The Ethical Travel Guide: Asia

KAZAKHSTAN

Lying along the route of the ancient Silk Road, Kazakhstan fascinates with its hospitable people, gorgeous natural landscapes and rare wildlife. As one of the biggest countries in central Asia, it offers endless possibilities to explore its remote and wild corners. The region around the capital, Almaty, carries the beautiful name of Land of Seven Rivers and stretches over five climatic zones, from the mighty year-round glaciers of the Zaili Alatau mountain range to the "singing" desert sands at the bank of the Ili River. In the Turkistan region of southern Kazakhstan, one can admire the architectural splendour of the medieval capital of the Turkic people. Kazakhs are passionate hunters and fishermen. Hunting with golden eagles is a favourite pastime, and fishing for gigantic specimens, such as the Ural River beluga and the sheathfish, can be a one-time experience for amateur anglers, especially when the catch is thrown back into its habitat and allowed to live.

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ECOTOURISM KAZAKHSTAN

Ecotourism Kazakhstan offers home-stay guesthouses where visitors are shown traditional hospitality and served meals of fresh, local produce. They can also sleep in traditional yurts. Travellers can explore Kazakhstan, the home of flamingos, wolves and bears, and trek on horseback or foot into the Tien-Shan or Altai mountains. They can discover the culture of rural Kazakhstan through concerts of local music and dance, or see the historical and religious sites of the ancient Silk Road, accompanied by local guides.

Tel 00 7 3272 798146

E-mail ecotourism.kz@mail.kz

Web www.ecotourism.kz

MONGOLIA

As one of the most sparsely populated countries on earth, Mongolia is the ideal getaway from Europe's overcrowded cities. In the 13th century, though, when Genghis Khan united the Mongol tribes and defeated many neighbouring peoples, the Mongolian Empire was a great centre of power and influence. Today, Mongolia is a land of magnificent steppe landscapes, inhabited by herds of wild antelopes, donkeys and yaks. For centuries, Mongols have been herding cattle and horses, and still move around the country following the nomadic way of life. Mongols pride themselves on being skilled horsemen, and horse races are a favourite pastime. Nomadic families travel large distances to attend the biggest games at the annually held Naadam Festival. Mongolian culture is heavily influenced by Tibetan Buddhism and ancient shamanic practices. On a trip to Mongolia, one should not dare miss a concert of the mystic and enthralling throat-singing. A stay in the round, cosy felt tents of the nomads will be another unforgettable experience, rounded off with a bowl of warm tea and a hearty lamb casserole.

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THREE CAMEL LODGE

Three Camel Lodge is a wilderness ger camp and offers a memorable and rewarding stay in Mongolia's Gobi Desert. The staff are from the region and are happy to share their local knowledge. Guests can visit ancient petroglyphs near the camp, watch the native wildlife, and visit local families to experience the daily life of the desert nomad. The lodge arranges performances of traditional Mongolian dancing and throat-singing. Visitors can also stay overnight in gers, the traditional felt tents of nomadic herders, each heated by a wood stove and furnished with beautifully painted wood-framed beds. These have washing facilities and toilets a few hundred feet away - although new "luxury" gers get round this slight problem.

Tel 00 976 313 396/325 786

E-mail info@threecamellodge.com,

info@nomadicexpeditions.com

Web www.threecamellodge.com, www.nomadicexpeditions.com

CAMBODIA

In its heyday, more than 600 years ago, the city of Angkor, in the north of modern-day Cambodia, boasted a civilised population of more than a million. At the same time, London was inhabited by less than 35,000.

Today, tourists flock to see the remains of the temples that represent Cambodia's main attraction. Khmer people are proud of their heritage, yet recent history shows tragedy not glory. More than 500,000 civilians are estimated to have died during a secret and illegal anti-communist bombing campaign by the US during the Vietnam War. Out of the devastation, in 1975, the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, managed to take power and impose a brutal four-year regime of extreme socialism, which killed about 1.7m people. During the rule of Pol Pot, the UN did not intervene. It was Vietnam, in 1979, that overthrew the Khmer Rouge.

Despite removing such an evil regime, Vietnamese intervention was unacceptable to some countries. In 1992, the UN eventually entered Cambodia and the country has been in the process of recovery ever since. Human rights remain a huge issue, with many living and working on the streets. The country also remains notorious for child prostitution and sex-worker exploitation from sex tourism.

