03/6/13

A Full Day Tour of Khao Yai: Thailand’s First National Park

On the way from Cambodia back to Bangkok, I had a week to kill before heading off to Myanmar. It wasn’t too far out of the way to a National Park known as Khao Yai, Thailand’s oldest and second largest, so I took a slight detour, navigated between some local buses and got dropped off […]

12/20/12

Thailand vs Malaysia: If You Can Only Choose One

Thailand and Malaysia share a border and are two of Southeast Asia’s most popular tourist destinations, but they are still distinctly different. I’d recommend a long visit to both, but if time is an issue, I’d hate to rush either country. There’s just too much to see and do! So if visiting both isn’t going […]

08/13/12
Motorbiking Bali Coast

Motorbiking Bali: I Loved It But I’ll Never Do It Again

I just got back from a 3 day motorbike tour of Bali. It was quite the experience and awesome on so many levels. I whizzed around the eastern half of the island with my big travel backpack squished between my legs checking out the scenery and stopping for a few dives and some relaxing beach […]

07/7/12

The Perhentian Islands on a Backpacker Budget

When I think of Southeast Asia, island paradises are one of the first things that come to mind. Unfortunately, after a few island visits in Thailand, I also began to gather that paradise equated to a big hit on my wallet. Prices usually doubled upon leaving the mainland and when the Perhentian Islands were the […]

06/18/12

Backpackers Guide to Gunung Stong State Park, Malaysia

Last week I wrote a play by play of my trip to Gunung Stong State Park. You can find it here. Well, as I mentioned, I had no intention of originally going. It’s much less traversed than some other nearby national parks, which is part of the appeal, but resources to plan a visit are […]

06/1/12

The Best of Ancient Bagan

A random list of bests I decided to compile on Bagan, Myanmar (Burma) Best Plan Avoid the midday heat. Go for sunrise and visit a few more temples in the AM before returning to town and the comfort of your A/C hotel room. It starts to cool off by about 4, so head back out […]

05/27/12
road to serendipity beach

A Backpacker’s City Guide to Sihanoukville Cambodia

Sihanoukville is Cambodia’s up and coming beach town. It’s development is fast paced and within a few years, we’ll see which direction this city on the beach takes. There are glimpses of the parties of Koh Phi Phi and the laid back lifestyle of Si Phan Don, but there are also relatively untouched islands off […]

05/24/12

5 Things You Should Do in Yangon, Myanmar

After a friend ran into some issues obtaining her Myanmar Visa, I was forced to hang out in Yangon (former Rangoon) for longer than originally expected. It turned out being a blessing in disguise, as the city has a ton to see and take in. Without covering the obvious Schwedagon Pagoda etc., here are five not […]

05/21/12

Myanmar/Burma Money Exchange Scam in Yangon

A lot is changing in Myanmar and fast. First I heard, money should only be exchanged on the black market. Official exchange rates of 10 Kyat to a dollar where a joke. Exchanging money on the streets could get someone closer to 1,000 Kyat per USD, so there was little debate as to the best […]