The Philippines

May 25, 2024September 28, 2024Leave a comment

Pro Tips:

No visa needed (as a US citizen) but I did have to fill out a form (online) before I got to my departing airport (the check in desk asked for it before issuing my boarding pass)
Unlike most other Southeast Asia countries, it was MUCH harder to book as you go here in the Philippines. This was a bummer because I really like being to able go with the flow and not be locked in to how long I am going to stay before I arrive. The best hostels sell out, the boat expeditions between Corona + El Nido sell out, and flights can sell out. Plan ahead!
Speaking of, The Philippines is logistically tough. It’s doable, but it seems like every travel day includes at least 3-4 modes of transports, which just slows everything down. For example – when Nicole + I went from Siquijor to Moalboal here was our route:
- Homestay in Siqujior –> Siquijor Ferry Terminal via taxi
- Siquijor Ferry Terminal –> Dumaguete Ferry Terminal (Maayo Terminal) via ferry
- Dumaguete Ferry Terminal (Maayo Terminal) to main Dumaguete Ferry Terminal via taxi
- Dumaguete Ferry Terminal –> Liloan Ferry Terminal via ferry
- Liloan Ferry Terminal –> Moalboal via taxi (since we opted out of the public bus with no AC & we still would’ve needed a taxi from the bus terminal to the hostel lol)
  - Total time: ~9 hours
  - Total cost: $28 usd (but taxi’s were split in two since I was with Nicole)
    - In summary: the cost isn’t the issue, it’s the time and mix of modes of transport that causes headaches, but hey, that’s the price you pay for paradise 🙂

I found atms everywhere I went, but there is definitely a possibility of arriving to an island that either doesn’t have atms or has them but they aren’t working. As such, make sure to have cash with you.
If I could do anything over I would considered flying in & out of Cebu City. I tried to avoid spending time in Manila since everyone told me that there wasn’t much worth seeing there. It seems like flights into Manila really like to arrive past midnight, which makes things tough. I opted to arrive at 3am and then fly out to Coron at 6am. It was MISERABLE but that’s the backpacker lifestyle LOL

First view of the Philippines from above

CITY: Coron

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Hop Hostel and it was pretty awesome! Would highly recommend. The beds are super comfy and very nice. Personal plug + curtains. Rooms stay cool with the AC. The pool area is nice + rooftop bar is a great spot for sunset. I met tons of cool people and we all did a boat trip our second day in Coron. It does sell out so definitely book as soon as you can.

WHERE TO EAT:

Le voyage – After my nightmare travel day from Cambodia a mango smoothie bowl was what got me through the morning 🙂 I then promptly went back to the hotel to sleep for 2 hours.

Cafe Soccoro – Cute spot to work or read. I had a mango smoothie + a delicious chocolate chip cookie.

Brewhouse – My favorite spot to eat during my time in Coron. Very cool open patio with a bunch of different restaurants that you can order from! Highly recommend.

WHAT TO DO:

What surprised me most about Coron was that the town itself is nothing to write home about & it’s about 20 min from the beach…. so I was pretty confused why everyone said that Coron is a must see. Turns out the highlight here is to get out of the town and into the water!

I sadly didn’t have time to scuba dive here (which is world class). It’s known for its ship wrecks! But if you don’t dive, the best way to explore the area is get on a boat trip! With all my new friends from the hostel we set out at 8am to explore a bunch of lagoons. It was a fabulous day swimming in crystal clear aqua waters 🙂

Overall Thoughts:

Obviously my experience in Coron was tainted by the fact that I was incredibly sleep deprived… but I still wasn’t all that impressed. The town wasn’t much to rave about, and given the distance to the beach, I just mostly hung at the hostel outside of my day trip. That being said, I really wish I could’ve gone scuba diving. The boat trip & snorkeling was spectacular so I can only imagine what it would’ve been like diving deeper into the water!

TAO Experience Review

HOW LONG: 3 days / 2 NIGHTS

One of the best things you can do in the Philippines is take a boat excursion from Coron to El Nido (or in reverse). There are many companies that off this adventure & you can choose from 3 days up to 5 days. It’s an incredible way to see more remote parts of the Philippines, meet great people, soak up the sun, snorkel in more untouched areas, & have a blast, all while also acting as your transport between two destinations. I loved the efficiency haha.

I chose Tao Expeditions because a friend had told me about them and they seemed to have great reviews. They have a farm on El Nido that is spectacular & if you do the 5 day package you get 2 nights there. They aren’t cheap, but I really can’t complain since the quality of the tour was fabulous. The food was amazing, the accommodation (adorable open air beach huts) was awesome, the staff were friendly, the boat itself was just comfortable & had lots of areas to chill & read or soak up the sun as we sailed by island after island.

Accommodation:

Food:

Views:

I would HIGHLY recommend adding this to your itinerary if you are ever in the Philippines, & I would recommend doing the 5 day experience if you have the time. I sadly only could do the 3 day experience, & it was tough to say goodbye to the group & leave the beautiful Tao Farm.

CITY: El Nido

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Oia Beach Hostel and would not recommend. Sadly the hostel I would’ve like to stay at was sold out by the time I was booking my stay here. Oia was a 15-20 min walk from town down a very dark road, which was slightly nerve-racking as a solo female traveler. The hostel itself was under construction as I think it’s very new and basically still not finished. The bathrooms & showers were gross and constantly out of toilet paper. The room was dark & crowded. There was AC though! The hostel I would book if I ever go back is Frendz Hostel (but it sells out!!).

WHERE TO EAT:

El Nido is quite touristy & set up for Western tourists, which means there are tons of trendy, upscale restaurants as well as lots of cute cafes. I was here for four days and spent plenty of time in said cute cafes for some much needed admin time.

Hama coffee – Gorgeous views of the beach as you sip your coffee (or iced cocoa if you’re me). Lovely breakfast food too.

Brunch coffee – Probably my favorite breakfast spot (& it’s all day breakfast!!). I always worked from here as their wifi was very strong!

Gusto – Gelato & cafe spot – I had dinner here my first night here and they had great wifi.

