South East Asia - a reflection

As I write this I sit in a hostel in Kuala Lumpur, on my last night in Asia after more than six months backpacking through. Tomorrow I fly out to London to begin the Europe portion of my adventure!

During the 184 days I have been travelling, I have covered 7 different countries, stayed in 50 cities and towns, covered 34,112 km in travel distance, made friends with countless amazing people, seen and done so many incredible things, learnt a lot about myself and the different countries I visited and eaten way too much rice and noodles.

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Singapore

My first stop, Singapore, was a good transitional few days - going from home to a not-so-different-from-home country was a good start. The two things I enjoyed most about Singapore was the cityscape - having a drink at the Marina Bay Sands overlooking the awesome skyline was a great night - and BetelBox hostel's food tour was a tremendous indulgence in Singaporean cuisine.

Favourite city: Singapore (duh)

Favourite hostel: Betelbox (once again, only saw one)

Favourite dish: Chilli Crab

Malaysia

While I only really saw Kuala Lumpur on my first trip to Malaysia, it is a great city to visit. The highlight for Malaysia however was actually the hostel - Reggae Mansions. This renowned party hostel still holds a special place for me, with its great rooftop bar and amazing hostel amenities.

The night I spent out at the Helipad bar was also very memorable day. Having undistrubed, outdoor 360 degree views of the skyline was unbeatable. 

City: Kuala Lumpur

Hostel: Reggae Mansions

Dish: Nasi Lemak

Japan

Without any doubt, Japan is still my favourite country I have visited in Asia. While having spent a total of six weeks there (four on my first trip and two this trip), I still cannot wait to go back and see more of this crazy, unique and beautiful country. 

One of the best days of my entire trip was in Japan - visiting the snow town of Yuzawa. This was the first proper time I had ever seen and touched snow in my life, and is a day I will always cherish. Ascending to the top of the skiing mountain and looking out over the rolling snow covered mountains while I drank a beer was just mind-blowing. 

City: Osaka

Hostel: J-Hoppers Osaka

Dish: Katsu-don

Thailand

Thailand is a backpacking Mecca. I would struggle to think of anyone I have met that has been to South East Asia without spending time Thailand. The country thrives on Western tourism, and as a result, backpacking through is effortless. In the large number of popular tourist cities, everyone speaks English, it's easy to get around and there is always plenty to do. 

The highlights for me in Thailand are many. Firstly, Koh Tao and diving. I never would have thought that I would enjoy learning to scuba dive so much; flying out I had no real intention of doing it, mainly due to cost, but given my wonderful parents paid for it as my birthday present, it was a chance I'm glad I got. It is really another world down there, and with every dive I have done I have been enjoying it more and more!

Secondly, riding the Mae Hong Son loop on my rented CRF250 motorbike. This was both another fantastic way of seeing the beautiful northern Thailand scenery, but also incredible fun. Stopping at the waterfall on the way from Mae Hong Son town to Pai and holding a gibbon was one of the most surreal experiences I have had this trip. 

Scaling the Sathorn Unique ghost tower was easily the best thing I got to do in Bangkok. The fact that there is a totally derelict abandoned skyscraper that you can bribe the security to visit is awesome.

While it wasn't one of the best nights I had in Thailand, I have to mention the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan. Being able to party with a few of my closest friends from back home in a crazy eclectic environment will not go unforgotten. 

I also have to mention the food. Nowhere I've visited in South East Asia has food that can come close to Thai food. After spending two months in Vietnam I went back to Thailand and ordered a fried rice (like I had done in Vietnam), and was blown away - it was an explosion of flavour compared to Vietnamese fried rice!

City: Pai

Hostel: Spicypai

Dish: Thai Green Curry

Cambodia

Cambodia is noticeably the poorest country I have visited in South East Asia, but despite this fact the people are both very happy and friendly. Those that can speak English are always joking around with tourists, not taking life too seriously, which I enjoyed. 

While Angkor Wat was great to see and its surrounding temples exciting to explore, it was not what I look back on the most when I think of Cambodia. Funnily enough, my birthday on the Siem Reap Pub Crawl was one of the best memories I have of Cambodia. The games that the organisers made people play were both crude and hilarious, and a lot of free drinks were consumed... "can I have a free bucket for my birthday?" ... "alright, sure".

