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South East Asia

February 2024 - June 2025
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An open-ended adventure by Sam Read more
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  • TravelerSouth East Asia
    1

    Day 7

    February 12, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Bangkok Temples

    After obligatory morning routine, our first stop is to head to The Grand Palace but actually make it this time instead of hanging with Dang. Same boat as yesterday and as we got off at the same 'pier' (bit of wood and tires) we had a very similar experience of a Thai teacher who was writing us a list of where go go. We sensed a scam but he gave us a list and said goodbye. Maybe Thai teachers are the nicest people on the planet? Either way he was impressed with our terrible Thai so it's a win regardless.

    Keeping to plan, we headed to The Grand Palace going via Khao San Road, which seemed like a whole lot of nothing compared to what I had heard. Although, it might have livened up by the evening. I guess we'll never know. Finally reaching The Grand Palace it was absolutely heaving with tourists - which I couldn't complain about as I was one of those tourists. It was 500 Baht and for once I feel as if I actually got my money's worth. It's the small wins.

    The Grand Palace also included The Temple of the Emerald Budha so we had both to explore. Although we weren't allowed in many of the buildings, everything was absolutely beautiful. Most walls were covered with coloured glass and gold mosaics everything sparkled in the sun. Words or pictures won't do it justice. It was almost as if everything was so pristine that it was hard to focus on one thing atall. What I found interesting is that there were people very precisely repainting the murals that lined the walls and the inside of buildings. What a insane job to have - to maintain history and culture to such a high degree of accuracy.

    Towards the end, Alfie wanted to go to the gift shop and to avidly avoid the Museum of Textiles. However, it turned out that the gift shop was just for the museum of textiles and took us through part of the museum. This meant that all the shit he had been giving me for going for the "wrong" routes to places (what I would call the scenic route) he had immediately started doing when he tried navigating us about. And just like the Buddhists believe, karma.

    On our way to the next stop, we pick up some munch from the closest food stall we could find, which just so happened to be serving chicken liver and stomach on a stick. Very hungry, I opted for the liver and it definitely wasn't the best I had tasted in Thailand so far.

    Our next stop was Wat Pho, which is famously known for the 46m long, 15m high reclining gold Buddha statue. This cost 300 Baht which was just on the tipping point whether we wanted to see this, or visit Wat Arun and the giant 69m Buddha we had sort of seen yesterday on the boat tour. Seeing as we had already seen it(ish) - we went for this. The gardens were quite peaceful actually, until you got round the back to the hoards of people taking pictures and selfies around the reclining Buddha in a narrow pathway around it. Of course I was one of these people taking pictures so I cannot complain. What I found interesting is that some of the grounds were shut of for what is known as a "Pali Exam" - where monks in training take a test. We happened to be there as their exam finished so we were surrounded by many monks all in their orange robes, carrying certificates. I didn't want to take any pictures of them as I didn't want to be disrespectful but there may be some in the background of some pictures.

    After that it was time to head back the way we came, down the canal again and to the market we went to on day 1 as I was in need of another shirt, Alfie in need of some flip-flops, and we were both in need of some food. We went back to the same place for food aswell, then grabbed some sticky rice with mango for dessert - a common Thai pudding. We then spent a few hours planning our time in Thailand which was reassuring and allowed us to book some travel. Originally we were gonna do a day trip to Ayutthaya - not too far from Bangkok - but the trains were too infrequent and the station was too far to be back in time for our night bus whilst still giving us a solid lie in as we were both exhausted from all the non stop walking we had done. Spending 2 weeks in Scotland shortly before also didn't help I'm sure. So with that, new plan is full rest day with lots of planning and admin.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia
    1

    Day 6

    February 11, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    Bangkok

    After agreeing last night to wake up at 8 or 9ish, I woke to Alfie shaking my arm at 10 after I fell asleep without setting an alarm. After a western breakfast, brushing my teeth and covering up in sunscreen, we were ready to go. Sporting my linen temple trousers and new shirt, we stepped outside not far from midday and compared to the day before, I felt like I was adjusting to the heat - the air not feeling as thick.

    Our first stop was to the Saket Temple, which we decided against Google maps and planned to take a boat West along the canal. After finally getting to the right side of the canal and waiting for 10 minutes, I suddenly started feeling a bit ill. Fearing the worst, I tell Alfie that I needed to go back to the hostel. A 10 minute walk later, I indeed had caught 'Bangkok Belly' just over 24 hours into our stay - although I hadn't exactly been careful. Luckily, it was nothing a couple of Immodium couldn't help fix - and for now they seemed to have done their job quite well. I'm just praying this doesn't backfire on me.

