I LOVE Asia. One of the best things about it is how starkly different it is to the western world in certain regards. While many of these culture clashes invigorated me, other Asian habits annoyed me – and some just had no logic to them.
With just a few weeks left on my backpacking trip, I think I can accurately assess how well I did packing for Asia.
I kept this 3-bag setup throughout the entire 5 months and it worked quite well – but I won’t lie, it was quite cumbersome, especially at times where my backpack weighed more.
I knew my travel plans would change at some point during my 2013 Asia trip. In fact, I welcomed the spontaneity – which is why I didn’t plan much beyond a rough route map for those 5 months.
This was the last shot taken with my camera before it died. I suppose if you’re gonna die, Ko Phi Phi a pretty good place to go out, huh?
I’d hopped on an early morning ferry from Koh Lanta to Ko Phi Phi and had a few hours to kill on the island before my overnight trip to Maya Bay.
After 2 months of tackling Nepal and India, I was more than ready to catapult myself to the Thai islands for some much-needed beach time. First stop: Koh Lanta!
I spent a week on Koh Lanta: the first half in the north, near Klong Dao and Long Beach; the second half in the south, at Kantiang Bay.
Of all the places I’d planned to visit on my 5-month journey through Asia, I was most excited about southern Thailand. I ended up spending nearly 3 weeks there in total, split between several islands and beaches – and I definitely could have spent MUCH more time island hopping there.
Of the 4 weekend days I’ve spent in Bangkok, I’ve gone to the Chatuchak Weekend Market on 3 of them:
After crossing 2 major bucket list* items off in Nepal and India (the EBC trek and Holi), how would Thailand stack up in terms of doing amazing, dream-achieving things?
Turns out, well – very VERY well, as future blog posts will reveal ;)
For starters: I’ve long been harboring this dream of someday experiencing an infinity pool.
Before I even began planning my 2013 Asia trip, I knew about the infamous scams at the Thailand-Cambodia border. Not only that, but I’d heard it was one hell of a journey, requiring several different connections, all of which were subject to scams and other discomforts.
Welp, here it is! The next 5 months of my life, all mapped out – literally. Subject (and expected) to change, as I finally have the freedom to be spontaneous and flexible with my traveling and trip planning.