Secondly, the beaches in Cambodia are just stunningly beautiful. I rate the beaches in Cambodia much higher than any I have seen in Thailand; the water is just too perfect, the scenery and sunsets just too breathtaking to pass up seeing. I have also never been so relaxed as I was on Koh Ta Kiev, the stunning undeveloped island adorned by cheap beach hut bungalows.

A worthwhile mention was the Killing Fields audio tour outside of Phnom Penh. This was a truly eye-opening look into what was going on in the world so recently - the total relentless brutality that was completely hidden from the West is crazy to consider. 

City: Sihanoukville

Hostel: Indigo on Otres

Dish: Mango Salad

Vietnam

Vietnam is a spectacular country to visit, and was very easy to find myself spending two whole months there. The street food is unbeatable - Banh Mi baguettes! - and the landscapes and scenery are truly breathtaking. Vietnam is also the cheapest country I visited in SEA - ridiculously cheap beers (even free in Hanoi!), cheap tasty food and dirt cheap hotels to be found throughout the country.

The Honda Win. Vietnam was the country that I learned to ride a motorbike on and I was instantly in love. The freedom gained from riding a motorbike from the south to the north of the country cannot be matched. Being alone out on the open roads with nothing but your music and your thoughts was a great time for me on the trip. You are also put in places that far less tourists would visit, as you ride through small country towns and stop in hotels for somewhere to sleep; this enables a far greater appreciation for how the people of the country actually react towards foreigners, rather than being inundated by tourists, you are a novelty for these people.

Canyoning in Dalat was definitely a highlight for me, beside riding the bike through. Abseiling down a 30m waterfall while getting pummeled with water was exhilarating. Dalat itself is also an awesome town; plenty of tasty places to eat and drink, great climate being higher up in the mountains (it was actually cool at night!), and a bunch of cool stuff to see.

City: Dalat

Hostel: Easy Tiger

Dish: Banh Mi

Laos

While I didn't spend all that much time in Laos, the time I did spend there was great fun. The country is actually more expensive than I would have thought, with accommodation, food and drinks all costing more than Thailand for the most part. That said, I am very glad I went! 

Ziplining through the jungle on the Gibbon Experience was simply incredible. Spending the day soaring through the air, sometimes hundreds of metres above the ground, and the night staying in a treehouse some forty metres up is a childhood dream come true.

The Gibbon Experience

Tubing in Laos is also some of the most fun I have had this trip. Floating down the river on a truck inner tube, only to be pulled into a bar and drinking yourself silly with 150+ other backpackers is definitely a great day out!

City: Vang Vieng

Hostel: Treehouse on the Gibbon Experience

Dish: Chicken Sandwich

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Looking back, I have had an incredible six months. I wouldn't change what I have done for anything and have absolutely no regrets about quitting my job and leaving my safe lifestyle behind. Travel really is the one thing you spend money on that makes you richer. 

I cannot wait to see what Europe and the rest of the year has to offer!

A Small Taste of Sabah

I flew from Bangkok to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, Malaysian-Borneo.

I don't really have all that much to write about for here unfortunately. After arriving in KK my cold from earlier in Bangkok started to re-emerge and I was feeling pretty shit.

I spent three nights on a beach resort, a one and a half hour drive from KK. I spent most of that time in bed sleeping, instead of out in the water diving like I would have liked!

Still, the place and view was nice. (When the generator was on and there was electricity...)

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From here I went back to KK for one night before making the journey across the state to Sandakan, home of the Sepilok Orang-utan rehabilitation centre for drug addict apes orphaned orang-utans. This was a good opportunity to see orang-utans in a semi-natural environment. They are awesome animals, leisurely swinging around and forward-rolling along the ground.

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After Sandakan I headed back to KK to finally do some diving! I was taken out to an island off the coast near KK, where the majority of the dive shops operate from. Unfortunately my GoPro needs repair and I couldn't get any footage of the dives.

