wildlife morning to the beach-and-culture basics, without stacking two big boat days back to back. It builds on the 4-day plan ; go longer with the 6-day...
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Siem Reap 5 Day Itinerary
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Five days is our 4-day itinerary with an ethical Tonle Sap village added, rather than squeezed into an already-full day. Less time, the 3-day itinerary drops the far temples entirely. More time, the 7-day itinerary...
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Brasília: Where to Stay by Area
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Brasília doesn’t have a historic center to base yourself in, it has two real options, and its hotel pricing runs backwards from most tourist cities. Know both before you book.
Brasília’s stay areas at a...
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Phnom Penh: The Killing Fields and S-21
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21) and the Choeung Ek Killing Fields are not attractions. They are the two central sites of the Cambodian genocide, and this page treats them with the gravity that requires: what happened, what to expect, and how to visit respectfully. There is no listicle version of this history.
What happened, stated plainly From 17 April 1975 to early January 1979, the Khmer...
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Siem Reap 4 Day Itinerary
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Four days is our 3-day itinerary plus a genuine far-temple day, Beng Mealea, on its own separate ticket. Less time and the far ruins get cut; more time, our 5-day itinerary adds an ethical Tonle Sap village on top of...
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Brasília: Where to Eat and What to Try
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Brasília has no single native cuisine of its own, it’s a young capital built by migrants from every Brazilian state plus a diplomatic corps of roughly 140 embassies, so the food scene runs on regional Brazilian...
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Kunming: The Best Things to Do
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Kunming isn’t a one-blockbuster city, it’s a mild, walkable base with a handful of genuinely good sights and one real UNESCO day trip. Here’s what actually earns a spot on a short trip.
Green Lake...
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Luang Prabang 2 Day Itinerary
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Two days is tight for Luang Prabang, but it covers the essentials honestly: the old town’s temples, the dawn alms-giving witnessed properly rather than rushed, and a half-day out to Kuang Si Falls. If you have a...
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Siem Reap 3 Day Itinerary
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Three days is the sweet spot most first-timers land on: our 2-day itinerary covers the Small and Grand Circuits plus Banteay Srei, and this adds a third day in town rather than rushing straight back to the airport.
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Brasília: The Best Things to Do
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Nearly everything worth doing in Brasília sits along one 8.5km avenue, the Eixo Monumental, because you’re not visiting separate attractions here, you’re visiting pieces of one UNESCO-listed city plan....
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Siem Reap 2 Day Itinerary
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Two days is rushed but doable: the Small Circuit on day one, Banteay Srei and the Grand Circuit on day two. It skips the town entirely and the far temples like Beng Mealea, so if either matters to you, look at our...
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Bogotá 3 Day Itinerary (No Tourist Traps)
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Three days is our 2-day itinerary with one true day trip added, enough time to see the city core and get out of it once, without rushing either.
Day-by-day at a glance Day Focus Est.
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Brasília: 9 Things Actually Worth Doing
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Brasília divides opinion faster than almost any capital in South America: some visitors find Oscar Niemeyer’s concrete curves thrilling, others find the whole Plano Piloto cold and inhuman. Both reactions are...
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Colombo 3 Day Itinerary (No Tourist Traps)
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Three days is our 2-day itinerary (Fort, Pettah, Galle Face, the temples, Mount Lavinia) with a genuine day trip added rather than squeezed in: Galle, by the coastal train that runs feet from the ocean for much of the...
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Kunming: 10 Things Actually Worth Doing
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Before you go: China in 2026. Kunming is one of the country’s most relaxed, low-crime cities, and normal sightseeing here runs smoothly. The real prep is practical, not dangerous: install and test a VPN before...
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Luang Prabang: 10 Things Worth Doing
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Luang Prabang earns its UNESCO listing honestly: a walkable peninsula where the Mekong meets the Nam Khan, 30-plus active temples, and a civic curfew, old-town bars close by 11:30pm by ordinance, that keeps this a...
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Phnom Penh: 7-Day Itinerary
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Seven days is genuinely more than most travelers need for Phnom Penh alone, and this itinerary is honest about that: three full core days, then four separate day trips, rather than padding the city itself with content...
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Phuket 4 Day Itinerary (No Tourist Traps)
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Four days adds a second day of culture and beach to the 3-day plan ; stretch it further with the 5-day version . This version bases you in Phuket Town rather than a beach resort: you lose the walk-to-the-sand...