Rituals – this is a gym (they had day passes available so I went a few times) and coffee shop. The coffee shop was very quiet and tranquil so I enjoyed working from here as well as catching up with friends.

Food truck – Quite the literal restaurant name, but the food was damn good! Delicious Asian street food.

Dayo Cafe – Known for their fluffy soufflé pancakes (but be warned it can take up to an hour to have these made), their food is delicious! Highly recommend this place for breakfast while in El Nido

Grounded coffee – a great spot to work from. Simple, sleek & modern.

Fuego Burger – This was a flippin’ delicious burger!! It’s in a newly developed corner of El Nido and I have no doubt in the future this will be bustling with people.

WHAT TO DO:

El Nido has quite a few, fun adventures to offer! *If it’s in Bold I did it!

Canopy Walk – a fun adventure doing a canopy walk through the trees above EL Nice. Beautiful views! It’s a cheap, fun, fairly quick activity in El Nido (I think maybe budget about an hour for this).

Zipline to another island- take a tuk tuk ride to Palawan Zipline Adventure. After the zipline, enjoy a cocktail on Marimegmeg beach. There is a little cute shopping area with cute restaurants here as well.

Go to Lio beach for beautiful beach day!

Scuba diving is very popular here. I was exhausted from my Tao Expedition so decided not to go, but I kinda regret it. It’s supposed to be great scuba diving here.

Get a day pass to the Ritual Gym and get sore since you probably haven’t worked out in forever haha.

Get a cheap massage from The Organic Spa

Overall Thoughts:

Lots of people said they didn’t like El Nido. Lots of people said they loved El Nido. As such, I wasn’t really sure how I would feel. After being in Coron (& decisively not liking it), I was nervous. However, I really enjoyed being here. I could’ve stayed longer. I loved just walking the streets in this small town and getting a massage, working on my computer from one of the many cute coffee shops, and then getting a breakfast meal (no matter the time of day) from one of the many cute restaurants. All of this set right on a beautiful beach with towering limestone mountains surrounding it. Yes it can be touristy, but hey I’m a tourist!

CITY: Bohol

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

Three weeks before getting to the Philippines, my friend Nicole texted me asking if she could spontaneously come meet me wherever I was going to be!! She had two weeks between leaving & starting a new job. I was so excited to have her join me for 10 days!!!

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at the Bohol Hammock Hostel & while we didn’t stay in hammocks as the name suggests, it wasn’t too far off that. It’s located in the middle of the island (not near the port) so it’s a bit of a trek to get to it, but once you are there, you are right in the middle of all the stuff there is to do in Bohol. The pictures of the hostels didn’t make me think it was going to be amazing, but the reviews left no question in my mind that we should stay here. I was still slightly nervous that my friend Nicole might not be down for a more rugged backpacking experience, but she was so into it. We absolutely loved it here! We slept outside (with mosquito nets) on little mattresses (more like mattress pads haha), but the vibe was so lovely. The meals were communal & it was so easy to chat with folks. Lots of areas to read a book or chat in a comfy swinging bed. I would not hesitate to stay here again, but before you book, def look at the listing to make sure it’s your speed lol.

WHERE TO EAT:

We ate breakfast & dinner at the hostel since it’s located a fairly remote area & it’s the perfect opportunity to make friends with everyone. Given this I don’t have many food recommendations, however, definitely go to Hapi – ta for lunch before or after your visit to the Chocolate Hills! I had my very first Pork Sisig and it became my very favorite meal of the Philippines! It’s like small pieces of pork belly grilled up in a hot plate with onions & eggs. I mean I don’t think a meal has ever sounds more perfect for me 🙂 YUM!

WHAT TO DO:

Rent a scooter & explore!!! Nicole & I hopped on our rented scooters and headed to Panga waterfall. We loved cooling off in the spray & jumping off the rocks. A great swimming hole!

Next we went to the main viewing area of the Chocolate Hills. Gorgeous!!

We also went to the Bohol Tarsier Conservation Area. This little primate only grows to between 3.35 to 6.30 inches tall. They are TINY!! But oh so cute 🙂 Some fun facts (& not so fun facts):

They are very shy & nocturnal.
Tarsiers have the largest eyes relative to body size of any mammal.
Tarsiers are the only entirely carnivorous primate. They don’t eat plant matter of any kind.
They are endangered due to rapidly shrinking habitats and fragmentation. Oil palm, coconut, and coffee plantations have replaced the dense vegetation that tarsiers need to maintain their numbers successfully.
They do not do well in captivity. If they get too stressed, they will commit suicide.
You can read more about them here.

We also did the hike offered by the hostel at sunrise to see the Chocolate Hills. While it was cool, I thought it was a much cooler seeing the hills more up close.

Overall Thoughts:

We really liked Bohol. Easy to scooter around. Fun waterfalls. And the Chocolate Hills were so interesting to take in. I’d love to come back & go scuba diving here. Definitely worth a visit I would say.

CITY: Siquijor

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at Bougainvillea Guesthouse, which is owned by the owners of the dive shop and is conveniently located on top of the dive shop. Made the early more dives pretty easy 🙂

It was lovely, but basic. Nice, comfy bed. AC worked great. Had everything we needed but wasn’t anything luxurious.

WHERE TO EAT:

Marco Polo– Decent pizza right on the beach.

Luca loco – cute little spot with good smoothie bowls & other great lunch options

Aroy Makmak – I was missing good Thai food & this hit the spot. As always, it was right on the beach.

Bajabar – nicer spot for dinner. We had fun drinks & good food.

Shaka Cafe – My favorite spot in all of Siquijor. If it were up to me I would’ve gone everyday but Nicole forced me to try new things haha. The smoothie bowls were SO good and the vibe was so perfect for the Philippines. Lots of cute, comfy seating and with beach views.

WHAT TO DO:

Scuba diving is one of the main attractions. Nicole got her open water certification while I got my advanced certification! The folks at Mystic Diving even accommodated us being able to the course together even though we were doing different ones. It was awesome to be able to dive together!