    Now, after trekking BACK to the pier we eventually board and rapidly surf along the canal until the final stop. This is where we meet the main character of the day - Dang. Now this is how to pronounce it, I have no idea how I'd begin to spell it. He's a retired Thai man who lives in Chiang Mai and was in Bangkok for a couple days to see a friend. He asked us where we were from and where we were going and he said that he would be happy to show us around. Sensing a scam, we were on our toes but we felt safe enough for now. We walked and talked our way to a local place where we sat and drank Thai beer. We spend a while talking about Thailand, England, his life, our lives, places to travel. It was a really nice experience and we helped eachother learn to speak eachothers languages. Now, for us it was the very basics and for him it was very specific, mostly we talked about how Northerners were hard to understand and taught him the word 'Scouser' as he had met one before and struggled like the rest of us. But by the end of our drinks, we had a cheat sheet of Thai phrases and had learnt more about their culture than I knew before. He had studied in Bangkok for 4 years learning history so knew the place quite well, even knowing the best places for a Thai massage - both the traditional and special.

    He had also studied as a monk for 3 months - something most Thai men do in their younger years so was very knowledgeable about Buddhism and its practices. This led us to a local temple which I'll spare you the long English name where he taught us how to properly pay respect to Buddha. This was a very surreal experience, to sit in a temple next to an ex-monk who I had only met a couple hours earlier and worship infront of a giant pure gold statue. He then lead us to the start of a long boat tour which he highly recommended, which was meant to take us past some of the biggest landmarks in Bangkok. He got us a discounted price and away we went. Before leaving, he had told us to give him a call in Chiang Mai and he would show us around. Apparently his brother owns a Muay Thai gym, and we could get a lesson for free. To be honest even after meeting him this all still seems sketchy, but I think that I'm just not used to Thai hospitality and I've read too many warnings for scams whilst travelling.

    Now, enough about Dang, although he may appear more in the future, time for the '1.5 hour' boat tour. First we head along the main river to a canal off shoot. I thought, wow, this is going to be amazing. Immediately then we wait for an hour as the canal's locks had a bottleneck and a very slow turn around time. After having my legs crammed in a seat to small and my ass on a wooden seat too hard I started to think I had wasted my money - although it gave me time to eat my spring rolls we had grabbed before hand. Eventually we got going along the canal and it was super interesting to see the state of the buildings along the canal. A very different way of living to what I had seen before. The temples on the route were cool but it was definitely a whistle stop tour, it would have been better time spent seeing them on foot - which is the plan for tomorrow. After reversing our route and waiting for the lock again, it turned out to be almost a 2.5 hour ride.

    After our extended ride, we headed to Chinatown to check it off our list. And wow, what an atmosphere. It was lucky we came during the Chinese New Year weekend as the streets were packed with people mostly wearing red and were lined with various food and merch stalls. Drumming filled the background and the more we explored we found various performances of different scales, ranging from 1 person with a guitar to an entire stage production with film cameras. We grabbed a delicious selection of food including pork noodles, fresh coconut ice cream out of a coconut, and a pomegranate juice drink.

    After eating all of our yummy food we made 1 final stop before heading back to our hostel. I want to be clear we did not partake in any activities, purely an exploration of a famous part of Bangkok's culture - the red light district. And I'm not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't as crazy as I imagined. Maybe we went to the wrong street, or on the wrong day but it definitely wasn't as absurd as I expected. With a few ladyboys spotted it was time to head back to Pinto Hostel.

    One thing we had learned today after making a stop in the tourism office is that our lack of planning loosey goosey style of travelling was costing us more than we had hoped and could soon prove troublesome with transport and accommodation especially as the full moon parties down South began to book up accommodation. While we decided to plan the rest of our time in Thailand when we got back, we only made a vague plan for the next 2 days before Alfie went to bed. And that's where I sat writing this before a Kuwaiti dude from our hostel started chatting with me about his last 30 days in Thailand. I'll spare you his details but he seemed to go to the randomest places and showed me SO. MANY. PHOTOS. AND. VIDEOS. I was happy to talk but why is this man showing me a 1 minute video of someone trying a piece of candy. Anyways... shower had now time for bed.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia

