This is the last blog post I will write from a foreign country. That feels so weird to say. While I will write a final, sum-up post about my trip when I get back to the States, I think Southeast Asia deserves a recap post of its own.
Of all the regions I’ve traveled in this year, Southeast Asia is my favorite. It was the most consistent. Three out of the five countries would make a top-ten list (Malaysia, Vietnam, and Laos). The only place I didn’t like much was Cambodia.
This was also the first region in which I had no time constraints besides visa expiration dates, so I was truly able to slow down and enjoy each country however much I wanted to.
Before I get into the recap, a few words on Bangkok
Some people had given me the idea that Bangkok was going to be this horrible, awful, dirty, ugly, unmanageable place. I half-expected it to be something like Delhi. I’ve been so afraid of it that I’ve been avoiding spending any time here at all, despite the fact that I’ve come through three times.
But in fact, I kind of like it here. I spent most of my first day exploring the more modern parts of the city, specifically Siam Square. It feels basically just like any Western city. The megamalls are nice. Jim Thompson’s house was interesting.
On my second day, I ventured into old Bangkok, which I have to say, rivals anything I’ve seen for Thailand’s most charming place. The 18th-century shophouses, still used by monks to produce Buddhist relics, were a highlight. I didn’t want to pay for the Grand Palace, but Wat Pho was certainly more impressive than other Thai temples. The Museum of Siam was fun. I got some good food and rode a river taxi through the canals. I finished up on Th Khao San, the (in)famous backpacker ghetto.
In general, tuk tuk drivers were pretty laid-back. Besides the con artists coming up to me and trying to start a conversation every time I pulled a map out, there was basically no hassle whatsoever.
I can see how Bangkok would be intimidating if you’re new to the region. But for me, it just felt like any other big city — with plenty to see and do.
The best and a couple of the worst from Southeast Asia
Favorite cities:
5. Lopburi, Thailand
4. Kampot, Cambodia
3. Dalat, Vietnam
2. Georgetown, Pulau Penang, Malaysia
1. Luang Prabang, Laos
Best experiences:
5. Drinking lao hai with an entire Khmu tribe at the end of my jungle trek in Nam Tha.
4. Learning to cook Vietnamese food in Hoi An.
3. Diving off Ko Tao and Pulau Perhentian.
2. Taking a motorbike around the Bolaven Plateau.
1. Jungle trekking without a guide in Taman Negara National Park. You’ve never seen jungle like this.
Best beaches:
5. Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. I was literally the only tourist.
4. Krabi, Thailand. It was expensive and touristic, but it was stunning.
3. Bamboo Island, Cambodia
2. Cham Island, Vietnam. Thank god for dive trips and barbecue lunches.
1. Long Beach, Pulau Perhentian, Malaysia. Coral Bay on the same island is a close close close second, especially since my bungalow there was such that if I sat in my personal hammock I was on the beach, but those two are certainly the most beautiful I’ve ever seen.
Best off-the-beaten-path:
5. Savannakhet, Laos. Kicking myself for not staying longer.
4. The Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Since I was traveling independently and not on some horrible group tour from Saigon, I hardly saw another white person.
3. Ninh Binh, Vietnam. There were other backpackers there, but not very many, and none of them were brave enough to traverse the back roads by bicycle.
2. Kota Bharu, Malaysia. Most people use it as a stop to Pulau Perhentian, but I stayed a couple days and it was one of my favorite stops of all.
1. The Bolaven Plateau, especially the stretch from Attepeu to Paksong.
Most memorable moments, for various reasons:
5. Going to pet the elephants at midnight in a thunderstorm after a few hours of “jungle party,” Thailand.
4. Trying to get the perfect jumping picture in front of the Petronas Towers at night in KL.
3. The look on the fruit shake lady’s face in Siem Reap when I pulled up to her stall on my bicycle after biking 60+ km in 95-degree heat.
2. Swimming across the river with my backpack, Nam Tha.
1. Walking down the road, seeing the storm clouds roll in, trying to hitchhike, getting a ride exactly 30 seconds AFTER the downpour begins, running up the ladder into the cave, and watching the storm from inside, Nong Khiaw, Laos. I’m not exactly sure why that sequence of events made such an impression.
Best “little” things:
5. Riding on the backs of motorbikes as transportation.
4. Having a Beer Lao by the Mekong at sunset.
3. Kids running out of their houses to say “sabaidee” (and their grandparents following them).
2. Haggling over how much you’ll pay for your bus ticket
1. That blast of air-con when you first step into 7/11, and walking from one 7/11 to the other one across the street just to get it twice.
Best cafes:
5. The nameless place on the Quay in Phnom Penh that served coffee in a French press.
4. Sozo, Saigon
3. EcoArts, Kampot
2. Scandanavian Bakery, Vientiane
1. JoMa, Luang Prabang
Best food:
This was a tough category here in Southeast Asia. I could have made an individual top-five for Vietnam and Malaysia. While I was disappointed in Thai food the first time around, I also ate some awesome meals over the past two weeks. Even Laos had some contenders, although few of them were actually Lao food.
5. Laap from Alex’s Restaurant, Nong Khiaw. Mama Pap’s would have won for best atmosphere, but Alex had the better food.
4. Vegetarian Foods Restaurant, Battambang. I ate there a few times and don’t remember what I had, but the coffee with homemade soy milk was superb.
3. Pumpkin curry from any old curry shack, but especially the one on the main road in Kanchanaburi.
2. Tandoori chicken at Kapitan’s, Georgetown. The veg biryani I went back for was pretty awesome too.
1. White rose and mackerel in banana leaf, Morning Glory, Vietnam. The single best restaurant meal I’ve had on this trip.
And just one category for negatives this time around, least favorite places:
5. Sapa, Vietnam. So so so so so touristic. So so so so so annoying.
4. Sihanoukville, Cambodia. To anyone even thinking about going, don’t stay at Utopia. Just don’t. I know they have $1 dorms and $0.25 beer. It’s not worth it.
3. Siem Reap, Cambodia. The level of tourism at the temples didn’t really bother me, but it really got to me inside the town.
2. Krabi, Thailand. Did not make a good first impression. Did not grow on me. Only made me angry at how much I was paying for a shitty room in a shitty location on a meh beach.
1. Vang Vieng, Laos. Really, it would have been fine if I hadn’t stayed so long, and if I hadn’t loved the rest of Laos so much that I regret wasting my time there.
So there you have it. I’m sure some of my favorite places never fit any of these categories, but that’s what happens when you try to condense 4.5 months down into a couple notebook pages.
Summing up
The thing I will likely be asking myself when my plane takes off tonight is whether or not I found the “real” Southeast Asia, or whether I stayed trapped in the tourist bubble more often than not.
I spent more time traveling with other backpackers here than elsewhere, which always makes it a bit harder to meet locals. On the other hand, I felt pretty safe trusting the locals here, while that prohibited me from making friends in places like India and Egypt.
I’m not sure there is one “real” Southeast Asia–one thing remarkable about this region is how different all five countries are from each other. One thing is for sure — I’ve been here long enough and immersed myself well enough that I feel a lot more at home in Bangkok than I think I will, at least at first, in America.
