We asked our Southeast Asia specialist what would get her on a plane this fall

When we asked Lauren Jafry, our Head of Sales & Product Development, Asia, to spotlight reasons to travel to Asia, we made one condition. We didn’t just want to know the “top things to do” or the best places to go. We wanted to know what would compel Lauren — who has done the famous temples, the night markets, and the postcard beaches more times than she can count — to get on a plane, this fall. And she delivered. What follows are singular experiences worth clearing the calendar for. Each one belongs to a specific month, and in some cases, a single night. So rich, so unexpected, and of-the-moment, these aren’t just accessories to the itinerary; they make the journey.  

Laos: Candles on the Mekong

Each October, Laos sees its most luminous night of the year: Boun Ok Phansa, marking the end of Buddhist Lent. For three months, monks have been rooted to their temples in meditation and study. Their return to daily life is celebrated across the country with candlelit processions and Lai Heua Fai, when glowing boats built by each village are paraded through town and launched onto the Mekong, trailed by hundreds of small flower-and-candle offerings set adrift at dusk. It’s one of the most atmospheric festivals in Southeast Asia, and we feel that Luang Prabang — the spiritual heart of Laos — is the best place to experience it.  

On a private luxury Laos tour anchored by Boun Ok Phansa, Lauren would weave together an architectural walking tour with a UNESCO specialist, after-hours exclusive access to the National Museum (housed in the former Royal Palace where rooms have been frozen in time), and a morning visit to a working monastery to learn the fundamentals of meditation. 

Indonesia under a full moon

If you’ve ever dreamed of luxury Indonesia travel, October is your last best weather window until the following April. It’s also a quiet sweet spot; the high-season crowds have left Bali and “the Island of the Gods” feels more like itself.  

The date Lauren would plan around is the October 26 full moon. Bali is a Hindu island and the full moon is an occasion for ceremony. Known as Purnama (“complete moon”) and representing wholeness, clarity, and divine energy, the evening is marked across the island with canang sari offerings and temple ceremony. For a personalized experience that ascends mere observation, Lauren would arrange a private purification ritual in a Klungkung Regency village. Guided by Pemangku priest, it’s an invitation to step into Balinese spirituality, not as an activity staged for tourists, but genuine immersion. 

Post-Purnama, Lauren would detour you to Sumbawa island to swim with whale sharks and schedule a pause at Borobudur to meet privately with an anthropologist who explains Indonesia’s Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, and spice trade histories with the talent of a spellbinding professor.  

Mai Chau at harvest

Among headliners like Sapa and Halong Bay, the Mai Chau valley feels like a secret, which is exactly why Lauren loves it. In October, paddies shift from emerald to resplendent gold, and stalks buckle under the weight of ripe rice. But a private Vietnam tour during harvest isn’t just about photogenic landscapes; it tells you a lot about the character of the people who call Mai Chau home.  

When the fields are ready, everything else stops. Farmers are out before sunrise, bent double in muddy paddies, and working past dusk. Alongside a local guide, you’ll learn that rice means more than what is dished on a plate. It is livelihood, heritage, identity, prosperity, and life. Rice is offered to ancestors and used in ceremonies. To stand in the fields at harvest is to stand inside Vietnamese culture, not beside it.  

On a luxury northern Vietnam itinerary planned by Lauren, you’ll cycle past paddies, meet hardworking farmers using centuries-old techniques, sit with a family for a shared meal, and with luck, you might enjoy the revelry of a harvest celebration. 

Cambodia, after the rains 

In Cambodia, nobody needs to be persuaded to go to Angkor Wat. What Lauren wants you to know about is Shinta Mani Wild, a secretive tented camp, folded into the canopy of the Cardamom Mountains, overlooking a river.  

November is ideal because the wet season rains have relented, and roads and trails that were impassable in summer now lead to wondrous pockets of rainforest. Waterways have calmed, but levels remain high enough for boat excursions, and the river choruses an ambient soundtrack at camp. It’s an unforgettable setting for a retreat that surprises on arrival and in the most whimsical ways. Zipline into the “lobby” bar; settle into a maximalist suite with luxuries you wouldn’t expect to find buried deep in the jungle; and delight in pop-up picnics in unexpected places.  

Just as warm as your Khmer hosts is Shinta Mani Wild’s raison d'être. A heartening example of travel for good, its founders purchased this parcel of forest to save it from loggers and miners. Now, guest stays fund the Wildlife Alliance rangers who patrol this wilderness. Spend a morning with the anti-poaching patrol for some hands-on conservation, riding pillion on a motorbike deep into the reserve to locate and remove snares set by illegal hunters.  

For a luxury Cambodia itinerary with added texture, Lauren would pair your Cardamom Mountains tour with Tonle Sap. On a private sundowner cruise, drift past the floating villages that have existed on the shores of Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake for generations. 

Thailand travel is known for Bangkok and beaches, but what Lauren calls attention to is what's rarely requested (for the simple reason that most people don't know to ask). 

Khao Sok National Park

The first is Khao Sok National Park in Thailand’s deep south, one of the oldest evergreen rainforests on Earth — older than the Amazon by a wide margin. At its heart is Cheow Lan Lake, where limestone karsts rise straight out of emerald water and raft houses float at the base of the cliffs, reachable only by longtail boat. December is when the south dries out, the water goes clear, and the lake is best at first light. Imagine: mist on the water, gibbon calls carrying across it, and a kayak waiting on your deck. 

Private Chiang Mai food tour with a personality chef

The second reason is dinner. In Chiang Mai, Lauren loves arranging an exclusive food tour with a two-time James Beard-winning chef whose restaurants brought northern Thai cooking to American tables. (You might also recognize him from an episode on Parts Unknown.) Together, you'll eat your way through Chiang Mai's best markets and backstreets for the type of cuisine made by, and for, the people who live there. It's an exclusive experience available only to a small number of guests each year.

Both experiences justify the extra domestic flight, but combining them is alchemy. Lauren would build a luxury Thailand itinerary that runs the length of the country, with a visit to electric Bangkok where a local guide shows you around their favorite corners of the city.  

The most important decision you'll make about your trip isn't which cities to visit or how many nights to spend. It's who designs it with you.

What Extraordinary Journeys brings is a specialist whose love for the region runs so deep that she started a clean water initiative early in her travel planning career, giving back to a place that she got so much from. That depth of connection shapes every recommendation, every introduction, she makes for your journey. 

Our process starts with a conversation. Who are you traveling with? Do you move fast or linger? How do you want to feel: restored or challenged? The answers shape everything: the routing, the pacing, the guides, the experiences built around you, rather than borrowed from someone else.

When you're ready, the best next step isn't more research. It's a conversation. Tell us what you're dreaming of. We'll take it from there.