    Day 5

    February 10, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

    Plane to Bangkok

    It was definitely the biggest plane I can remember flying on, which isn't saying much but I was still fascinated by the in flight entertainment, the meals that were served, and the packet load of free stuff. I started the flight watching out the window tracking where I was on the map and seeing if I could pick out the cities. Soon after, dinner was served which was way better than I had expecting, with Alfie going for the pasta whereas I went for the scrumptious meatloaf. Then, taking full advantage of the screen, I queued up Tarantino's Django Unchained which I'm mightly glad I did as it was a brilliant film. After that, I queued up David Attenborough's Green Planet (I thought it was only Blue to be honest) and within minutes I was dead asleep. 3 hours later I was awoken to the sound of breakfast being served and sunlight pouring through the window. Though not as tasty as the dinner I was still glad. Not long after, we had landed in Bangkok at 10am local time. This plane was definitely more touristy than our first, which was proven when the clapping started as we landed.

    After getting through security and collecting Alfie's bag (what a schmuck), we took the very cheap and convenient public sky train into Bangkok, where our first mission was to source a SIM for cheap ASAP. We had learnt our lesson from Istanbul. From the moment we left the train not only the heat but the humidity hit us. The air was so thick you could drink from it if you tried hard enough. It was also relatively cool for Thailand at 31° so ditching the trousers and fleeces were probably a good idea. Making our way to one of Bangkok's many mega malls, we found our way to an AIS shop and asked about the 900 Baht 50GB SIM we wanted. Unfortunately, they didn't do that deal. Fortunately, they had a much better deal. Double the data AND half the price. 4x as good as we were hoping for. After asking many questions to make sure we weren't being set up for an elaborate rouse, we were set up with our SIM. Double win!

    We couldn't check into the hostel until 2 so we found some lunch, and although probably a little pricy for Bangkok, I still had a fairly cheap and most definitely the yummiest mixed seafood Pad Thai. Pulling out tentacles and assorted things with chopsticks I hadn't used in months, I was starting to really get to like Bangkok. A small walk later we were at our hostel and my first priority was to shower and change out of my sweaty clothes into some fresh clothes, donning some shorts instead of my Temple trousers I had been wearing for 4 days straight. All cleaned up and settled in we took an hour planning all the things we wanted to do in Bangkok over the next few days. However, we hadn't slept much so today was gonna be an easy day and an early night (I say writing this at 1am).

    It just so happened that today was Chinese New Year's which also so happens to be quite big in Bangkok, so many shops and streets were dressed in Chinese New Years atire, with dragons around most corners. This meant Alfie had found us a show in a park to celebrate at 7.30pm so we had a few hours to kill first. First mission was to find Crocs, which we did (eventually after I navigated us to the wrong super mall) but they were just as expensive. We were now going to find some cheaper knock offs in the night market after the show. After walking around Bangkok's largest and oldest park (Lumphini Park) - seeing numerous joggers, dancers, and even the Bangkok Orchestra performing - we grabbed a metro to Benchasiri Park just in time for the show.

    What followed was (wait as I totally simplify it) a beautifully choreographed display of dancing, acrobatics, and music - backed by a rave-like light show - coming to a crescendo of a dragon breathing sparklers. After that it was time to hop back on the sky train as we head to the Pratunam Night Market - a wonderful mixture of food stalls and knock off merch. That just so happened to be exactly what we needed: some munch and some crocs. After a while of finding our bearings in the maze-ness of stalls, we try our hand at haggling and end up not buying any crocs, any temple trousers for Alfie, any temple shirts BUT I brought myself a nice light shirt which "Alfie wouldn't wear himself" but I'm extremely excited to melt slightly less in it tomorrow. We grabbed some cheap street food where we head back to the hostel and get ready for bed. I opted for a 2nd shower where I forgot my towel which was a fun problem to solve.

    Having no solid plans for tomorrow but alot of things on the list, I'm ready to pass out.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia

    Day 4

    February 9, 2024 in Turkey ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    Istanbul > Istanbul Airport

    With a leisurely lay in it was the first morning in a couple weeks I didn't feel like I had been hit by a bus for existing. After a final Turkish breakfast we pack our bags and check out of Agora Guesthouse, with almost no plan of what to do to fill the day before our flight.

    Mission 1 was to post a postcard. Buying it was the easy bit, but posting it proved harder. After finding our way to the PTT, I finally managed to get some stamps and send it on its merry way back to England.

