Arising from the visit by several cohorts of leading Malaysian secondary headteachers to the United Kingdom, this article examines the potential values and obstacles surrounding such international continuing professional development. The constraints of differences in language and context are considered, as well as issues of visiting heads as amateur ethnographers. The article draws on evidence from analyses by the visiting heads, evaluations by the heads of host schools, and records of extended discussion between colleagues involved in two different partnerships with the Malaysian secondary education and teacher training systems. Questions are asked about the problems of understanding and clarity of observation, when the two cultures share a common background and superficially the same language. Conclusions are drawn concerning the relative responsibilities of both observer and observed in these potentially valuable international opportunities.