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Siem Reap: 12 Things Actually Worth Doing
Siem Reap exists because of what’s next door: the Angkor Archaeological Park, the seat of the Khmer Empire from roughly the 9th to 15th centuries. The town is a base for the temples, not a destination in its own right, so plan it that way. Two important changes catch a lot of first-timers off guard: the old in-town airport closed in 2023, and the Thailand land border has been closed since...
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Phnom Penh: 6-Day Itinerary
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Six days puts three full core days in Phnom Penh alongside three genuine day trips, enough to see the city thoroughly and get outside it without a rushed itinerary. Land at Techo International Airport (KTI), 25-30km...
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Phuket 3 Day Itinerary (No Tourist Traps)
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Three days is the 2-day essentials plus one island day trip; add another day with the 4-day plan if your dates allow. This version uses Phang Nga Bay because it fits into a single day without an early-morning pier...
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Bogotá 2 Day Itinerary (No Tourist Traps)
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Two days is enough for Bogotá’s core if you accept one constraint upfront: the city sits at 2,640 meters, so day one has to be easy, not ambitious. Front-load the flat, indoor stuff and save the climb for day...
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Phnom Penh: 5-Day Itinerary
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Five days gives Phnom Penh’s core three full days plus two genuine day trips, enough time to slow down rather than rush the memorial sites. Land at Techo International Airport (KTI), 25-30km south, opened...
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Colombo 2 Day Itinerary (No Tourist Traps)
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Two days is genuinely enough for Colombo, and that’s not a knock, the city is honestly a 1-2 day gateway rather than a headline destination in its own right. Day 1 covers the colonial core and the sunset...
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Phuket 2 Day Itinerary (No Tourist Traps)
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Two days is enough for one beach base and the island’s cultural essentials, not enough for an island day trip; add a day at a time with our 3-day through 7-day versions once you know you want more.
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Phnom Penh: 4-Day Itinerary
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Four days covers Phnom Penh’s core plus one genuine day trip, enough to see the city properly without padding. Land at Techo International Airport (KTI), 25-30km south, opened September 2025; book the transfer...
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Bogotá: Festivals Worth Timing For
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Bogotá’s calendar runs on a mix of a genuinely unique weekly institution and a handful of major annual events, none of which need importing from Medellín or Barranquilla to be worth planning around.
Ciclovía:...
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Phnom Penh: 3-Day Itinerary
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Three days is the sweet spot for Phnom Penh, a full core day, a lighter culture-and-markets day, and a heavier third day for the memorial sites without rushing them. Land at Techo International Airport (KTI), 25-30km...
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Phuket: Travel Tips Worth Knowing
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These 8 are the ones worth knowing before you land, not after something goes wrong.
File your Thailand Digital Arrival Card before you arrive. It is mandatory for every foreign arrival, free, and must be submitted...
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Xi'an 7 Day Itinerary (No Tourist Traps)
Seven days is our 6-day plan plus a Day 7 most itineraries pad with filler, an underwhelming souvenir crawl or a second lap of somewhere you’ve already done. Instead, this is a genuine either/or day: Famen Temple if you actually want a full day trip with thin public transit, or a deliberate rest day if you don’t. Both are honest choices; padding isn’t.
Book these before you go:
A...
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Bogotá: Day Trips Worth Taking
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Not everything near Bogotá fits into a single day, and being honest about that upfront saves a rushed, disappointing trip later. Here’s what actually works as a day trip, and what genuinely doesn’t....
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Phnom Penh: 2-Day Itinerary
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Two days is tight but genuinely workable for Phnom Penh’s core: the Royal Palace and Museum on one day, the memorial sites and markets on the other. Land at Techo International Airport (KTI), about 25-30km...
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Xi'an 6 Day Itinerary (No Tourist Traps)
Six days is our 5-day plan plus the Terracotta Army’s genuinely underrated counterpart: the Hanyangling Museum, the tomb of Han Emperor Jingdi, where you’ll get most of the “army of buried figures” awe of Day 1 at a fraction of the crowd and the entry fee. It’s the day worth adding before you reach for a second Muslim Quarter dinner as filler.
Book these before you...
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Colombo: Festivals Worth Timing For
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Colombo’s real festival calendar reflects a genuinely multi-faith city, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, and Christian events all on it, not one dominant tradition. Here’s what’s actually worth planning...
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Phuket: The Best Photo Spots
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Phuket’s best frames split between the coastline and the Old Town streets. These 8 cover both.
Phuket Old Town, the Sino-Portuguese shophouse district around Thalang Road and Soi Romanee, best walked in the...
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