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RTW solo backpacking trip
  • Sheppo89
  • Sheppo89

RTW solo backpacking trip

Just me, my Osprey farpoint 40L bag and a vague idea of where I want to go Read more
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  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

    February 27, 2019 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    So this is my last night here in wonderful Kuala Lumpur! Had a brilliant brilliant time here, the two highlights are watching the Liverpool v Man Utd game at the Official Supporters Club and making friends with some locals who ended up taking me for tea for Nasi Lemak.... it was tasty! And going to see the towers, walking across the sky bridge then going to the top it was awesome.

    It’s a lot more expensive here than anywhere in Thailand but the whole country seems richer. It shares a border with Thailand but that’s the only thing that’s similar. The language here is similar to English as in you can actually read it, it’s not just symbols etc. With it being a majority Muslim country, alcohol is understandably expensive however the city centre and area surrounding the petronas towers are very western so it’s readily available just at a price.

    The shopping malls here are huge, really impressive and they even have shops like Burton hahahha.

    Getting around too is also super easy and it’s surprisingly cheap. It’s almost as easy as London to get around I think.

    The people are friendly and they speak a better standard of English here than in Thailand which does help when you’re trying to communicate although they do struggle with my accent and Geordie accents too apparently.

    There is also a huge counterfeit market here which sells watches, glasses, clothing in various standards of quality - however the grade A stuff is remarkable. I’d challenge anyone (except experts) to try and tell the difference.

    I’m off to Cameron Highlands tomorrow, it’s a beautiful part of the country where they have huge tea farms and lush scenery. I have to get a coach early doors so I’m going to the Hard Rock Cafe which is just down the road from me as I’ve been to everyone in each city I’ve been and it would be wrong to not keep up with tradition.

    So Long Kuala Lumpur...... I may see you soon    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Tanah Rata - Malaysia

    March 1, 2019 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Spending a few days up in the Cameron mountains where the weather is much much cooler (yay!)

    It’s a nice place but it’s a bit ‘boring’ there isn’t much to do or see here at all. However it’s still a place Id never of even heard of if I hadn’t come to Malaysia. This is where they grow most of the tea leaves and some strawberry’s too

    That’s about it

    Off to Ipoh on Monday before moving onto Georgetown in Penang!

    I’ll be going back to Kuala Lumpur then to meet up with the guys from the Liverpool Bar for a few days before heading off to Vietnam (I put a poll up on my Instagram and Vietnam is the overwhelming favourite)    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Ipoh - Malaysia

    March 4, 2019 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    I left Tanah Rata early hours this morning, and I wasn’t feeling too great after too many beers. I ended up watching the Fulham v Chelsea game and the derby with a tour group most from the UK which was a laugh. Disappointed in the derby result, however since the Leicester game we haven’t been at it so it wasn’t too much of a surprise.

    The coach from Tanah Rata to Ipoh wasn’t too bad, a hangover, a dodgy belly and lack of sleep didn’t help so at times I was struggling on the coach.

    After a short taxi journey to the hostel, I was immediately impressed. The hostel is so well designed and probably the best looking hostel I’ve stayed in, and as a bonus in my room there’s just me!!!    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Ipoh - Malaysia

    March 6, 2019 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Never been in such a small ‘city’ before. It’s tiny. Can walk around it in a few hours easily! Again not much to do here but it’s a nice relaxed place and the hostel is brilliant. Got a room mate now, a guy called Mess from Denmark, we went for a few beers last night... well I had 1 he had 4, I’m trying to cut down overall, I’m not getting any younger hahahahaha.

    Had a walk around the old town and new town... both look the same to me, and I’ve ventured around the night market here but it’s simply awful compared to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

    The food here is good though,

    Off to George Town tomorrow so I’m looking forward to that as there’s supposed to be more to do and see there, I am looking forward to going back to KL though, awesome city and so easy to get around!    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Penang - Malaysia

    March 7, 2019 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    OMG - disaster. Checked into my ‘room’ in my hostel. It’s more like an Algerian prison cell it’s shite! I know I’ve just been spoilt with my last hostel but this is truly wank!

