The offices of veganunderground.com will be closed early this holiday season as its proprietors are going on sabbatical in south east asia for one month.  Call it research, inspiration, rest and relaxation, but one thing's for sure: we're going to find out what it's like to travel as vegans through Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Hong Kong.  

From the frenetic bustle of Bangkok, to the tranquility of rural Cambodia and its Buddhist temples; from the colonial clash of Phnom Penh to a slow meander down the mighty Mekong into the heart of darkness, Saigon, aka Ho Chi Minh City.  We'll explore every nook and cranny, document our experiences, good and bad, and take at least two thousand or so photographs, some of them award-worthy if light and timing conspire in our favour.  We'll face the challenge of finding good, interesting vegan food without eclipsing that cultural experience from our trip.  We'll have to witness acts of animal cruelty that, while intolerable here at home, are everyday occurences there.  We will ride no elephants and support no enterprise that enslaves them.  While it's not the focus of this trip, we are hoping to squeeze in a little Muay Thai training as well.  There will no doubt be much to reflect on as we toast the new year in Hong Kong.  

Watch for a vegan travel guide to this part of the world available here on veganunderground.com in 2008.