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Southeast Asia 2024

January - May 2024
5/6 months of travel around Southeast Asia - visiting Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Bali and maybe more Read more
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  • TravelerSoutheast Asia 2024
    Day 31–35

    Vang Viang

    February 8 in Laos ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    After a long wait In the train station in Luang prabang (thanks to the hostel) we (myself, Emily and Will) got the Chinese bullet train down to Vang Viang, arriving at the hostel around 3pm.
    I stayed at Lily's backpackers with Emily - very basic, no security, bathrooms a bit meh.
    Activities in Vang Viang:
    - paramotorgliding
    - went to see some blue lagoons (1,2 and 3)
    - went to see some caves (not great)
    - done some kayaking along the Mekong river
    - we explored the town/river area.
    We stumbled across my first Irish bar of the trip, where I watched the Ireland Vs Italy rugby match with a few irish people I had met.
    I went to a yoga and meditation class which was very relaxing.
    On February 12th I caught a minibus down to Vientiane (capital of Laos)    Read more

  • TravelerSoutheast Asia 2024
    Day 35–38

    Vientiane

    February 12 in Laos ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    I got a bus from Vang Viang to Vientiane which took around 2 hours.
    I arrived on 12th Feb at around 7pm. I stayed at Barn1920s hostel - it was really nice, and had a 1950s Parisian style.
    I met Emily here for dinner one evening, before we went our seperate ways.
    My plan for the capital of Laos was to chill and take some days to catch up on travel admin!!
    I did go to the COPE museum which was about the devastation of unexploded bombs that still remain in the countryside in Laos. This has caused many amputees for the locals. The museum was based on this.
    I left on Thursday 15th on a night bus to Pakse.    Read more

  • TravelerSoutheast Asia 2024
    Day 39–40

    Pakse

    February 16 in Laos ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    After much deliberation, I decided to travel down South Laos (despite the higher malaria risk 🦟).
    I had to get a night bus from Vientiane to Pakse (which took around 12 hours).
    On these interesting Laos sleeper buses you have to share a double bed with a stranger if you are solo travelling. I was lucky as I shared with a girl my age and we discovered we had a mutual friend!
    I stayed at Sanga hostel in Pakse.
    I only stayed one night to break up the journey down to Don Det.
    I didn't like Pakse - it was quite dirty, and there was nothing to do if you weren't brave enough to drive bikes (me).
    I used my one day there to chill/read/walk around/watch the sunset.
    I left the next day on an early bus + boat to get to Don Det/4000 islands.    Read more

  • TravelerSoutheast Asia 2024
    Day 40–44

    Don Det/4000 islands

    February 17 in Laos ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    I left Pakse at 8.30am to make my way to Don Det/4000 islands. I got picked up by a minivan and we had an hour and a half drive to get to a boat which brought us across to don det island.
    I stayed in two places whilst here: Ta's dorm and EasyGo backpackers.
    When I arrived, I explored the tiny town and went for a coffee and met a few girls which I spent some time with over the next few days :)
    It was a lovely island, where you could rent bikes to get around.
    Activities:
    - Cycling, exploring a waterfall on the next island (Don Kon)
    - Swimming in the river/at the beach
    - Reading/eating/drinking
    It was a super chill time. Unfortunately I got sick on my last day, so I extended my stay for an extra day, as I didn't want to travel into Cambodia after a day of having a bug.
    Met some really nice people here :)    Read more

  • TravelerSoutheast Asia 2024
    Day 44–47

    Siem Reap

    February 21 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌙 30 °C

    After a very very long travel day (left my hostel in Don Det at around 8.30am and arrived in my hostel in Siem Reap at 8pm) I arrived at Onederz hostel in Siem Reap!
    I met Emily whose plans coincided with mine, and we overlapped in Siem Reap.
    I spent my birthday doing a sunrise tour at Angkor Wat (3.30 wake up call). It was so beautiful!! We got back to the hostel at around 1.30pm and we chilled by the pool for the day, and went out for dinner with another girl called Dorothee, from Germany.
    The rest of my time in Siem Reap was spent chilling by the pool, going to the Apoppo Rat museum (very interesting) and going to an artisan workshop.
    Mainly ate at the hostel/market or a place called Khmer Taste, which was super cheap.
    I really enjoyed Siem Reap, apart from pub street!!
    I spent 3 nights here and left Saturday 24th on a night bus to Kampot!!    Read more

  • TravelerSoutheast Asia 2024
    Day 48–51

    Kampot

    February 25 in Cambodia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    I arrived in Kampot at around 8am on the 25th of February, after a pretty successful night bus!!
    I spent my first night in Onederz hostel. I checked in and chilled by the pool for a few hours and then booked onto a sunrise tour.
    There ended up being 5 of us plus the guide - an English couple in their 50s (who took me under their wing) and a french couple.
    I moved to yellow sun hostel the following day. It was a hostel on the river, with a slide and decking where you could swim.
    I met lovely people here (Lisa, Kate,Lily and Amelia).
    We went kayaking around the river, which was beautiful and spent time cuddling the hostel puppies!!
    It was a nice place to chill and unwind.
    I did a second sunrise tour with the hostel, which was lovely!
    I ended up spending 2 nights here - I originally only thought I'd stay for one.
    The hostel was nice, very basic/camping vibes and I discovered a huge gecko in the dorm on my first day 😭
    I left on Wednesday 28th to make my way to Koh Rong Samloen.    Read more