    The guy at check in didn’t have a clue, he just gave me keys and told me to go find my room which is best described as a gimp cave. The room isn’t even finished.... the wall doesn’t go up to the roof! So you could in theory scale the wall into the room! And it’s about as well lit as under the bridge on the alt!

    I’ve escaped to a Mexican restaurant close by, which is actually really good, Milon the owner is a laugh and made me a special drink which was nice. Gonna hide out here for a few hours and maybe find a new hotel...    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - George Town - Malaysia

    March 9, 2019 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    So I changed my hotel. Best £60 I’ve ever spent tbh. Checked in to my new hotel, got a shower to feel fresh then headed off out to walk around George Town!

    Saw a lot of people on holiday here, not sure why as there’s no beach close by... unless they’ve come on a day trip I suppose. But, George Town is cool. Not the easiest to walk around as there’s not many pavements but cars and bikes expect people to be on the road so it’s no biggie really.

    It’s a cool town, typical Malaysian town - half Chinese/ half Indian. Loads of great food, super friendly people and still places where it’s cheap, last night I had a Nasi Kandar and a coke for 7RNG which is about £1:30 so can’t complain.

    Anyways just a few photos of my day here, off to KL again on Monday which should be good, I’ve also booked my first week in a Vietnam which I’m super excited for!    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

    March 12, 2019 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C

    Spent a few days back here in KL as I am flying out from here on the 15th to Vietnam. Didn’t do much as I’ve kind of already explored the city. The only thing I didn’t get round to doing was the Batu Caves but they’ll still be there in years to come.

    Didn’t do much really except go see bits and pieces here and there, it’s a brilliant city though and I would come back in the future no danger!

    Looking forward to flying out To Vietnam tomorrow, it’s the one place I was most excited about coming to! I’ve already planned my trip in Vietnam, and I’m treating myself to a tailor made suit for my 30th... I also treated myself to a watch for my 30th too...

    The hostel I’m staying in here in Kl though is awesome, it’s the Japanese pod style capsules. The hostel is called space hostel and it’s right opposite petaling street. It’s brilliant and I would deffo stay in one of these again, even if they where more expensive than a private hotel room. That’s how highly I rate them. The only issue with this hostel is that there’s so many homeless outside, it’s so sad to see.

    If I ever come back to KL I’d probably only do 3 days, I’d try and fit more into those days as I have struggled here with the weather, it’s just so hot and humid I genuinely can’t hydrate quick enough from all the sweating!

    Anyway, I need to get some sleep as I’m so excited for Vietnam I don’t want to waste a minute!    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Saigon - Vietnam

    March 15, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    FINALLY MADE IT TO VIETNAM!!

    Both an excited and sarcastic remark. Our flight was delayed in KL airport, and then changed gates to be delayed even further!!! It is vietair like so I kind of expected it (the air stewardess’ are decent though)

    Landed in Vietnam and make my way to immigration..... Jesus Christ! I’d never seen a queue so big, it was genuinely massive. I waited over an hour to get through. It was that long by the time I made it through the luggage belt was overfilling with both our flight and the flight after.

    Getting into the city is easy enough though, walk out the airport straight to the bus station, they ask you where you wanna go - pay 70p for a ticket and on you get. The driver tells you where to get off which is handy!

    The journey in was awesome, I’d never seen such a busy place. New York and Bangkok are much less manic. Cars, trucks, buses, bicycle, motorbikes and scooters and weaving in and out of each other. Horns blaring everywhere, people just walking out in to the Road. People shouting and conversing - the place has so much energy, it’s constantly on the go. It’s alive.

    My hotel is cool, well it’s actually a private room in a hostel, but it’s brilliant, nice and big and most importantly... air con. The weather here is hotter than KL, it’s also a little bit harder to breathe.

    I went for a quick explore in the night and it turns out my hostel is one road away from walking street which is boss. (A walking street is usually a long road full of bars, restaurants etc.

    I think I’m going to enjoy Vietnam....    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Saigon - Vietnam

    March 16, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    Happy 30th Ash!

    Not a bad way to spend your big 3-0 - walking around a city like Saigon!