I did my first beach dive, wading in from the beach and making our way out to deeper waters. I saw what is up there with the coolest thing I'd seen diving; stingrays would bury themselves in the sand, upon swimming near them they would rustle off the sand and start swimming away. I'd never seen so many stingrays out in the open before!

The second dive was off a small boat, very different to what I'm used to diving off in Koh Tao. Once more, my first backward seated entry into the water. From here we swam around a man-made pontoon surrounded by corals. I didn't really see all that much on this dive unfortunately.

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My last day in Sabah was spent in my hostel... getting a tattoo!

I finally decided to get what I had wanted since I started riding the bike through Vietnam - a Honda Win tattoo! It was a little painful at times, but for $50aud I'm happy with it!

Getting High in Bangkok

Upon arriving in Bangkok I was starting to feel a little under the weather... I checked into a hostel with Luke to just chill out and recover for a few days after a pretty full-on past month.

I went shopping; had my phone fixed finally after dropping it in Vietnam almost three months earlier. I went to the cinema. I watched Wimbledon.

Luke was meeting up with his girlfriend in a couple days and our time traveling together was coming to an end so we decided to go check out the tallest building in Thailand - the 84 storey Baiyoke Sky Tower.

The quickest way to get there was from a BTS skytrain stop and walking along the abandoned railway tracks, which are surrounded by small slum-like sheds that people lived in.

We got to the base of the building and it was packed out - all of a sudden there were near on 100 Asian tourists. We paid our 400 baht entry fee and ascended to the 75th floor observation area. We just missed sunset.

Our ticket to the top included a free cocktail in the 76th floor bar - not too shabby!

From here we went up to the revolving outdoor skydeck to take in a full 360 degree view of Bangkok in its entirety. It is impressive to say the least.

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After Luke had pissed off I had a few days left before my flight to Sabah, Malaysian-Borneo. I wasn't feeling all that motivated to travel to a new city for a few days so decided to check back in to one of the first hostels in Thailand I stayed in - Bodega Bangkok.

I rocked up and quickly recognised the bearded face of one of the brother-owners. "How's your travels?" he asked. Shocked, he remembered my stay there from way back in early March.

I spent the next three nights back at what would have to be one of my favourite hostels in Thailand. The social atmosphere made it easy to quickly make new friends with those staying there.

I managed to convince a few of the guys from the hostel - two London blokes, another pommie bird and an American dude from San Fran - to join me on the only thing left in Bangkok I wanted to see... the infamous Ghost Tower. 

The Sathorn Unique Tower is a skyscraper that began construction in 1990 ... and to this date was never finished. A financial crisis in 1997 halted construction at about the 80% mark and the building has not been sold, demolished or completed ever since. 

As it is still owned by someone, security are paid to watch the building around the clock. 500 baht however, will make them look the other way.

Entering off a dodgy little alley way, a Thai guard opens a cutout in the fence and lets us in. Speaking to the man in charge, we each hand over 500 baht and they show us to the staircase and tell us to be back in two hours.

We arrived just after dark - not ideal but still very cool; no one else was in the stairwell or on any of the floors.

The stairwell is lit by a hanging fluro every few floors, but most of the light is from flashlight. Previous adventurers had graffiti-ed eerie slogans on a few of the floors...

Others went for the more arty approach...

As you ascend, you can see the level of development on the floors diminish. Lower down the tower there are bathroom fittings and balcony's ... the higher up you get more sacks of concrete and raw building materials.

Eventually we reached the top of the building, 50 floors up. Walking out what looks like a crypt we emerge out into the open air roof of the building...

The walls on the roof are littered with more graffiti - people making their mark on this surreal structure.

I bought up a backpack with a couple beers, to sit and relax after the long sweaty hike to the top and take in the sights of Bangkok.

On the way down we explored more of the building. One room was filled with bathtubs that were never fitted...

Others simply more graffiti...

And others a little more disturbing...

From what I am told the building gets it nickname Ghost Tower from the fact that a tourist hung himself here a few years back.

All aside, it was an awesome adventure hiking to the top of a derelict building in Bangkok!

A Hop-Skip Through Laos

Unfortunately I didn't feel all that motivated to spend much more time than I did in Laos, only seeing Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng after the Gibbon Experience... and here's why.