Our favorite thing to do was get on our rented scooters to just drive around. On our last day we literally drove the circumference of the entire island. It was awesome!

There are tons of beautiful waterfalls to go swimming in. We loved Zodiac Falls– there’s a big rope swing if you want to jump in. You can also go to the Old Enchanted Balete Tree. Put your feet in & you’ll be in for a ticklish surprise.

Also, every evening it’s very important to park yourself at one of the many beachfront restaurants + bars for sunset with a drink in your hand. Beer for Nicole. A mango smoothie for me 🙂

Overall Thoughts:

Holy moly did we LOVE Siquijor. We wish we could’ve stayed longer. In fact, originally we were only supposed to stay here 3 nights but we extended our stay (& opted to cut a night from Moalboal). Do not miss out on coming here. Somehow this tiny island just worms its way into your heart and you never want to leave. The untouched beaches. The clear waters. The nicely built roads perfect for zooming around on your scooter with the wind in your hair. The scuba diving available right off the shore. The colorful sunsets. Need I say more?!

CITY: Moalboal

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

Nicole & I stayed at Maayong Hostel. It’s a fairly new hostel (they were still building rooms while we were there). They only have one dorm room with 12 beds and the rest of the place is private rooms (which looked very beautiful). While the facilities were very nice (beds were comfy, AC worked great, room was very clean, etc), because there was only one room, it wasn’t super social. Given I was with Nicole, this wasn’t an issue, but if I was solo, it would’ve been tough. The common space was filled with comfy seating & hammocks + the cafe served yummy smoothie bowls & sandwiches. Moalboal is very small so this place is in walking distance of the beach & all the restaurants, but it’s far enough out that it’s very quiet and easy to get a good nights sleep. If you are traveling with someone, I would definitely recommend this place!

WHERE TO EAT:

There are tons of cute Instagrammable restaurants here. It’s clear that Moalboal is trying to attract Western backpackers haha. Honestly just walk around (as I’ve said Moalboal is small) & you’ll find great restaurants to eat at.

My highlight was Shaka Cafe – I mean it was my favorite place in Siquijor so I was delighted to find it in Malapascua too 🙂

WHAT TO DO:

There are lots of activities to choose from in Moalboal:

Snorkel with the sardine run – it’s spectacular.
Scuba dive off the coast & with the sardine run – Truly a must-see.
Go canyoneering – Nicole & I loved this adventure. You get to zipline, cliff jump, slide & walk your way down the canyon. It’s nice to just moving your body in such fun ways through a gorgeous tree filled canyon under the beautiful blue sky. This is a highlight for everyone that comes to Moalboal.
We didn’t do this (as we had questions about the ethics around it), but you can do a day trip from here to go snorkeling with Whale Sharks.

All of these activities can be booked through your accommodation or through any of the agencies in town (except the snorkeling you can just rent/buy a snorkel from the guys at the beach). It’s very easy and literally any person is going to be HAPPY to help you 🙂

Overall Thoughts:

Moalboal can obviously be a bit touristy, but we loved it. Lots to do, cute restaurants, gorgeous sunsets- I mean it’s hard to complain. Nicole & I had such an awesome time together & this is sadly where we said goodbye. I am so thrilled she used her two weeks off between jobs to hop on a flight to see me & adventure around together. I can’t wait to meet up in another international location soon!

CITY: Malapascua

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at the Malapascua Budget Inn. It’s fairly basic, but it does the job! The bed was comfy and there were lockers to store your stuff. The island is very, very tiny, so basically anywhere on the island is centrally located, but this did feel very central. Wifi worked decently for being on a remote island. Bathrooms were pretty clean and staff seemed to be cleaning the dorm rooms & bathrooms all the time. Helpful when everyone is dragging sand everywhere.

WHERE TO EAT:

For being such a tiny island there were a decent amount of cute restaurants!

DevoZen Cafe – very cute, small cafe with a nice area to sit outside in the shade and do work. I had a zoom call from here & it worked great!

VillaPotenciana – Veggie restaurant right on the beach. This was my FAVORITE restaurant. I ate here two of the nights I was here. I had my new favorite Filipino dish, pork sisig, but a vegetarian version with mushrooms. SO YUMMY!

Wangshin little cuisine – cute open market with lots of stands/ options for food here. This is just one of them. The people working here were so lovely and we had fun trying some local desserts.

Bebotts – I had breakfast here one day. Decent, but nothing to write home about. Nice to have some eggs though!

The Sunset Shack – I was craving a smoothie bowl and this place delivered! They were happy to make any modifications or additions I requested so I had a dreamy, delicious smoothie bowl.

WHAT TO DO:

The main thing to do here is scuba dive with the Thresher sharks!! Just off the island of Malapascua is a Thresher shark cleaning station, called Monad Shoal. This is where tiny fish remove parasites from the sharks’ skin + clean their gills & mouths.

Truly any foreigner you see walking around the island (there are no cars) will be a scuba diver. There really wouldn’t be any other reason to come so out of your way to this tiny island off Cebu.

As such, there are tons of dive shops, so I was a little overwhelmed with how I was going to pick one. Luckily, a guy I met at the hostel recommended the Atlas Divers. He had walked around and determined they were the cheapest + they included lunch during the trip. Sometimes I hesitate to go with the cheapest outfit because scuba diving is not something you want to cut corners on, but he had already dove with them once & said everything felt very professional. This made my decision easy.

It was a very early morning (5:30am wakeup call) since the Thresher sharks are more likely to be seen in the morning. We had three dives and it was SPECTACULAR. I loved it. We saw lots of Thresher sharks and we also got incredibly lucky with a Tiger shark spotting. It’s pretty rare to see, but I was glad to find out AFTER we got out, that they can be dangerous to humans haha. Anyway, seeing the Thresher sharks was so cool! Some fun facts about these beautiful creatures:

They grow to be about 10 ft (3 m) long
They use their elegant, long tails to hunt, whipping it with such ferocity that it stuns prey such as squid, sardines, & juvenile tuna
They always give birth to two pups, one male & one female
They are not dangerous to humans and are pretty darn cute!

