Throughfeedbackfrombackpackersaswellasourownresearchand10+yearsoftravelexperience,wecanpointyouintherightdirectionwhenitcomestobookinganexcellentvalueformoneyandqualityexperiencewithacompanythat’smindfuloflocalcommunitiesandtheenvironment.Youcannowbookmanyoftheseexperiencesdirectlyandsafelythroughourwebsite.
ManypeoplewhotraveltoSoutheastAsiataketheplungetodiscovertheabundanttreasuresthatlieunderneaththesurfaceoftheocean!Fromturtlestowhalesharks,tomulti-colouredcorals,andevenWorldWarIIshipwrecks,thewarmturquoisewaterswillrevealanentirelydifferentworld!
MuayThaiisbecominghugelypopularwithbackpackerswantingtotonetheirbodiesandlearnthisancientmartialartinthelandofitsbirth!Knownas‘theartofeightlimbs’,MuayThaiistheonlymartialartwhereyoucanuseyourhands,elbows,kneesandfeet.
KrabiinSouthThailandisfamousworldwideasarockclimbingMecca.Withlimestonecliffsrisingoutofturquoisewaterslinedwithbeautifulwhitesandybeaches–thesceneryjustdoesn’tgetanybetterthanthis.
HalongBayisamustdoexperienceforeverybackpackertoVietnam!ThisUNESCOWorldHeritagelandscapedottedwithfloatingfishingvillages,incrediblerockformationsandintriguingcavescanonlybeexperiencedinoneway–bytakingaboattrip!
NativetoMalaysiaandIndonesia,thesegreatapesaresohuman-likeit’suncanny!Yourheartwillachewhenyourealisehowmuchdangerthesecreaturesareinduetotheongoingchainsawingoftheirnaturalhabitat.Likewithallanimalencounters,you’llwanttomakesurethatyourvisitisinnowayharmfultotheanimals.
WithsomuchadventureonofferinSoutheastAsia,youmightfeeloverwhelmed!Whynotputthebreaksonandlearnhowtositstillandjust‘be’ratherthan‘do’forawhile.ManypeoplewhocometoSoutheastAsiaandtakeameditationretreat,beitforafewdays,orafewweeks,claimlife-changingresults!Theamazingpowerofmindfulnessisonlyjustbeingrealised.
Datingbacktothe9thcentury,thistemplecomplexwasthecapitaloftheKhmerEmpireforfourcenturies.Today,thejunglehasreclaimedpartsofthesitegivingustravellersanexperienceakintobeinginourownIndianaJonesmovie!Youcanhireabicycleoratuk-tuktoexploretheruins,whicharetoovasttoexploreonfoot.
Builtbetweenthe9thand13thcenturies,theancientlandscapeofBaganboastsover2,200templesacrossanareaof40squaremiles!Youdon’trealisethetruemagnitudeofBaganuntilyouscrambleuptheoldbricksofacrumblingtempleandseethemagicalvistafromabove!
InHoiAn,Vietnam,don’tmisstheawesomeSUPMonkeyAdventures!TakeanoceanpaddleasthesunrisesontheAlohaSunriseSUPTourorexploretheThuBonRiverforafewhours.Watchlocalfishermen,glidepastwaterbuffaloandgetoffthebeatentrackonafunanduniquemodeoftransport!
Gettingclosetoanelephantishighonthelistof‘mustdothingsinSoutheastAsia’formostpeople.Today,mosttravellers(butsadlynotall)areeducatedaboutthedamagingeffectsofelephantshows,elephantridingandelephanttrekswiththesesociableandhighlyintelligentcreatures.
ExperiencingafestivalinSoutheastAsiawillprovideyouwithcolourful(andcrazy!)memoriesthatwilllastalifetime.SendalanternintotheskyattheLoiKrathongFestivalinChiangMai,gazeinaweatthepainfulactsofdevotionofattendeestotheThaipusamFestivalinKualaLumpurandgetsoakedtotheskinattheworld’sbiggestwaterfightthattakesplaceallacrossThailandduringthemonthofApril.
SafetyWingisthetravelinsuranceofchoiceforscoresofbackpackers!
BusinessisdonedifferentlyinSoutheastAsia.Asyoubrowsemanymarketsandshopsacrossthecountry,you’llseethatgoodsdon’talwayshavepricesonthemastheysoclearlydointheWest.It’syourjobtonegotiatethepricewiththeshopkeeperandit’sawholenewskill–believeme!
NativetotheislandsofKomodo,FloresandseveralothersmallIndonesianislands,thedragonshavebecomeadangeroustouristattractionforthrill-seekingbackpackerstoIndonesia–justdon’tgettooclose!
Ifdivingisn’tyourthing,thendon’tworry,youcanstillexploretheamazingunderwatertreasuresofSoutheastAsiawithjustasnorkelandamask.
Thefamous20kmroute,whichhasbeencalled“adesertedribbonofperfection”connectsthecityofDaNangwiththetownofLangCointheprovinceofHue.Historically,it’sbelievedtobetheconnectionbetweenthecold,industrialNorthofVietnamandthemorelaid-back,tropicalSouth.
Whenwediscussedlife-changingadventuresinSoutheastAsiawithourcommunity,wewereinterestedtohearthatmanypeople’smostmemorableexperiencesrevolvedaroundvolunteeringprojects.
Thaimassage,dubbed‘LazyYoga’bysome,isanancientartformthatdatesback2,500years!Today,acrossThailandyoucanhaveaone-hourThaimassagethatcostsjust150-300ThaiBaht($5-10US)andit’sdefinitelyoneofthemust-dothingsforbackpackers!