We arrived back in town by 3pm after the Gibbon Experience, with a night bus for Luang Prabang booked for 5pm, arriving at 6am the next day. After having lunch, a quick shower and sorting out our packs we jumped on the tuk tuk to the bus depot.

The bus didn't leave until 6:30pm. The bus was simply a regular "VIP" bus often found in SEA; air-con and slightly reclining seats with not a hell of a lot of leg room for a 6'4 bloke - not a sleeper!

The next 11 hours were hell for one trying to get some shut-eye. The roads in Laos are not straight; they twist and wind between towns on an obfuscated route.

We stopped after a few hours to load on more people to the already full bus - locals were seated on children's plastic chairs in the aisleway.

Even after taking a sleeping pill I barely got an hour's sleep - constantly being woken by the bumps on the bus and jerks from one uncomfortable sleeping position to another.

</rant>

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Arriving in Luang Prabang, I didn't have anywhere booked to stay - the hustle between finishing the Gibbon Experience and getting ready for the bus didn't allow for it. We followed the two Canadian blokes we met on the Gibbon Experience to see if their hostel had room - it didnt. Luckily most of the hostels are situated pretty close and we found one around the corner, that even let us check in at 6:30am! Sleep, finally!

That day my two English mates and I reunited with the Canadian's and went to the Kuang Si Waterfall, and it was spectacular. It actually made us all forget about the terrible bus ride we had just had.

I had never seen any waterfall so perfect in colour as this. You are able to swim in it which was a great chance to call off as well... while getting any abrasions you might have bitten at by cleaner fish! We had a few beers at the waterfall while admiring the view before heading back into town on the songthaew. 

That afternoon we hiked up to the Wat Tham Pousi temple on Pou si hill to watch the sunset with hundreds of our closest friends.

There is an interesting phenomena in Luang Prabang. The bars all shut at 11:30pm, however one place selling alcohol stays open - a bowling alley. Knowing we had to experience this drunken bowling sensation, we sunk some cheap whiskey between the five of us and headed out - actually getting to the target backpacker bar as it was closing, whoops!

We headed to the bowling alley anyway with the crowd. I can honestly say it was the worst two games of bowling of my life, and I hadn't even drank that much.

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The next day we jumped on our minibus for the five hour ride to Vang Vieng. This ride, despite being in a cramped minibus, actually allowed me to get more sleep than the night bus because I was up the back and could rest on the backpacks next to me, score!

I made a booking for an air-con hotel prior to arriving in Vang Vieng - all of the hostels were booked out. We rocked up there and the room's were gone. "Sorry, I didn't check my email" says the manager, yeah nice one. 

Luckily we found a place up the road with three beds for half the price; no air-con but it wasn't that bad. 

The big attraction for most backpackers to Vang Vieng is tubing. Tubing is essentially floating down the river in a big truck inner-tube. Prior to 2012 tubing in Vang Vieng was chaotic. Countless numbers of bars lined the river bank with people rope-swinging into the water, getting smashed along the way. People died. The government stepped in and closed it all down, leaving it simply a relaxing way to see the scenery again. This has been slowly changing over the past year or so, moving to a more controlled version of what it used to be. Nowadays there are a total of eight bars, of which only four open per day on an alternating schedule. 

I chose not to take anything but money with me whenever I went so only have photos stolen off the Facebook page's of people I met, but you can get an idea from below of what its like.

I went tubing three times and every time it was a load of fun. A bunch of like-minded backpackers out to make the most of their day, with social games such as beer pong and flipcup making an appearance. It was not only a great way to meet people, but to stop to take a moment and think about where you are ... the scenery is just stunning. 

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From Vang Vieng there are only a few popular choices of where to go. Vientiane, the capital, largely has poor reception from backpackers. Don Det and the 4000 Islands in the south really drew my attention, but the thought of a 22 hour bus ride killed the idea for me. 

I ended up leaving on a sleeper train back to Bangkok after a mere eight nights in Laos. I would have liked to have visited Laos earlier in my trip when I had more motivation, but at this point in time I don't want to be sitting on a crappy bus for any longer than I have to!