Other than diving, I filled my time with planning my Japan trip, catching up on writing this blog (I am perpetually behind!!!!), I had a fun finance call with a friend (shoutout John), and I squeezed in some of my final cheap massages. One at DevoZen Spa & one at a more run of the mill spot (and cheaper) around the corner that just had a sign along the oceanfront path.

First views of the island from the ferry

Overall Thoughts:

If you are a diver, don’t even think about missing this stop. It was awesome! If you aren’t a diver, there’s no reason to head to Malapascua. Given the narrow focus of the island, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect in terms of being able to fill my time outside of diving or what the level of accommodation/restaurants would be, but I found the island quite charming!

CITY: Manila

HOW LONG: 1 NIGHT

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at NomadsMNL Hostel, which is a hostel RIGHT next to the airport. It’s designed for people who are only flying in/out of Manila and need a close place to crash for the night. No bells & whistles but it did the job for me! Beds were capsule style & there were lockers in the room. Wifi didn’t work all that well for me but that’s not the end of the world.

WHERE TO EAT:

I just grabbed a boba tea for dinner and then went to bed.

WHAT TO DO:

Honestly I got in & out as fast as I could! I did manage to sneak one last foot massage before I left Southeast Asia & it’s wonderfully cheap massages!

Overall Thoughts:

I didn’t see much of Manila, but I don’t think I would love it here from what I have heard. No regrets on only spending one night here.

BUDGET FOR 23 DAYS IN The Philippines:

Accommodation: $300 ($13 per night)

Food: $300

Groceries: $0

Activities: $1285

Miscellaneous:

Local Transportation: $556 (this includes 2 internal flights, lots of ferries + lots of long taxi rides)

Total: $2543 (Daily average: $110)

Transportation to next destination: $287 (flight to the Japan)

Cambodia

May 16, 2024Leave a comment

CITY: Siem Reap

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Lub D Hostel and there was good & bad.

First the good: the facilities are fabulous. The rooms look new with very modern bed set ups. No bunk beds, but rather built in beds so no creaking as your upper bunk bed gets in at 2am. Curtains, personal plug, & light are all there. Storage lockers are available in the room. Rooms is blasting AC all day (sometimes hostels turn them off during the day). Bathrooms are VERY nice and clean (just outside in the hall). Never had any issues with waiting for a shower or toilet.

The bad: well this is quite a party hostel (but no issues with sound in the room thank god), but it’s quite large so I found it hard to meet people. I tend to prefer smaller, cozier hostels where everyone kinda hangs out together (like my favorite hostels in Chiang Rai or Hot An). There weren’t many avenues of organically meeting people unless you wanted to approach people who had their headphones in while on a chaise lounge at the pool.

WHERE TO EAT:

Lots of western food restaurants & cafes in town. Pub Street is filled with bars, burger places & clubs.

I ate at an Italian restaurant, a Greek restaurant, and Cambodian restaurant, but nothing notable.

I had a smoothie bowl which was was sooooo yummy from Brownie Temple Bakery & Smoothie Bar. Very cute, small spot. Next door was Sister Trey Cafe, which also is a great breakfast spot. I had a bacon & cream cheese stuffed French Toast!

Footprint Cafe was my go to for an afternoon drink & they have a fabulous co-working space upstairs (where I spent time catching up on this blog!).

I also had my first gelato in months (European Meg could never). Gelato Lab served up some delicious gelato- I had one scoop of chocolate & one scoop of stracciatella with a cone on top. The gelato would melt wayyyyy too fast if I just had it in a cone.

WHAT TO DO:

In a surprise to no one, the main thing to do here is explore Angkor Wat. So I’ll be honest and say, I am not a big temple person, so I spent one day here and felt like I got enough of an experience there. I know I might get roasted for that, but hey travel is personal. I’ve met people who spent 3 full days here and said it wasn’t enough for them. I think it just depends on what your vibe is!

Given I didn’t really meet people at my hostel, when a guy posted in the hostel world app asking if anyone wanted to join him on his rented motorbike for the day to explore Angkor Wat, I quickly responded “me please!” He picked me up from the hostel and we raced around to see 6 temples, including the main Angkor Wat Temple and my favorite temple, Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm is famous for all the trees that are growing through, around, and over the temple. Oh, also Tomb Raider was filmed here. I just was mesmerized by the reminder that nature is so much bigger than humans and ultimately nature will erase an impact humans have on the planet- very cool.

Beyond my time in Angkor Wat, I enjoyed some down time at cafes, catching up on planning & blogging, as well as getting a two massages! One evening I just decided to walk into a run of the mill spa and for $4 USD, I had a 60 min foot massage (my favorite thing is just to watch an episode of TV on my iPad during a foot massage – true bliss for me), but on my last full day in Siem Reap I decided to treat myself to a spa day. A guy at my hostel recommended Devatara Spa and I booked myself a 90 min Four Hands Touch massage (two masseuses massage you at the same time!) as well as a 60 min Aromatic Herbal Salt Scrub. Need less to say, I felt very zen after my 2.5 hours at Devatara.

One of the couples from my Ha Giang Loop trip were in Siem Reap at the same time as me so I grabbed dinner with them, which was fabulous. I absolutely love the overlaps that begin to happen as you backpack through a region.

My last morning before I flew out to the Philippines, I headed to the Apopo Visitor Center. From their site: “Cambodia is one of the most land-mine affected countries in the world, but for the last 25 years APOPO has worked to clear landmines here and across the world. We train African giant pouched rats (they are much cuter than they sound and super smart, too!) to sniff out the TNT in explosives in the ground. Our work keeps people safe by reclaiming land from the dangers of landmines, and returning it to farmers and local communities, allowing them to thrive once again.” It was very cool to see the rats in actions and they were in fact very cute! It takes about an hour and is a great experience once you are templed-out in Siem Reap.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I will be brutally honest: I really wasn’t sure if I would like Cambodia. As such, when my plan started to move around, I tended to want to protect my time in Vietnam & the Philippines over Cambodia, which meant I ended up shortening my time here to 4 nights/ 3 full days to explore. I think I was worried how the poverty disparity would feel. I was worried about the heat. I was worried that given I am not obsessed with Temples, I wouldn’t know how to spend my time here. I was worried about leaving the main cities because of the prevalence of Malaria. I was worried about safety. I wasn’t 100% sure how the sentiment towards Americans would be.

