In Summary - SE Asia

Our time in SE Asia has come to an end. Here is an overview of our trip so far.

Length of stay - 17th December 2018 to 15th March 2019 (89 days)

Countries visited - Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar

Same same, but different

While each country we visited was different, there were a lot of similarities as well. These include:

• Roosters - constantly waking us up, mostly before dawn
• Stray dogs and cats - for someone who is pretty scared of dogs, this wasn’t exactly welcome, but I got more used to it as time went on
• Crazy driving - something SE Asia is notorious for, but doesn’t make it any less surprising to see it in person
• Rubbish - particularly plastic. There just isn’t the culture of putting things in a bin like there is in Europe. There does seem to be some move towards better awareness, but the impact is slow
• Covering up - while James and I were sweltering in a t-shirt and shorts, most locals were entirely covered up (including wearing specially designed socks with sandals, jumpers and jeans in the heat of the day), to protect themselves from the sun and getting a tan. This has more to do with the fact that white skin is seen as a sign of wealth rather than an aversion to skin cancer, although it probably helps with the second one
• Travellers smoking and sodcasting - I was really surprised at how many travellers smoked or played music out loud on their phones in public spaces at hostels. Maybe we should have been less British and asked them to stop or at least move downwind, but invariably, we tended to be the ones who left
• Squeaky shoes - a large number of toddlers were wearing shoes that squeaked when they walked. It got pretty annoying if you happened to be following one!
• Free water on buses - most of the buses we took provided us with free bottles of water, which was really great, particularly as many of the journeys were hours long
• Smiley people - everywhere we went, people were friendly, helpful and happy to see us, which was really nice to experience

Highlights

We saw some amazing things and had some great experiences over the three months we were in SE Asia, including kayaking through mangroves on Langkawi and palm trees in Kampot, as well as spending the day on the Mekong Delta and the Irrawaddy River. It’s been really difficult to pick just 10 highlights, but here goes.

1. Paradise Cave, Phong Nha national park, Vietnam - my birthday and a geologist’s heaven, utterly breathtaking
2. Bagan hot air balloon ride, Myanmar - definitely a bucket list activity and an incredible setting to do it in
3. George Town, Malaysia - the tasty food and interesting street art made for a lovely couple of days
4. Kuang-si waterfall, Laos - totally unexpected and totally stunning, a real “wow” moment
5. Snorkeling on Ko Lipe, Thailand - despite the sunburn we saw some amazing fish and beautiful beaches
6. Christmas carols on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo - after a challenging ascent, candlelit Christmas carols on Christmas Eve at 3,200m after an incredible sunset was unforgettable
7. Hoi An, Vietnam - such a pretty place, lovely hostel, good food and good tours. A really relaxing few days
8. Elephant sanctuary, Chiang Mai, Thailand - spending the day with such amazing creatures was truly memorable
9. Climbing on Cat Ba, Vietnam - an escape from other tourists, with our own private trip, sufficiently challenging to feel a sense of achievement and great views from the top
10. Riding up Bokor on scooters, Kampot, Cambodia - having never ridden scooters before, the windy drive up Bokor was really exciting!

Health and safety (or lack of!)

We saw many things that would never have passed UK health and safety law. Here is a selection:

1. Crazy House, Da Lat, Vietnam - knee high walls on narrow paths walking over the roof of the building
2. U Bein Bridge, Mandalay, Myanmar - no barriers on what is apparently a very busy bridge particularly at sunrise and sunset
3. No seat belts in the back of taxis, various places in SE Asia - there was the odd exception, but most of the time the seat belts existed but the buckles did not
4. Climbing onto the roof of a temple, Bagan, Myanmar - it was an incredibly narrow ledge which was absolutely baking under the midday sun. It would have been very easy to slip off!
5. Filling up with petrol while smoking on a speed boat midway between Ko Lipe and Ko Lanta, Thailand - at least this was during the day and not at night as other people have experienced!
6. Selling petrol in glass bottles on the side of the road, various places in SE Asia - your tank was then filled from the bottle using a funnel
7. Tet fireworks, Phu Quoc, Vietnam - I’ve never stood directly under fireworks before, it was ridiculous how close people could get
8. Various ridiculous things (mattresses, drainpipes, full length mirrors, three kids) being carried on the back of scooters, various places in SE Asia - in SE Asia, anything goes!
9. Electrics, e.g. having a circuit breaker next to the shower head, mainly in Laos - we saw many dodgy connections and wiring that would definitely not pass UK rules and regulations
10. Single wooden plank to get onto a boat, in the dark, Bagan, Myanmar - very easy to slip off, especially as the plank was wet!

Overall, SE Asia was everything we had hoped it would be. The food was great, the people were lovely and the scenery was stunning. A thoroughly enjoyable place to explore.