On the 12th April, 63 years ago, Yuri Gagarin left our blue planet becoming the first human to orbit the earth in outer space. The brave cosmonaut instantly became an overnight sensation and celebrity during the peak of the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union.  The milestone in aviation was celebrated throughout the Soviet Union, as it opened new avenues and challenges in space exploration. Even today, this very special day is still celebrated and those cosmonauts and animals who sacrificed their lives for science are still remembered. Click here, to learn more ..read more

The Paoay sand dunes have long been a mainstay of both my own and YPT’s trips to the Philippines. Why is this? Well despite the fact that it might not be seen as classic YPT, it does make a great break from a regular tour, as well as push the adrenaline junkies among us. What the Paoay? Paoay is a relatively small town that is surrounded by a bunch of cool stuff, as well as having its own personality. It is home to the oldest church within the Philippines, as well as being famous for its Halo Halo (a Filipino shaves ice-cream type thing). And around it there is a brunch of cool stuff too, suc ..read more

Known as one of the wonders of the world and on most “must see” lists we recently added the Banaue Rice Terraces to our Extreme Philippines Tour. Was it worth it though and are they really a wonder of the world? We can only speak for ourselves and our group on this one, but the general consensus was yes, and yes, even if the hike was little more than we were expecting. What the Banaue Rice Terraces? Rice terraces are a form of rice farming where terraces are used to make the most of irrigation and indeed land. They can be seen throughout the Philippines, even from when we travel through Sagada ..read more

Increasingly one of our most sought after tours, the Extreme Philippines Tour takes is to some truly bizarre places, chief among them being the Marcos Museum. Located in the self-styled “Home of Great Leaders” in Batac, this museum is there to showcase the greatness of former President and some might say dictator Ferdinand Marcos. An interesting place, it also once held the Mausoleum of Marcos, although that has now gone. What is Batac? Batac is a small town in Ilocos Norte that has Ferdinand Marcos its most famous son. Nowadays it also has many of his relatives, his old northern palace, as w ..read more

This year YPT attended the 2024 Cutud Lenten Rites Festival in San Fernando, Pampanga. This was our second since the end of the pandemic, as well as marking ten years since we first attended? So, was it any good, how as it different and what about 2025? All that and more in our YPT guide to the 2024 Cutud Lenten Rotes Festival. What is the Cutud Lenten Rites Festival? A great big mix between a country fete and some serious BDSM, this sees devotees whip themselves a frenzy with blood splattering everywhere, as well as there being a “play”. Said play is the reenactment of the Passion of the Chr ..read more

As part of our Cambodian Dark Tourism Tour tour this year we stayed at the Tamok Guesthouse. Now for the uninitiated Ta Mok was one of the leading figures of the Khmer Rouge, even being its last leader. Now this obviously leads to the question, why name a hotel after him? One might also ask why we would stay there too, but for us at least it was because our regular tour stop – The Heng Hotel, which is next to the grave of Pol Pot was closed that day. This meant we needed a place to stay, and the Tamok Guesthouse was that place. What the Ta Mok? A senior political leader within Angkar as well a ..read more

Siem Reap War Museum is a slightly understated, overpriced and weird museum, BUT it is still worth a visit if your tourist needs are about more than a few old temples. Officially the Cambodia War Museum it was initially built in 2001 and has had various changes and incarnations since then. The Cambodia War Museum AKA Siem Reap War Museum Built in 2001 it was initially popular before being left to waste away somewhat. This would be until 2013 when it would get a bit of renovation. This was completed by 2018 when the landmine section was added, although this is not to be confused with the Landm ..read more

When it comes to our travels around Cambodia, Battambang is undoubtedly a favorite of ours. This is for many reasons, such as the Bamboo Train and the Street Food, but we can now add the Battambang Killing Caves, as well its Bat Caves to the list. These two sites, while already well known have now been included into our regular Cambodia Dark Tourism Tour. Battambang Guide Battambang is one of the most important cities, as well as provinces throughout Cambodia, This is with regards to economics, but also increasingly tourism. Currently numbers are nowhere near that of Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, or ..read more

As part of our latest Cambodia Dark Tourism Tour, we decided to cast our net a little further afield by visiting Kampong Chhnang, and in particular Kampong Chhnang Airport and prison caves. These two places are about as far from the beaten track as you can get and are accessible through the duality of Google Maps, old information from CAM-DC, as well as good old fashioned hitting the ground and asking directions. Doing this though led us to two very worthy Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot era attractions. On the Khmer Rouge Trail When it comes to dark tourism, there is fairly scant information availabl ..read more

As of the 24th March 2024 Libya launched a groundbreaking new Libya tourist e-visa scheme which makes visiting Libya a lot more accessible for tourists wanting to explore the country. Previously the State of Libya was one of the most complicated countries to visit as a tourist. Tales of extreme bureaucracy and complicated manoeuvres were quite common for foreigners who wanted to travel and explore this rather off the beaten path country. Now this has become a lot easier for you and now is the best time to visit Libya. However, this does not mean that independent travel to Libya is allowed. Vi ..read more