That being said, overall I would say I was really pleasantly surprised by my time here. Most of my fears were unfounded. I felt no safety issues (often walked home by myself around 10pm with no concerns). No issues with being an American (it was actually quite strange because they use USD so I felt slightly at home). The people were lovely & hospitable. To be fair, the heat was brutal & I personally didn’t find that I needed more than one day in Angkor Wat, but overall I really enjoyed my time here. Now, I did meet people who were spending the entirety of the 30 day limit on the visa here, and I’m not sure I would need a full month, but I would’ve been happy to spend a bit longer here.

BUDGET FOR 4 DAYS IN Cambodia:

Visa- $36

Accommodation: $40 ($10 per night)

Food: $53

Groceries: $0

Activities: $138 (Spa Day + Angkor Wat entrance ticket)

Local Transportation: $27

Total: $294 (Daily average: $73.5)

Transportation to next destination: $349 (flight to the Philippines)

Vietnam

May 11, 2024June 26, 2024Leave a comment

Pro Tips:

Get your visa ahead of time!! Americans must have a visa before they arrive (i.e. visa on arrival is not an option). They say it takes 3-4 business days to process, but it can take up to 2 weeks, and even longer during holiday times.
No need to book ahead in Vietnam. It’s best to go with the flow and book as you go. This is for accommodation and transportation between destinations.
Your accommodation or any (of the MANY) travel agencies can help you book any transportation or activity needs.
I always doubled the expected travel time. If someone told me the bus would take 2 hours, I planned water + food + entertainment for it to take 4 hours+. It’s very easy to get around, but it’s never on time haha.
Don’t drink the water; just use bottled water.

CITY: Hanoi

HOW LONG: 5 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

My friend Jake met me in Vietnam for the first 10 days of my time here. Given it was Têt (Lunar New Year) & we weren’t sure what would be open, we wanted a place with a kitchen. We rented a fabulous airbnb with a pool + gym in the building. It has a nice living space and great views of Hồ Tây Lake. It was very nice to have a big queen bed all to myself and a fancy private bathroom. Living the high life after all these days in hostels 🤣 The only downside was that it was a bit far (30 min walk) from the old town, where we spent a decent amount of our time).

View of from our Airbnb on Tet for the firework celebration

WHERE TO EAT:

Turns out, even though it was Têt, most restaurants were open in Hanoi (in smaller towns this would not be the case). We loved exploring the streets and eating often. Sometimes big meals, sometimes many small meals throughout the day. My favorite thing was sitting on the tiny, low plastic chairs and getting served a big bowl of pho. Usually there was no menu, you just got served the one thing the restaurant served. Yummy!

I also loved the egg Bahn Mi from T Bread Bahn Mi.

Overall we mostly ate at street food stands/stalls so no names to report but the food here was excellent all around!

WHAT TO DO:

Honestly, we didn’t do a ton here because while restaurants were open, a lot of other stuff was shut down.

We spent a ton of time just meandering around the old town, which was a bit quieter than usual due to the holiday. It made it quite pleasant to walk around without the throngs of people and the honks of millions of motorbikes. Don’t worry, there still was plenty of honking, but it was just in the thousands.

Our absolute favorite thing to do was get a drink and sit at a restaurant at the intersection of the Hanoi Beer Street. The people watching was fabulous! Also the streets are so narrow so it was fascinating to watch the cars & motorbikes try to squeeze through the throngs of tourists walking around.

We attempted to do a hop on/ hop off tour but it was a disaster with them changing the time and route on us and then wouldn’t let us hop off… pretty bad.

We managed to watch the superbowl while here, which was fun until the 49ers lost 😫

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I normally don’t like the big cities of Southeast Asia, but Hanoi might be the exception. I think it helped that it was Tet because it was much calmed & quieter than a normal week in Hanoi. Old Town is charming & so fun to walk around! Would definitely come back here.

CITY: Ha Long Bay & Cat Ba Island

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

Ha Long Bay, world famous for the thousands of towering limestone islands topped by rainforests amidst (supposedly) clear waters. Tourists flock to take a cruise through it as either a day trip or a 1, 2, or 3 night cruise. I had heard others speak highly of Cat Ba Island so when we talked to a travel agent (randomly found one as we walked around Old Town in Hanoi), we requested a tour that wasn’t the 5 star (read expensive) but also wasn’t the cheapest option, and that included a day/night in Lan Ha Bay & Cat Ba Island. I am SO glad we did because I honestly liked Lan Ha Bay better than Ha Long Bay. It was less dirty & overall way less tourists. It’s basically the same landscape but with less people/boats.

We went with a boat called Fantasea and overall it was just fine. I wouldn’t really recommend them. It wasn’t necessarily bad, but I definitely there are better options out there.

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed one night on the boat & one night in a hotel on Cat Ba Island. Neither were anything to write home about but wasn’t horrible either.

WHERE TO EAT:

You eat on the boat haha not too many choices while on the expedition!

Our one meal on Cat Ba Island was at Casa Bonita. Very good food & cute vibes.

WHAT TO DO:

As part of the 3 day / 2 night excursion, you do a few activities:

Explore Hang Sung Sot cave
Hike to the top of Ti Top island for amazing views of Ha Long Bay
Learn about the Pearl farms
Kayak around the bay
We also explore Cat Ba National Park on our last day

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Ha Long Bay has long been on my bucket list (excuse the pun haha), but if you want my honest opinion, I wasn’t wowed by it. I’m not sure if we got unlucky with the weather, but the air/sky was so polluted that it just completely dulled the views for me. The cave & Ti Top hike were incredibly crowded (almost claustrophobically so) & the kayaking location was not picked because it’s a particularly good spot for it. Rather it was picked because they try to get you to buy a bunch of pearls at the pearl farm before & after you go kayaking. We did enjoy playing cards on the deck at sunset and watch all the boats slowly turn into glittering lights across the bay. Quite beautiful!