    Mission 2 was to find a fee free ATM. After finding one it was a mission in itself to be able to use it. Luckily Google Lens came to the rescue, translating using the camera.

    Mission 3 was to find Mario the Fisherman's restaurant where we weren't able to find Mario himself but we were able to enjoy a yummy Balik Dürümcü (fish wrap) which I would say was the tastiest thing we had in Turkey.

    Mission 4 was to find a classic Turkish ice cream man. 100 Lira later my nose was covered in ice cream and my dignity was gone but I walked away happy.

    Mission 5 was to find some snacks before our flight. Turkish Delight acquired.

    Mission 6 was to get our way to the airport. 2 trams and some 5 flights of escalators down, we had made our way into Istanbul Airport an hour before checkin. With our time we spent it researching SIMs, transport and the like before Alfie succumbed to the airport prices and the smell of food and begrudgingly spent £15 on a small meal from Popeye's. Eventually we board the biggest plane I can remember being in WITH in-flight entertainment but somehow less legroom than Ryanair. And this is where I sign off until Bangkok.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia

    Day 3

    February 8, 2024 in Turkey ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    Asian Istanbul

    After optimistically setting my alarm for 8, we begrudgingly woke to a symphony of grating alarms at 9 and headed for breakfast. Feeling like a pro at the hostel's breakfast by now, I grabbed a plate full, and then another before we embarked on our days journey.

    Mission 1 was to find Istanbul's public transportation card 'Istanbulkart' and load that with enough Lira to get us go Asia and back. Without a hitch, we hop on the metro. However, it wasn't until 1 stop later when the metro reverses and takes us back to where we came. Attempt 2 was a bit more successful, and we made our way to Karaköy, just in time for a ferry to Kadiköy. Worry set in when we had realised that the ferry was taking us right back to where we caught the metro. Luckily for us, it was only a stop on its way to Asia.

    Upon arriving in Karaköy (sounding annoyingly similar to Kadiköy) we explored the market where unfortunately for Alfie, we walked up and down, left and right, forward and back past the same fresh fish vendors, with the poignant smell of fish floating through the air - apparnelty he wasn't a fan. Grabbing some (more chicken doner wraps) we make our way up North with Üskudar being our goal. One stop was a Mosque where we accidently stumbled across a military funeral from which we soon escaped from. If there's anywhere to not stick out as a tourist it's not only at a funeral but a funeral with armed military guards. Simple lesson for sure.

    Walking along the coast into Üskudar, we sit and appreciate the small landmark of Maiden’s Tower, a small lighthouse just out from shore. Unfortunately, there was no information so I couldn't tell you anything about it. Meandering about, we almost enter a non-tourist Mosque as I had read the map wrong and then begrudgingly to Alfie, we went in a small local library which we swiftly left after asking 'Why are we here?".

    We then take the metro further inland to check out the Çalıca Tower, the highest structure in Istsnbul, which, as you may have guessed, is quite tall. We didn't go up to the observation desk as that was more money which we didn't want to spend. Next, we head over to Çalıca Hill, where we ate dinner and watched a disappointing sunset over a not so disappointing view over European Istanbul. Next was our final stop which was Çalıca Mosque which is the largest Mosque in Turkey (I think?). Best of all, it was completely free and fairly empty. Now this bad boy was BIG. Although as Alfie said, there was definitely bigger Mosques in Hereford (his home 'city'). After starting to master the art of bidets, we reversed our journey and took a night ferry home over the Bosphorus, only stopping to grab some Turkish Delight. And after a while booking onward travel from Thailand to Cambodia, we showered and headed to bed.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia

    Day 2

    February 7, 2024 in Turkey ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    European Istanbul

    After what I can only describe as a not so ideal first impression of this city after last night's taxi debacle, we awoke at 8am for an included 'traditional Turkish breakfast' at our hostel. Having nothing to compare it to except a bowl of Wheetabix or a plate of toast, it was bloody lovely. I couldn't name half the things on my plate but with a buffet style selection and unlimited fresh orange juice I wasn't one to complain.