    I woke up early this morning to just get out there and go and see things. I started off at the independence palace, which is a cool place with a ton of history, I really enjoyed walking around there. I even got to see the bunker where the army did all their planning, I also saw the presidential office which was cool too!

    After there I went to the war museum which was amazing. It’s a must do if you’re ever here. It’s extremely sad and some of the things that are there are a real eye opener and incredibly sad. There is an entire section on the use of agent orange and the images are horrific and the after affects are still being felt today in Vietnam!

    Just a short walk from there was the Norte Damn Cathedral- a Copy of the original as Vietnam was once under french rule. You notice it a lot in the architecture when you walk around.

    After stopping off for a quick beer and a bite to eat I went to the Ben Than Market which is huge. It’s half food and half shops. You can buy all sorts and it’s cheap. I treated myself to a Vietnam t shirt and 2 others (counterfeits) but extremely good quality for less than £30 so it is cheap. I probably could of got it cheaper however at this point I was extremely tired, as it was very hot and I had drank around 5L of water and I was still dehydrated, so I felt like crap.

    As birthdays go... it wasn’t a bad one    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Mekong Delta - Vietnam

    March 18, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    Best. Day. Ever

    So today I paid to do a full days, cycling, kayaking, and boat tour of the Mekong delta. I couldn’t go to Saigon and not go the delta.

    I was picked up in the morning and I met 2 Americans who where also on the tour and they where very friendly as most Americans are.

    First leg of the trip was a 2 hour drive down into the country side of the Mekong Delta which was stunning. We then picked up our bikes and headed out on a 30km bike ride stopping off at markets and temples along the way. We also stopped off for lunch was was riverside - no idea what the food was but it was nice.

    We then cycled some more before arriving at the Mekong delta river, which we hopped on a boat which took us on a cruise up and down before dropping us off for our kayaking.

    I was a little hesitant as the river is 5m deep, but it was genuinely brilliant.

    10/10    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Nha Trang - Vietnam

    March 20, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    There isn’t much to do here in Nha Trang, however it has a brilliant beach so that’s where I spent my day. Headed on down there and I went to a place called louisiane brew house. It’s a brewery and restaurant right on the beach. It’s brilliant. I tried their passion fruit beer and it was awesome, especially as the weather was so hot.

    I caught up on the maddie McCan documentary which was awesome - still haven’t decided on what happened yet...

    But yeah today has been a chilled one, really enjoyed it however I caught the sun a little too much and I’m burnt 🥵 the guy in charge of the sun loungers is reserving me another bed tomorrow.... guess I’ll go back for more passion fruit beer    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Hoi An - Vietnam

    March 23, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    Arrived in Hoi An early hours today after a 13 hour coach trip...well it was only 11! What coach arrives 2 hours early?

    Anyway I walk to my hotel and try and get a few hours sleep 🛏 before heading on out to explore Hoi An.

    It’s a very pretty place, with a large Japanese influence which you can see In the architecture. I also went to the tailor today... the exact same one top gear went to! It was a nice experience, the ladies there are super friendly and will do anything to make you happy. It’s also a lot more tech based than expected. I’ve gone for a full cashmere suit with a Vietnamese cotton shirt... can’t wait.

    I also went down by the riverside in the evening to see all the floating lanterns on the river. It was stunning, the pictures don’t do it justice.

    I like Hoi An    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Hoi An - Vietnam

    March 25, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Just a nice day walking around Hoi An - also went for my last suit fitting today too. I am getting it sent back to the UK. The woman I had Le Le was lovely, she even picked me up on her scooter when she saw me walking to the tailors and gave me a lift!

    Hoi An is genuinely stunning. Will return at some point. It’s brilliant    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Da Nang - Vietnam

    March 26, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    First Full day in Da Nẵng and it’s been brilliant - I only chose to stop off here for a few nights to see the Dragon Bridge and to motorbike from here to Hue via the famous Hai Van Pass.

    Seeing the bridge up close was awesome, it was even better at night (kicking myself for not taking any photos of it - well I did but they where all shocking)

    Da Nẵng is a cool town, lots to do there, the Instagram famous golden bridge is about 1 hour west from Da Nẵng, my plan was to go there but when I found out it’s within a park that costs £30 to go inside I decided against it. Why would I pay £30 to enter a park to see a bridge, especially when my one way bike hire from Da Nẵng to Hue was expensive and I am starting to get low on money.