CITY: Ninh Binh

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at Havana Homestay Tam Coc. It had just opened up so it was incredibly nice and clean! We were literally the first guests to stay in the room we were in. Pretty cool! It’s a great location, fabulous facilities and the family who runs it are incredibly nice. Would definitely recommend this place!

WHERE TO EAT:

Honestly we didn’t eat anything notable here. There are lots of western restaurants catering to the tourists here, but there are some stalls that serve cheaper, quicker food. I had dessert one night from them.

WHAT TO DO:

My favorite thing we did was the Trang An Scenic Landscape boat ride. There are a few routes you can pick, but we chose to do the one with the longest cave and less of the temples (you can decide from the pamphlet they give you when you buy your tickets). Be prepared to spend some time for this as it can take between 1.5 – 3 hours, depending on how long you take while off the boat at the various attractions and just how many other boats are going. We got luckily with the weather and it was glorious!

The other main attraction we hit was hiking up to the Hang Múa viewpoint. This can get very crowded so I’d recommend starting earlier in the morning for this spot.

Jake & I decided this would also be a great place for our first time renting motorbikes on our own! It was so, so much fun. It made me regret not doing it more in Southeast Asia, but at the same time, I am glad I’ve been on the more cautious side of picking when & where to do it. Ninh Binh is relatively calm traffic-wise and the roads were good so it was great to try doing it for the first time here.

Other ideas (that we didn’t do ourselves):

Take a bicycle and enjoy lunch at Trang An Lotus lake Homestay
Hike through Cúc Phương National Park

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I could’ve spent another day here. I loved that the main thing to do was explore the beautiful landscape and I would’ve enjoyed another day riding around on the motorbikes! Dare I say I think I liked it better here than Ha Long Bay?! This is also where I said goodbye to Jake, who was now off to Thailand to meet up with his sister.

CITY: Ha Giang Loop

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

After a lot of research (and talking to other travelers) I chose to do my Ha Giang Loop with Road Kings. I quickly learned that I wanted (& needed) to avoid the bigger, more well known tours that tend to draw the younger, party crowd (hello Jasmine and Mama’s), since I didn’t want to worry about drunken riding partners and I wanted to be able to get a good night sleep. Road Kings is a newer company and is run by a couple (an American man & Vietnamese woman). This made it very easy to communicate with them as they helped me coordinate my transpiration to/from Ha Giang (the starting & ending point of the loop). They are all about customer service and were quick to answer all the questions that I had! They also cap their groups to 8 people, which means you are able to nimbly move through the loop (it can get crowded), and you also get to know everyone really well! This is great because people are often traveling the same direction as you after and you can meet up again in the next few spots (I ended up doing this with two of the couples in my group). Overall I would HIGHLY recommend Road Kings.

Additionally, people tend to choose between the 3 day & 4 day Loop, and I am SO glad I chose the 4 day. You essentially cover the same amount of miles, but with the 4 day, you can go much slower and stop for my viewpoints and waterfalls.

Lastly, even if you are an experienced motorcyclist, I would I highly recommend going as an Easy Rider. This means you sit on the back of the bike, while a local Vietnamese man rides it. The roads, especially on the second day, are pretty gnarly, and it’s so nice to have an expert handling it so you can just focus on the views and I even listened to music as we cruised through the beautiful landscapes. It meant I was stress-free the whole time!

Pro tip: Wear closed-toe shoes & (depending on the season/weather)a jacket for sun/wind/cold protection.

Make sure you have a smaller backpack or rucksack you can take since you leave your bigger backpack/suitcase at the hostel. You pack just what you need for the 4 days (which is not much: 2-3 days of clothes (I just re-wore stuff) & toiletries) in your small daypack and then you cinch that down at the back of the back for the entirety of the loop.

ACCOMMODATION:

Since I booked a slightly nicer, smaller tour, I was treated to a private room for each of the 3 nights while on the Loop. The ninth before you leave, everyone just stays at the hostel you book the tour through and I was in a dorm room (but it was included in the package so that was nice!). While none of the accommodation could be considered luxurious, the places we stayed were great. After a long day on the motorcycle, a clean room, comfy bed, & hot shower were all you needed! My favorite place was the last night, where we were in a traditional Vietnamese homestay and the rooms were so cool!

WHERE TO EAT:

Honestly I was so impressed by the food provided by the tour. You definitely won’t go hungry!!! The french fries & omelette were always my favorite haha.

WHAT TO DO:

Enjoy the ride! You can read the full itinerary here in detail, but we swam in 3 waterfalls, saw amazing view points, & had lots of coffee (and iced cocoas for me) breaks. We went to the Vietnamese border with China and learned about how it’s changed over the years. We took a bamboo boat ride. We went to a traditional Lo Lo village. And so much more. Honestly, just go for yourself. It was INCREDIBLE!

My group was a British Couple, an Australian couple, and a British/Australian couple. All were lovely!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

All I can say is that this is one of my top three experiences of my trip so far!! The other two are hiking the Milford Track in New Zealand with my family and going up in the hot air balloon in Cappadocia, Turkey. Truly don’t miss out on doing this awe-inspiring journey through Northern Vietnam. I will say we got incredibly lucky with the weather where we got no rain and all sunshine (which I don’t think is typical) so take a look at when weather would be best before you book your trip!

CITY: Hoi An

HOW LONG: 7 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at SacLo Villa Homestay. It was one of my favorite hostels I have stayed at! The main reason is the host/owner, Lyna, is amazing and will go above and beyond to take care of anything you need. The rooms are comfy (I stayed in 3 different types of rooms because I kept extending). After flying from Hanoi to Da Nang, I originally had planned to stay in Hoi An for 3 nights before going to Hue & Da Nang with my remaining 4 days, but I literally couldn’t imagine leaving Hoi An. I ended up staying the entire 7 nights at SacLo in Hoi An. The morning breakfast is one of the best hostel breakfasts I’ve had ever and you can order from 4-5 options! Pro tip: the pancakes are their speciality and aren’t to be missed. Lyna also often organizes hostel dinners around Hoi An at yummy restaurants. Between breakfast and these evening activities, it’s super easy to meet people!! I made some good friends at this hostel.

