Having just finished a 4 month trip travelling around South East Asia here’s my round up of my adventures in Thailand, Indonesia, The Philippines and Singapore.
I’m currently kicking back in Byron Bay, Australia and despite being sat by the beach and enjoying the surf I still find my mind wandering back to some of the epic adventures I’ve just finished off on my latest trip to South East Asia.
So incase you’ve lost track of where in the world the last few months have taken me or you’re new to the blog and want a quick catch up I thought I’d reminisce a little and put together a summary of my latest adventure through this part of the world.
And as with all my summary posts there’s some links in there to the trips I’ve been on and some of the blog posts I’ve already got around to publishing – so have a click through and hopefully you’ll discover something new and maybe some inspiration if you’re planning a trip that way soon!
Thailand
I kicked off my trip last October by flying into one of my favourite places to travel – Thailand. Having spent many months enjoying the land of a thousand smiles over the years it was a pretty simple stop on the trip aimed at one thing – scuba diving!
Having hit up the island of Koh Tao with fellow blogger Stephen of A Backpackers Tale (after a chaotic night on Khao San road fuelled by buckets!) I got into some freedive training whilst my travel buddy took the plunge and completed her open water dive course – which luckily for me she thoroughly enjoyed!
If she hadn’t the second stop would’ve been pretty awkward as we caught up with our buddies from Khao Lak Scuba Adventures and headed out on a Similan Islands dive live aboard for just under 2 weeks. Eat sleep dive repeat was the order of the trip and we had some epic dives – including turtles, manta rays and shoals of barracuda, to date it’s still one of the most stunning places I’ve been diving.
With our visas fast running out we wrapped up our time in Thailand by joining the guys from Lub D Hostel to check out their latest location – inside the Bangkok FlowHouse artificial wave!
If you fancy trying something different next time you’re in Thailand I highly recommend it!
The Philippines
Second stop in my South East Asia tour was a month in the Philippines. Despite having everything I require to be a happy traveller (surfing, diving and low living costs!) I’d never visited it before. Within days of arriving I was kicking myself for not heading there sooner!
I spent a week freediving training in Cebu, swam with whalesharks in Oslob and then indulged in some serious surfing in Siargao – it was epic!
I was also meant to hit up Palawan at the end of my stay but due to some unfavourable weather (…a typhoon!) my flight got cancelled so we simply extended our stay in Siargao…for more surfing!haha!
Indonesia
Always a favourite destination of mine when I’m in Asia, Indonesia was the final stop for 2014 – and in true Bali fashion it was super cheap and super chaotic!
Having bounced around quite a bit I took the time to slow things down and spent a few weeks in Kuta not doing too much, catching up on some blog work and getting to know the so called “Kuta Rats” – a group of ex pats, online workers and long term travellers who have made the city their surrogate home.
There was some exploring to be done inbetween with trips to Ubud and also diving the Liberty Wreck in Tulamben – something I’ve been stoked to do for a while now but simply haven’t got around to doing!
The highlight though was heading out to Java for xmas on an island hopping surf trip. After enjoying some empty waves and gorgeous surroundings the trip finished off in Nusa Lembongan (another first for me) and I scored some fun waves and even managed to snorkel with Manta Rays, a great way to finish the trip!
With a Bintang fuelled new year in Kuta with my buddies it was time to get my 2015 travels going…
The Philippines – Take 2!
Yup having had such a blast in the Philippines me and my buddy decided to juggle some flights around and purchase some new ones to get us back there again!
Since our trip to Palawan got canned due to the weather and having clocked that Jan was dry season on that side of the country we picked up where we left off!
Our 3 weeks there saw use exploring the underground river in Puerto Princesa (a world heritage site), island hopping and diving around El Nido, surviving a rather questionable 9 hour boat journey to Coron – where more island hopping, freediving and all round good times were had!
The trip finished off in the capital of Manila where the awesome guys from Z Hostel showed us around their home turf and we were invited to test out the new Manila FlowRider before its official launch in early March!
Singapore
The final stop in our trip was a quick one – just a single night in Singapore where the guys from Matchbox Hostel introduced us to pod hostels! It was an interesting experience and if you’re heading through Singapore their location in Chinatown is surrounded by markets and good food!
Our final night of Asian hospitality was spent watching the cityscape light up from the Marina Bay Harbour – if you’re keen on photography it’s a great spot to get some awesome night shots.
I’m always sad to say goodbye to South East Asia – it’s such a great place to travel around and has so much to offer. There’s still heaps I’ve yet to discover too, Vietnam is somewhere I’m still yet to explore so that’s got to be part of the next trip there.
I’m stoked to have made it to the Philippines too and I’ve no doubt I’ll be back enjoying some waves in Siargao again when I’m back in that part of the world!
For now though it’s a sad goodbye to exotic cultures and budget travel – the next few months at least will be spent in Australia and New Zealand – and although I’m stoked to get back there (they’re incredible places to travel) my budget is definitely going to be shaken up a bit!
Asia it has been a blast…I’ve no doubt I’ll be back soon!
How was the weather in Thailand around October time? We’re flying there this year and was just trying to get a feel for the weather at that time of year?!
It wasn’t too bad actually Jaz – it depends on where you’re heading though as wet season moves around! We got a few showers in most stop offs but nothing crazy and still had a great time. As it’s more low season things ar a bit cheaper too which is a bonus!
I took that 8hr boat ride from El nido to coron, too. Awesome loooong white beaches in sight on the way!
Yeah beautiful views – unfortunately it was pretty stormy during our trip so it wasn’t the best boat experience I’ve ever had!haha!
All of these places are marvelous. And travelling for long duration is not a easy job but you done it very well Chris! and also you make it so easy for others by sharing your memorable experiences and worthwhile travel tips.
Cheers Hannah – glad you liked the post :)
Hi,
How much spending money did you have for this? Me & my partner are looking to travel south east asia for 3/4 months and your itinerary sounds brilliant!
Stoked to hear you’re looking to head out there Sophie! I can’t remember off hand how much I exactly spent – but check out my Monthly budget breakdowns for a roundup and my How Much To Spend series for a detailed breakdown for Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Cambodia which should help you plan heaps!