    Maybe one day.

    The hostel I am staying in has a cool rooftop bar which gives you semi decent views, but it does serve good beer. It’s from a local brewery and their IPA is genuinely brilliant.

    The beach at Da Nẵng is also stunning, I didn’t spent much time there as I am still badly burnt from Nha Trang and I was peeling something awful hahaha. It’s definitely more of a holiday destination than a backpacker place but it was a cool place to stop off.

    Would I return? Probably, but only for a night to go see the night to make it easier to get to the golden bridge in the future.    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Hai Van Pass - Vietnam

    March 28, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Ah today was fucking amazing - another thing off my bucket list done. This and HA Long Bay are the two reasons I came to Vietnam.

    I remember watching this on top gear about 10/11 years ago and since that point this was on my list of things to do - it’s that good in real life. The bike I had wasn’t great but I think that made it better, as I felt like it wasn’t much better than what the TG trio used. The company I used motovina to hire the bike also sent my luggage to Hue so I could pick it up when I got there so I didn’t have to worry about it.

    I had my go pro and I managed to film some of it however the batteries are not great anymore so I’m lucky to get 15 mins of footage, and it died before the best bit hahahahaha.

    The Hai Van pass is pretty much deserted now as the Vietnamese government recently built a bypass tunnel through the mountains as a more direct route to Hue, this just made it better, although the roads have come into a bit of disrepair now.

    I was a lot more confident after completing the Mae Hong Son Loop so I was throwing the bike into corners much faster and even leaning down which caused a few clenched moments which just added to the excitement. I did see a girl however go arse over tit on her bike which I have to admit was hilarious, not sure how bad she was hurt, but she wasn’t much smaller than me and she was on a huge bike. Silly really.

    The last 15km of the trip is just a boring duel carriage way - but with it being Vietnam it’s not so straight forward. Traffic coming down the wrong way. Bikes, lorries just pulling out from side streets, you have to be on your toes. Riding a bike here is much more difficult than Thailand, there seems to be less of a rhythm, it’s definitely more chaotic and I think if I didn’t have the experience doing the MHS Loop I’d of had more trouble.

    I’d like to come back one day with a bigger, more powerful bike 🏍 - as I saw a few super bikes doing it and it looked so much fun.

    Hai Van Pass ✅

    Bucket list is getting smaller now...    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Hue - Vietnam

    March 29, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    Today was a brilliant day walking around the ancient city in Hue - so much history there and awesome ruins to walk around and learn about.

    Today was also the hottest day I think since I’ve been travelling, I could actually feel the sweat coming out of every pore - it was disgusting.

    But I’ve some sad news, for some reason I seem to have lost all sorts of photos and videos from my time travelling 😭😭😭 I can’t access my photo stream on iCloud and they just seem to be missing from both my phone and amazon account. The only weird thing is my iCloud storage has gone up!!??

    I hope I can restore the phone to an earlier date and hopefully restore the photos/videos that way!

    So a sour end to a good day    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Hanoi - Vietnam

    March 31, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Arrived in Hanoi at 12pm after leaving Hanoi at 9pm the previous day... I was absolutely shattered so I headed straight to my hostel to check in and get some sleep. I barely made it to my hostel I was that tired. I was so happy to see the bed, it was super comfy and private. I fell asleep and woke up at 9pm extremely hungry, I headed out to find food and went back to bed as I had to be up in the morning as I was heading off to Ninh Binh on a day trip and I knew as soon as I hit the pillow I’d be back out again.

    From what I saw of Hanoi it looks cool, but not as good as Saigon or Hoi An    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Nihn Bihn - Vietnam

    April 1, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

    Was picked up at my hostel at 7:30 am to travel to Ninh Binh which is known locally as Ha Long Bay on land. It’s where Kong Skull Island was filmed. The journey down to Ninh Bihn was uneventful, however we did stop off at the ancient capital of Vietnam which was cool. We saw some temples in honour of the first two dynasty’s in Vietnam built by a later king as a sign of respect.

