Far Fung Places International Travel Adventures

Trip Advisor® 5 star rated.

Dear Travelers,

Every year it becomes increasingly difficult to find unique cultures that are untouched by modernization. In this "age of information," we realize that naming a tiny village on a website can attract "trophy travelers" who care little or nothing about the tremendous loss when once secret places are turned overnight into tourist meccas. So we are cautious about exposing names of remote places on our day to day itineraries, which are never posted on our website.

Even as our research is intensified, our friendships and contacts are broadened, and we try to limit our choice of travelers to those who can share our philosophy of responsible and sustainable tourism.

Enjoy Kathleen Fung's personal website "ArtsinTravel". Arts in Travel showcases the arts and crafts I’ve collected or admired throughout my 40 years of exploring the world, initially as a tour manager, and since 1991, as owner of my own travel company Far Fung Places. 

Far Fung Places, through private organizations, assists needy people in preserving ancient cultures, by elevating standards of living, and by encouraging their creativity and arts to flourish. Every year we invest a percentage of our profits to charities which serve a variety of humanitarian projects throughout the countries we visit. In Bhutan, we contribute to the Loden Foundation®, a non-profit organization which supports young entrepreneurs who are starting businesses in Bhutan.

We also have our own foundation Far Fung Places Honors (finding and funding Bhutan's future art masters): The purpose of our self-funded foundation is to award annual art school scholarships for deserving students with exceptional talent and financial grants for working artists.

A few words on our exploratory cruises

Years ago Far Fung Places launched its exploratory small yacht cruises in eastern Indonesia in conjunction with a renowned Indonesian explorer, art curator, and lecturer. We charter yachts designed for a maximum of 15 travelers, so that our impact on these fragile isolated cultures will be minimal. Unlike larger cruise ships, our shallow-draught yachts are able to access remote islands. The experiences you will have with the local people are genuine, not staged for travelers. The artwork is profound, much of it done in hardwood like ironwood, and not made commercially for tourism. Nightly talks on the cultures, traditions, and artistic creations will expand your appreciation for these indigenous people. We want our footprint to be small; therefore, our exploratory cruises are limited in size and number.

Exploratory cruise in Laos on the Pandaw Laos––a ten cabin flat bottomed barge. 2026.

Far Fung Places is reaching out to see if there is any interest in this 10-night cruise. The Pandaw’s 10-night expedition on the Upper Mekong sails between Chiang Khong on the Thai-Laos border, and through Laos toward Vientiane, the old French capital. You will witness stunning scenery, meet amazingly warm and friendly locals and learn about Laos’ national animal, the majestic elephant. We stop for three nights at the UNESCO World Heritage City of Luang Prabang with its dazzling wood-carved monasteries before heading deep into the mountains, through rapids and gorges on our high-powered little Pandaw vessels.

Kathleen is estimating $9699 per person sharing a twin room, and single, $11,193. This would include a 2 night in Bangkok with a private orientation of the oldest part of the city, making it a 12 night program. If we get sufficient interest in this cruise, Kathleen will add pre and post options to the program.

This would be a private charter with no one else on board but 13 Far Fung Places clients.

Airfares would be extra: Bangkok to Vientiane. $201 per person. Plus, international airfares to and from Bangkok.