Unfortunately I did get pretty sick while I was in Hoi An. Luckily Lyna kindly allowed me to upgrade my room to a private room so I could recuperate better (and not get anyone else sick). She also helped me get to a pharmacy for medicine.

The only downside to the hostel is that it’s about a 20 min walk to the center of town, but it’s a pleasant walk (when it’s not too hot), or you rent a bike from the hostel, or it’s a very cheap, quick Grab ride on a motorbike (~$1-2).

Regardless I highly recommend staying here!

WHERE TO EAT:

I was here a week so I went to lots of fun cafes & restaurants. I was very impressed by the food scene in Hoi An!

Lim dining room – This was SUCH a delicious meal! I sat on the front patio and people watched over a delicious pizza. 10/10

Morning Glory Signature – This is well-known restaurant in Hoi An, which meant I thought it might be touristy/overpriced. Lyna had organized a hostel dinner here so we had 20 people rolling deep. Service was excellent and food was delicious! I’d call the cuisine elevated Vietnamese food. It’s not cheap, but was still reasonable for those not from Vietnam.

Avocado cafe – I had delicious pancakes for lunch here as well as dinner with the Australian couple from my Ha Giang Loop group.

Buttercup by Rosie’s cafe – Great spot for a smoothie bowl

Lyn’s cafe – cute cafe for a coffee

Lagom – Lovely cafe around the corner from SacLo. Yummy western breakfast options.

Nourish – Yummy vegetarian cafe. I ordered a smoothie bowl

The Hill Station deli and cafe– Cute spot to work or read. Quiet & I loved how it was decorated.

Port City Bagels – Honestly one of the best bagels I’ve had in a while! I went a few times haha.

Bahn Mi Phuong– This spot is known as Anthony Bourdain’s favorite place to get a Bahn Mi! It did not disappoint, but be prepared for long lines.

WHAT TO DO:

Hoi An is most famous for being THE place to get clothes made! Known as the “Textile capital of Vietnam,” there are so many tailors in Hoi An where you can have clothes custom made. Here are my best pro tips:

Go to the tailors on your first day (or the first chance you get). They are miraculously fast, but sometimes you need to have a fitting or two before everything comes out perfectly. Because I had 7 whole days, I actually did about 5 fittings since I figured I might as well get it all 100% right before I left (my pieces were also mostly rompers & jumpsuits so needed some tweaking to have it fall right). At minimum you want 2-3 days in Hoi An to have clothes made
Have an idea of what you want made before you walk in. I actually had a jumpsuit and a romper with me that I brought in and had them make exact replicas (with a few tweaks, like changing the sleeve on my jumpsuit from a spaghetti strap to a cap sleeve). I also brought in photos from a romper & dress I found on Pinterest. Within 24 hours I had versions to try on! Pretty wild.
Pick your tailor thoughtfully. Some places are cheaper, but the quality will suffer. Some places are very well known, but therefore are very expensive. I’d recommend not going to the cheapest place, but find a reasonable prices that you don’t have to sacrifice quality. After all you want these clothes to last! I went to Bao Diep Tailor and would definitely recommend them (Lyna from SacLo pointed me in their direction).
It can be overwhelming once you walk in the door so have an idea of what fabrics or patterns you might want. Alternatively just plan to spend an hour or two at the tailor going through the thousands of different fabric samples in order to choose the one you want!
Guys often get suits here since it’s so cheap!
Don’t be afraid to voice any concerns or changes you want made during your fittings. They are amazing at making the changes (either on the spot or in a few hours). Don’t leave unsatisfied if it’s something you could just have them alter for you!
Don’t be afraid to negotiate, especially if you are buying lots of items.
Honestly if you love a piece, I’d recommend you ask them to make a second version in another color/pattern. I regret not getting more jumpsuits made (even though I had two made haha).

I happened to be there during the lantern festival (happens every full moon I think). It was magical! All the boats on the river would take people on a 30 min ride and you could light your own lantern. Beautiful. After we went out to one of the many clubs to go dancing, which was fun.

I also went scuba diving, and I honestly wouldn’t recommend it. The visibility was pretty bad, but even if it had been clear, the area is heavily over fished since they don’t have the same regulations/protections that Thailand, Bali & The Philippines have put in place. Not much to see.

I had plenty of massages and even treated myself to a hair treatment!

I got pretty sick so I didn’t do much else besides hang at cafes & get clothes made (when I even had the energy to do this). I did manage to go to the dentist while here. Since I was actually in one place long enough to make an appt somewhere (and given I don’t have dental insurance in the US right now), I thought it would be smart to go for a check up. The check up, cleaning, & X-rays were only $20 total. Pretty wild.

Other popular things to do:

Go to the beach
Rent bikes & cruise around.
Day trip to Golden Hand Bridge & Ba Na hills (I was torn on whether to go because there are mixed reviews on whether it’s worth it. Some say it’s super cool, but others say it’s very Disneyland-esque and doesn’t feel authentic. Getting sick made the decision to skip it pretty easy)
Cooking class + coconut boat ride
Day trip to Marble Mountain
Day trip to My Son Sanctuary

Overall your accommodation can give you the run down on all your options and can help you get it booked!

I found this blog post to be very helpful!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I LOVED HOI AN SO MUCH. I already can’t wait to go back. I really want to go with my sister and just have us bring a huge empty suitcase with us and then spend a week just getting custom clothes made hahah. I think it would be so much fun! Beyond that, Hoi An is just so darn charming and lovely. I loved walking around getting yummy iced cocoas, I loved how colorfully lit up the town is at night, I love how safe it felt. It’s so manageable and pleasant. As you can tell, I just love it, and would highly recommend spending at least 3 days here, but honestly I’d say stay longer, especially if you are backpacking and need a bit of break (like I did). Hoi An is the perfect spot for this!