  • TravelerSoutheast Asia 2024
    Day 51–55

    Koh Rong Samloem

    February 28 in Cambodia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    I left Kampot at around 10.30/11 on the 28th February to get to Koh Rong Samleom. My journey included a 3ish hour bus and an hour long ferry.
    As per all my journeys in SEA - the 6 hour journey turned into 8 😅
    It was a very very bumpy ride in the minibus - driving on terrible roads.
    I arrived at the pier in Koh Rong Samleom at around 3.45pm.
    I hadn't done too much research - but I didn't realise there were no roads on this part of the island, so I had to get a taxi boat to my hostel.
    I stayed at Onederz. It was right on the beach and had a very relaxed vibe.
    I was only supposed to stay here 3 nights, however, an hour after arriving I decided to extend my stay another night.
    I spent the next few days eating, reading, chilling at the beach.
    A Canadian friend I met in Kampot arrived on my second day, we ended up signing up to some scuba diving on the Friday - it was a lot of fun!
    Another friend, Dorothee who I met in Don Det arrived on the Saturday and we spent the evening walking to the other side of the island to find the other beach. 🏝️
    Food:
    - I mainly ate at the hostel (really lazy of me)
    - but one of my favourite dishes on the island was a vegetable cashew curry which I had at Sweet Times restaurant!!
    I really enjoyed my time here - relaxing and saving energy for my time in Vietnam!!    Read more

  • TravelerSoutheast Asia 2024
    Day 55–57

    Phnom Penh

    March 3 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    I left KRS on a 9.30 ferry (which was very rough and rocky, and I had to stand for the duration of it) and got to Phnom Penh at approx 6pm on March 3rd.
    I stayed at Onederz hostel
    I only planned to stay 2 nights here as all I wanted to visit was the historical sites - Tuol Sleng Genocide museum (S21) and the killing fields ( I joined a hostel tour, there was 4 of us in the tuk tuk - all solo travellers
    It was very interesting to learn about, however, incredibly sad as it all felt so recent.
    I didn't eat out much here as it wasn't very veggie friendly.
    I left first thing on the 5th March to make my way into Vietnam 💃🏼    Read more

  • TravelerSoutheast Asia 2024
    Day 57–60

    Ho Chi Minh

    March 5 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    I arrived into Ho Chi Minh at around 4pm on March 5th after a 10 hour journey from Phnom Penh.
    I stayed at Saigon Chill Hostel in district 1 - with every other tourist!!
    I was excited to finally arrive in Vietnam, as I had heard such good things from other travellers on my trip.
    The first evening I tried to set up a SIM card - without any luck and I came back to the hostel where I met a few people (Canadian guy, and an English/Irish couple) who were super friendly.
    I ate in a restaurant called home Saigon restaurant, which was very veggie friendly.
    On the 6th March I decided to do some exploring - I went to the war museum, Saigon central post office, and explored the area where the cafe apartments are. It was crazy seeing how much traffic is in HCM - and learning how to navigate crossing the road!
    For dinner I decided to try my first Banh Mi - which was pretty good 🤤
    On Thursday 7th I signed up to go to the Cu Chi tunnels with the hostel. It was very fascinating seeing the techniques used during the Vietnam war. I met really nice people on this tour who I went for dinner with when we got back. One thing about HCM is how hot/humid the weather was 🥵
    On Friday 8th I booked a bus to start my journey from south to north - with my first stop being Da Lat.    Read more

  • TravelerSoutheast Asia 2024
    Day 60–63

    Da lat

    March 8 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    After my first sleeper bus (of many) in Vietnam (even though it was a day bus, they love a bed), I arrived in Da lat at around 9pm on Friday 8th March.
    For the first night I stayed at a homestay, called dalata note hostel, and then for the following two I moved to a hostel called Mookas home - one of the best hostels I had stayed at on my trip so far. The family who ran the hostel were super lovely, and very very accommodating to all the guests.
    The first day I visited the crazy house, walked around the lake and attended a family BBQ with the other guests in the hostel. I met some people here who all decided to go on a hike the next day.
    On Sunday 10th March, 5 of us got a taxi to Lang Biang mountain. We hiked to the top and saw some lovely views. The hike was quite hard at the start, it levelled out and then the last 15 minutes felt like torture 😅 we were all very chuffed once we reached the top!!
    That evening we all went out to a veggie restaurant for dinner - Chay corner in dalat.
    I booked a sleeper bus to leave Da Lat on Monday 11th at 5pm (12ish hour bus) to go to Hoi An.    Read more

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