Oneofthebestexperiencestobehadinthenationalparkistospendthenightinafloatingbungalowwakinguptothesoundsofnatureatsunrise.Mostbackpackersoptfora2-day,1-nighttriptothelakewhichincludestrekking,kayaking,avisittoacaveandanightinthefloatingbungalows.Thepackagecostsaround2,500ThaiBaht.We’veheardgoodreviewsaboutMonkeyMansionsinKhaoSokvillage.
BeneaththesurfaceofSoutheastAsia’soceanliesanotherworld–onewhereabandonedshipscreatehomesforseacreaturesandenticingplaygroundsforadvanceddivers.
ManytravellersheadtoAsiatofulfiltheirdreamofbecomingaYogaTeacher.IndiaandThailandarethetwomostpopularplacestotakea200-hourYogaTeacherTrainingCourse,whichisthefirstqualificationthatyouneedinordertoteachyogaprofessionally.
Thailandhas1,430ofthem,Philippineshas7,107andIndonesiahasover11,000(theystillhaven’tcountedproperly)!I’mtalkingabouttropicalislands!There’sreallynobetterplaceintheworldtoplanaswashbucklingadventure!
Oneofthemostexcitingwaystogoislandhoppingistosimplysetsailwithalocalfishermanfortheday.InmostpartsofSoutheastAsiayoucanapproachalocalfishermanandaskhimforapricetotakeyououtonhisboat.
TravellerswhowishtobasethemselvesinSoutheastAsiaandextendtheirtravelsforuptoafewyearsoftenlookintoTeachingEnglishasaForeignLanguage(TEFL).AcrossAsia,thereishighdemandfornativeEnglishteachersandtravellerscanearnverydecentmoneywhiletheyimmersethemselvesintoalocalcultureandenjoyacompletelydifferentlifestyle.
InPermaculture,wasteisputbackintothesystemandturnedintosomethinguseful.Ifyou’reinterestedinlearningmoreaboutPermaculture,youcantakea72-HourPermacultureDesignCourseatRakTamachatFarminNortheasternThailand.You’lllearnskillsherethatcouldchangeyourlife!
You’llexperience‘HalongBayonLand’,visitsomeoftheworld’sbiggestcaves,crawlintospookyoldVietnamWartunnels,exploreancienttemplesanddiscoveroffthebeatentrackbeachesbeforearrivingintheUNESCOWorldHeritagecity,HoiAn.Withentertainingtourguides,plentyoflaughs,greatfoodandcheapbeers,you’llmakefriendsforlifeanddiscoveradifferentsidetoVietnamonthisawesomeadventure!
Forgetthebus,manybackpackersthesedaysarechoosingtoexploreSoutheastAsiaontwowheels!Travellingtheregiononamotorbikewillgiveyouthefreedomtoexploreandstopwhereveryoulikealongtheway.
Youcan’ttraveltoSoutheastAsiawithoutatleastabasicunderstandingoftheregion’srecenthistory.Lessthan50yearsago,duringthereignoftheKhmerRouge,Cambodiaexperiencedoneoftheworld’smosthorrificatrocitieswhereathirdofthepopulationweremurdered.
Co-ownerofSouthEastAsiaBackpacker,Dave,isobsessedwithUrbanExploration,orUrbex,forshort,whichiswhyyou’llfindmanyarticlesaboutthetopiconthiswebsite!
WhilstthereareloadsofamazinghostelsandguesthousesinSoutheastAsia,manybackpackerstoldusthatoneofthemostmemorableexperiencesoftheirtravelswasahomestay.
Therearemanylocalcompaniesacrosstheregionwhocanarrangeforyoutostayinatraditionalhomewithalocalfamilywhereyou’lleatdinner,playwiththekidsandbeapartofthefabricforanight.Ifdoneproperly,theexperiencecanbebeneficialtoboththehostsandthetraveller.
ImagineturningyourpassionintoyourdailyjobManytravellerswhoarriveinSoutheastAsiafallinlovewithdiving,and,aftertakingtheirOpenWaterCourse,decidetostayonatthediveschoolandworktheirwaythroughtheadvancedcoursesbeforetakinganinternshiptobecomeafully-fledgedDiveMaster.
Sawasdee!Mingalaba!SelamatDetang!There’snobetterwaytoconnectwithlocalsthantohaveagoatspeakingafewwordsinthelocallanguage.Yes,youraccentmaybeatrociousbutyourenthusiasmwillbemuchappreciated!
WhileSoutheastAsiaisblessedwithnaturaldiversityandbeauty,let’snotshyawayfromcelebratingtheman-madewondersoftheUrbanJungle!Yes,SoutheastAsiancitiesmaybebusy,pollutedandnoisy–butthere’sanenergyandavibrancythatisreachingacrescendoastheoldmixeswiththenew.
Ifyou’recontemplatingasoloadventuretoSoutheastAsia,youmaybefeelingatadnervous!WillyoubelonelyWillyoumeetpeopleThisisexactlyhowIfeltthefirsttimeIsetofftravellingandsoIdecidedtobookmyselfonagrouptouratthestartofmy6-monthjourney.Itwasagreatidea!
BackpackinginSoutheastAsiaisalife-changingexperienceformanyreasons.Thelandscapes,thefood,theadventures,thewildlife.However,perhapsthemostlife-changingpartofitallarethepeoplethatyouwillmeetalongtheway.Eachpersoncoloursyourjourneyandaddsmeaningtoeachplacethatyouvisit.
In20yearstime,you’llnolongerbeabletorememberthehostelyoustayedininBangkok,orexactlywhatthestreetwaslikeinHanoi,whatyouwillrememberarethepeoplewhomadeyourjourneyspecial.Whetheryourealiseitornot,thepeopleyoumeetcouldchangethepathofyourlifeforever….