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CARPE DIEM TRAVEL

Carpe Diem is a UK-based company offering small, tailor-made group and customised trips to Cambodia. It employs local guides with groups of no more than 10, using a wide range of transport. It also supports local, community-based tourism projects and take clients to visit local development projects working with street families, as well as donating a portion of its profits directly to humanitarian development projects in Cambodia.

Tel 08452 262 198

E-mail mail@carpe-diem-travel.com

Web www.carpe-diem-travel.com

LAOS

Dominated by the Mekong and its tributaries, which cut through rugged jungle-covered mountains, Laos, for so long obscured by its more powerful neighbours, is today beginning to assert itself as a must-see destination.

Isolated by its terrain and its rudimentary infrastructure, Laos has retained a slow pace of life that affords the visitor a glimpse of a bygone age. In towns such as Luang Prabang, crumbling colonial shop fronts are punctuated with ornate Buddhist temples, and in the countryside, where 85 per cent of the population are subsistence farmers, life has changed little in the past hundred years.

Laos has the unfortunate distinction of being, during the Vietnam War, the most heavily bombed nation. In an attempt to destroy north Vietnamese supply routes, the US waged an illegal and secret war in Laos, in which it dropped more bombs than were dropped in the entire Second World War. This had catastrophic implications for Laos, where today unexploded ordnance litters the land.

This is one of the world's few remaining communist states. The Maoist administration came to power in 1973, establishing the Laos People's Democratic Republic and sweeping away 600 years of monarchy. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, on which Laos was heavily dependent, the country opened its borders in the early 1990s to investors and tourists. Subsistence farming provides 55 per cent of GDP, and half the country's budget comes from overseas aid.

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NAM HA ECOTOURISM PROJECT

The Nam Ha Eco-tourism Project offers treks varying from one to four days. Overnight treks stay in village guesthouses of four different ethnic-minority groups. Each trek has at least one English-speaking guide, as well as other guides familiar with the local terrain, which varies from mountain to forest to agricultural fields. A boat trip is also offered along the Nam Tha River, visiting riverside villages and with great opportunities for swimming.

Tel 00 856 2121 2251

E-mail snh_manivong@yahoo.com

Web www.ecotourismlaos.com

THAILAND

There is much more to Bangkok than Patpong, with its neon lights and sex trade, including a vibrant culture and the amazing architecture of the King's Grand Palace. Away from the capital, Thailand's ability to cater for Western desires is demonstrated on islands such as Ko Pangan with its full moon parties along the island's southern beaches.

Tourism development in Thailand has been rapid since the late 1970s and often uncontrolled, leading to some coastal pollution and golf courses, which compound water shortage problems. The tsunami in 2004 heavily affected the western coast, including popular tourist destinations such as Phuket and Phi Phi island. These areas have been quick to rebuild and publicise that business is back to normal, with pristine beaches and shark diving. There are, however, questions around the displacement of local peoples to make way for some new development sites.

A popular northern city to explore from is Chiang Mai. Here you can venture out on trekking trips with rafting, elephant rides and visits to mountain peoples. It is well worth exploring the inner regions of the country where a large welcoming rural population still makes a living growing rice. For those seeking even quieter destinations, there are beaches and islands farther east, such as Ko Chang.

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AKHA HILL TRIBE

About 14 miles from Chiang Rai, in the mountains of northern Thailand (at a height of 1,500m, so you should be out of mosquito range), you can stay with the Akha in a project bungalow and know that all the profit from what you are paying is going into the community and its school. And anyone who does well at school is helped financially to go and study further elsewhere. You will go on guided jungle walks, catch fish, stay overnight in a banana-leaf house and meet other hill tribes. Tourism is the only source of income since the government banned slash-and-burn farming.

Tel 00 66 9997 5505

E-mail apeahouse@hotmail.com

Web www.akhahill.com

GECKO VILLA

Gecko Villa nestles among paddy fields in Thailand's Isaan plateau, in the north-east of the country. It is a locally owned spacious villa with a pool, offering guests the chance to experience rural Thailand at first hand. This includes watching water buffalo, sampling local village traditions and crafts, visiting temples and wetlands, eating extraordinary local cuisine, or simply relaxing and enjoying the slower pace of rural Thailand. All proceeds from the rentals stay in the local village and thus contribute to this sustainable tourism project.

