To Asia with Love: A Connoisseurs' Guide to Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam »

Kim Fay
Pacific Northwest native Kim Fay first traveled to Southeast Asia in 1991. Since then, she spent four years living in Vietnam and has traveled back frequently, writing about the region. As an expert on travel literature and Vietnam, she has been a guest speaker on NPR and has written for numerous publications, including Travel + Leisure. She is the creator and series editor of the To Asia With Love guidebooks and the author of Communion: A Culinary Journey Through Vietnam. She lives in Los Angeles.

Julie Fay Ashborn
Julie Fay Ashborn’s travels through Southeast Asia inspired her photography in To Vietnam With Love, The Little Saigon Cookbook, and Communion: A Culinary Journey Through Vietnam. She was raised in the Pacific Northwest and now lives in Los Angeles with her husband Clive, daughter Charlie, and son Oliver.

Imagine that on the eve of your upcoming trip to Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, you are invited to a party. At this party are fifty guests, all of whom live in or have traveled extensively through these countries. Among this eclectic and well-versed group of connoisseurs are authors of acclaimed guidebooks, popular newspaper columnists and pioneering adventurers. As the evening passes, they tell you tales from their lives in these exotic places. They whisper the names of their favorite shops and restaurants; they divulge the secret hideaways where they sneak off to for an afternoon (or a weekend) to unwind. Some make you laugh out loud, and others mesmerize you with their poetry and lyricism. Some are intent on educating, while others just want to entertain. Their attitudes are as unique as their personalities, but they are united in one thing … their love of the region. If you can envision being welcomed at such a party, then you can envision the experience that this guidebook aspires to give you.

Within these pages you will find tips for adventuring, eating, shopping, and sightseeing from savvy expatriates, seasoned travelers, and inspired locals. Unlike the typical guidebook, To Asia With Love does not offer a comprehensive overview, but instead presents selected recommendations in the form of personal essays and tidbits, each of which is paired with a practical fact file. Discover the benefits of carrying a baseball glove in Laos, go bird watching in the Thai everglades, take a motorbike into the Cardamom Mountains of Cambodia, and immerse yourself in modern art in Vietnam. In addition, one chapter focuses solely on opportunities for giving back to the countries you visit.