    After last night's planning our precise plan was to aimlessly wander around, letting our hearts do the navigation and hopefully find a SIM along the way. Wandering only a couple minutes from our hostel, we realised that we had stumbled across the Hagia Sophi, however if turns out that there is now a charge as of a few weeks ago of over £20. Very frustrating, but we move on for now. Attempting to explore the Topkapi Palace Museum, we are also blocked by another charge, move on again. We then stumble our way onto the Blue Mosque which was free and absolutely beautiful. Learning the etiquette of entering a Mosque, we remove our shoes and lower our sleeves and take in the immense architecture. Dotted about were leaflets about Islam which proved interesting.

    After breakfast and the Blue Mosque, we were finally starting to get some wins which was releiving to say the least. Further meandering about, the streets are laced with food carts selling either grilled corn on the cob and roasted chestnuts, or various simits (Bagels) and for only 26p, it was a must. Of course we were in tourist central so everything was more expensive, but this still seemed very reasonable. This is where we did a little shopping for a SIM and found a 10GB deal for less than £20 which seemed fair enough as we only needed it til Friday.

    Eventually we stumble across the Grand Bazaar, which I (perhaps controversially) thought was an uninteresting maze of jewellery, designer clothes, and ornaments. Repeat those 3 things 1000 times every meter in every direction and that's the Grand Bazaar. Eventually we find our way out from the labyrinth of salesmen, unsuccessful on our mini knock off Croc expedition. Stumbling our way through the Egyptian Bazaar, and various oddly defined districts (including the underwear zone), we decide to cross the bridge and head North into Karaköy.

    Following the metro line North, we discoved the power tool district, looked up at the Galata Tower (another paid entry - plus the top floor with the best views was shut so definitely not worth it), and the walked back along the sea passing the Istanbul Modern (more paid entry!!). Eventually we head back to our favourite restaurant where we are now locals (Hayat Cafe) and grab some grub - with our lovely host giving us some tea to end the meal with on the house. After befriending yet another precious cat, it was now time to bite the bullet and pay for entrance to the Hagia Sofia. Simply, it probably wasn't worth it, but we couldn't come to Istanbul and not go. We were lucky that it was so empty and it was definitely grandiose - just not particularly £20 grandiose.

    Grabbing some overpriced Baklava, we sit by the fountain and take in the atmosphere of the sound of prayer and the view of the Blue Mosque and try our new treat. I thought it was super tasty, but Alfie was not the biggest fan. Ending a day of terrible attempts at Turkish, we make some more solid plans for the next day and our transfers to and from the airport for Friday.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia

    Day 1

    February 6, 2024 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    England > Istanbul

    Woke up fresh at 7am and spent most my morning making 4 breakfast baps, 2 for me and 2 for my dad - turns out he didn't like them so that was a waste. After a brief and emotional goodbye with me mum, I said goodbye to the kittens and left with nothing but my backpack. What should have been an hour and a half drive to Stanstead turned into two and a half hours but it was all worth it to see Alfie's butchered buzz cut. He said he won't be taking his cap off for a month and I can't blame him.

    Bags checked, security passed and shit had, it was time for the only reason anyone ever goes abroad - day drinking. A pint at 12pm? Yes please. Soon we board our 12.45 flight to Istanbul - paying the extra £9 so we could sit next to eachother - but I still got lumbered in the middle seat. With a beautiful view of the Alps, a free lunch, and a nap, it wasn't long till we were descending into Turkey.

    Leaving the airport we had realised our lack of planning had already fucked us over as we had no WiFi as our SIMs would charge us an extortionate rate (£5 per MB?!), it was dark and we didn't know how to get into the city centre. Overwhelmed by busses, taxis, and trains we weren't sure what to do. Eventually we opt for a taxi as it was getting late and our brains weren't prepared to think this hard. This was a huge mistake as the lack of data meant we had no Google Translate to communicate with our driver who generously gave us the white guy rates and charged us over £80 for less than an hours drive. Cunningly playing into the language barrier and the new exchange rates we were most definitely learning lessons fast.

    Upon arriving at our hostel we had already become accustomed to the neighbourhood cats and dogs roaming the city, which was very nice as our hostel had its very own pet dog. Stowing our stuff into the lockers of our 10 person room we set our goals to find some cheap food. Being in a tourist hotspot this was definitely a challenge, having to dodge enthusiastic salesmen trying to get us into their restaurants. 2 business cards later we find a nice small place with very cheap price and an ever nicer chef / host. For only 100 Lira we had a much needed chicken wrap. And with that we head back to our hostel and explore the cosy roof terrace and hatch our plan for tomorrow.    Read more

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