    The weather was awful, it was just lashing it down constantly.

    After the tour of the temples we went for lunch. The weather was that bad the restaurants power went out so we where eating in the dark which was a new experience. Food was terrible.

    We arrived in Ninh Bihn around 40 mins after lunch. Part of the itinerary was meant to be a bike ride but the weather was awful, however myself and a couple of the guys on the tour wanted to do it anyway. We where already wet so it wasn’t like we could get anymore wet.

    The bike ride was nice, it took us into a rice paddy, and the views where awesome.

    We headed back into the village and thankfully the weather relented just in time for the cruise down the river. I was paired with Fraser from Oz and Christian from the Philippines who where cool guys. We had a good laugh on the river, had some cool conversations. One of the best thunks about travelling is the people you meet and these guys where cool.

    The cruise it’s self was amazing, the scenery will rival anywhere in the world, even with the slightly crappy weather.

    After the cruise it was back to Hanoi for a few beers!    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Ha Long Bay - Vietnam

    April 2, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    So this is what I’ve been looking forward to since I started travelling... going to Ha Long Bay!!!

    I booked a 2 day 1 night cruise around the bay via my hostel. I was picked up at the hostel at 7:45 and it was a 4 hour trip to Ha Long Bay. The annoying thing about travel in Vietnam it takes so long and they always stop for a break at a place for disabled workers which as a sentiment is nice. But you can’t really buy anything there as it’s all statues and paintings etc, and the stuff you can buy you get ripped off hugely on the price - a can of lemon Fanta, a while chocolate bar and some m&ms was over £6 hahahahaha

    We arrived at the bay, and hopped on our tender boat to get to our ship. In Vietnam it’s required by law for all tourist boats to be painted white as it’s shown to make westerners feel more comfortable. The shop it’s self was nice... for Vietnamese standards. By western standards it wasn’t great, but if you want western standards... stay in the west. If travel is too familiar or too comfortable... you’re doing it wrong.

    On my boat was some guys I knew from my hostel - 3 french guys who where also on my tour to Ninh Bihn. They where cool guys, Benjamin, Jemal, and ash.

    We had a few hours on the boat having lunch and a few beers before we set out Kayaking in the Bay to the beach. This was cool but very scary as the water was super deep and I was relying on a Frenchman who also can’t swim hahahah. After a while though I relaxed and had a great time. I even went swimming on the beach which is not something I would have done usually.

    After returning to the boat we had some more beers, and evening dinner which was nice and plentiful. Watching then sunset over the bay with a beer and some new friends was an awesome experience and one I won’t forget.    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Ha Long Bay - Vietnam

    April 3, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Woke up today after a semi average sleep and headed on to breakfast. We where due to head to a cave which I wasn’t too interested in but I went anyway.

    After the cave we headed back to the boat for our farewell lunch, before heading back to the dock to go back to Hanoi.

    Overall the experience was amazing and I would do it again without hesitation even if the weather wasn’t as good as it could of been it was still one of the best experiences I’ve had.

    Thank you Ha Long Bay    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    Asia Tour - Hanoi - Vietnam

    April 4, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 23 °C

    Caught the dreaded man flu - I slept around 18 hours today and didn’t move from my hostel bed.

    I did receive from dreadful news today though. My friend David and his wife Katie lost their dog today in a terrible accident.

    Koda was such a loving dog and I loved spending time with her in St Louis

    She was an amazing dog - RIP in doggy heaven Koda 💔    Read more

  • Sheppo89RTW solo backpacking tripSheppo89

    AsIa Tour - Yangon - Burma

    April 5, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ⛅ 36 °C

    Landed in Burma - first impressions is that it’s chaotic... but not in the same way as Saigon or Bangkok is... it’s more unorganised or that’s what it feels anyway. All airports and bus stations etc are miles out of the centre. It was over an hour in a taxi to my hostel which is in downtown Chinatown. Only cost me £5 like!

    Hostel is nice, expensive for the quality though.

    Only ventured out local to my hostel as it’s quite late and I’m tired, still not feeling 100% either    Read more

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