Tel 00 66 918 0500

E-mail info@geckovilla.com

Web www.geckovilla.com

VIETNAM

It's hard not to let first impressions of Vietnam be characterised by images of the Vietnam War, and yet the country has a lot more to offer than a history of atrocities and bloodshed. This long, thin stretch of land, flanked by Laos and Cambodia on the west and 1,800 miles of coastline on the east, boasts bleached white beaches, paddy fields, head-spinning cities, jungle treks and mist-enfolded pagodas.

Despite a decade of war and a legacy of trade embargoes, the country is rapidly reinventing itself and is finally beginning to shake off its more damaging stereotypes of its communist past. Today there are few visible reminders of the conflict that saw more than 5m tonnes of bombs dropped, accounting for the loss of 2.2m hectares of forest. The craters that still pockmark the country are slowly being refilled or used as fish farms or small-scale irrigation systems. Vietnam is a country of growing biodiversity and home to a number of rare and endangered species, including the Javan rhino, thought only to exist in Indonesia, until a recent discovery in 1989, and the previously unknown soala, a species of ox. A trip into the hill country of the north may lead to an invitation into one of the traditional communal long houses where you can experience unrivalled hospitality and elaborate displays of age-old customs, complete with tribal costumes and rice wine. Alternatively, a foray into Hanoi, Vietnam's northern capital, or Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city of the south, encourages you to explore the country's cultural heritage at a slightly more frantic pace.

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FOOTPRINT

Footprint is a tour operator owned and run by three Vietnamese guides. It organises responsible travel packages and community-based tourism, designed with the agreement and cooperation of the local population. It also has an education programme to teach local children how to avoid water-borne diseases. It runs a community-based project in Quan Ba Ha Giang. By cooperating with the local population, it is able to train them to manage and operate their own projects, so they directly participate and benefit from tourism.

Tel 00 84 933 2844

E-mail son@footprintsvietnam.com,

footprint@hn.vnn.vn

Web www.footprintsvietnam.com

SRI LANKA

Sitting just above the equator, Sri Lanka has everything a traveller could wish for. Golden, palm-fringed beaches stretch for more than 1,000 miles, and the tourism industry is gradually recovering after the devastation of the tsunami in 2004.

The cool highland interior features lush, green landscapes of paddy fields, tea plantations, scenic waterfalls and mountain passes. The "Cultural Triangle" is rich in historical interest, encompassing ancient ruined capitals, rock fortresses, cave temples, a giant Buddha and the sacred city of Kandy. Then there's the abundant and varied wildlife - you're practically guaranteed to see a wild elephant (or even a herd) if you know where to go, and could catch sight of a sloth bear or leopard. And it is an absolute dream for bird-lovers.

Sri Lanka also has a protracted and bloody civil war, which simmers under the surface despite the current ceasefire. Tourists should avoid the most affected parts of the country, but a visit to other areas will be something to savour and, since the tsunami, more vital than ever to the economy.

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INSIDER TOURS

Insider offers tailor-made guided tours throughout southern India and Sri Lanka, with weddings and honeymoons its speciality. The entire operation is embedded in the local people and the company's relationship with them. It prefers to use home-stays and lodges, and small locally owned hotels. To this end, the tours are built around regions or projects that benefit the community so that visitors can support the local economy, travel less, relax more and absorb the local culture.

Tel 01233 811 771

E-mail info@insider-tours.com

Web www.insider-tours.com

RANWELI HOLIDAY VILLAGE

At Ranweli Holiday Village guests can enjoy birdwatching and nature walks, cycling tours, kayaking, canoeing and surfing. Its 72 bungalows and 12 family rooms are 11 miles from Colombo airport. Ranweli aims to promote tourism based on conservation and respect for the welfare of the local community. It is modelled on a traditional village and built using local biodegradable materials; water is heated using solar power, there are extensive recycling facilities, and kitchen waste is used to irrigate and fertilise the organic garden.

Tel 00 94 112 423 236

E-mail ranweli@sri.lanak.net

Web www.ranweli.com

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