BUDGET FOR 21 DAYS IN Vietnam:

I’ll caveat this section by saying my friend Jake paid for a lot of our food & accommodation while we were together, but I paid for our Ha Long Bay excursion, which makes the numbers look slightly weirdly weighted.

Accommodation: $252 ($12 per night) – Again Jake paid for some of this so it looks cheaper than it was. For what it’s worth though, hostels tended to be about $10 USD per night for a bed.

Food: $157

Groceries: $21

Activities: $884 – Vietnam known for some epic adventures. My (& Jake’s) Ha Long Bay cruise & my Ha Giang Loop costs are captured in this bucket (which means the food & accommodation are also bucketed here)

Local Transportation: $140 (Lots of busses and one domestic flight)

Clothing: $440 (This an abnormal cost for me but do not miss getting clothes made in Hoi An!!!)

Health: $85 (Dentist visit + medicine from getting very sick in Hoi An)

Visa: $25

Total: $1980 (Daily average: $94)

You can definitely do Vietnam wayyyy cheaper than this, but I didn’t skimp on the companies I did the adventures with, I got 7 new outfits in Hoi An, & I find that traveling with a friend always drives up costs for me since not everyone wants the #backpackerlifestyle haha

Transportation to next destination: $106 (flight to Laos)

Laos

March 24, 2024May 25, 20241 Comment

Laos is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the region with 50 officially recognized groups and over 80 languages spoken. I didn’t know much about this country, other than it was the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, and that I was excited to spend time in the mountains. Despite some ups & downs (mostly due to disappointing hostels), I ended up really enjoying my time in Laos. Definitely worth a stop for any backpacker.

CITY: Vientiane

HOW LONG: 1 NIGHT

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Nana’s Backpackers and it was one of my least favorite hostels I have ever stayed at. It just felt so dirty, like I worried about getting bed bugs immediately. Also it was oddly not social for how many people were there. Very dead vibe. I hated every minute of being here honestly haha. Couldn’t get out of here fast enough. Originally I was going to spend 2 nights in Vientiane because I thought the capital would warrant some time, but nope, there’s not much to do here so I quickly left the next morning.

WHERE TO EAT:

Nothing notable other than the night market here had some yummy looking options, but I had already eaten by the time I found it 😦

WHAT TO DO:

I went for a walk along the pretty dried up river (maybe it was low-tide?). Nothing of note. I then treated myself to an hour foot massage for $4 since I needed to pass the time and didn’t want to spend literally any time at the hostel.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Maybe I am being dramatic, but I just had a visceral reaction to Vientiane and just really, really didn’t like it. Luckily the next two stops made up for the rough start in Laos!

CITY: Vang Vieng

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Vang Vieng Chill Hostel & Vang Vieng Backpackers Hostel. Both overall sucked, but it didn’t seem like there was a great hostel in Vang Vieng if I am being honest, and it seems like the consensus was that Chill House was the best of the worst. I hadn’t booked any accommodation here since after my bad experience in Vientiane, I wanted to physically see the hostel before committing to booking a room. I met a girl, Jess from the UK, on my bus from Vientiane who was staying here so I just followed her here. There was only room for me for one night so I moved to the other hostel for my 2nd & 3rd night. Luckily I had already made friends with Jess so it didn’t really matter that it wasn’t super easy to meet people at either of the hostels.

At Backpackers, the rooms were cramped, dark, filled with random moisture (& mold). The bathroom was gross & never was clean (even though I literally saw women cleaning it each day so not sure how that works). I tried to avoid spending time here as much as possible. Wifi was decent though haha.

WHERE TO EAT:

Unfortunately I wouldn’t say any restaurant or food experience was particularly memorable in Vang Vieng, but here’s a list of what we tried!

Naked Espresso– cute cafe with mediocre food

Bon Appetit – I needed a break from Asian food so I had a yummy pizza bread from here. Probably my favorite meal from Vang Vieng.

Kiwi Kitchen – A kiwi man opened this cafe up on the other side of the river. Jess & I had rented a scooter for the day so we just rode here, but it’s not too far on foot either. Food was pretty good but nothing spectacular.

Happy mango– This place is a top rated spot in town, and besides Bon Appetit, this was my other fav spot. I had pad see ew and it was delicious!

WHAT TO DO:

Lots of fun, outdoorsy activities to do in Vang Vieng. This is where Van Vieng shines! Jess & I rented a scooter for the duration of our time here. Made it easy to run around and do everything we wanted!

There are over 5 blue lagoons that you can check out while here. We visited #1 & #4 and by far #4 was superior. It’s the furthest so it means way less people go! There’s also a zipline & rope swing you can enjoy. I don’t think #1 is worth going to. Very busy and nothing special. Water feels dirty since there are so many people in it with you.

I didn’t go hot air ballooning since I had just gone in Turkey, but apparently Laos is one of the cheapest place you can go hot air ballooning in the world. Jess went and raved about it! It seems like it would be an incredible landscape to see from above.

We enjoyed sunset in a field across the river, which was only more spectacular with all the sunset hot air balloons in the air 🙂

Nam Xay viewpoint is a short, but steep 30 min hike up to a gorgeous 360 view of the valley. There’s also randomly two motorbikes that you can take photos on. Definitely worth doing this, but go earlier in the day to beat the heat & crowds!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

While I liked a lot of the activities in Vang Vieng, the town itself felt very inauthentic. It basically felt like a town that sprung up only to cater to the backpackers/tourists. No local people were milling about or mixing in. It was only hotels/hostels, restaurants, & tour operators in town. It just felt a little contrived. But the scenery was stunning, so I’m glad I got to experience it.

CITY: Luang Prabang

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

Given the hostels were so gross in Vang Vieng, I had asked Sonja (who I had planned to meet up with here) if she wanted to share a private room somewhere instead of staying at a hostel. Once I met Jess in Vang Vieng, I also asked her if she wanted to join us. Unfortunately the hotel we booked kinda messed up our booking and then Jess ended up getting sick. Sonja & I ended up just walking around and finding a homestay to grab a room at (so Jess could recuperate on her own without worrying about getting us sick). It was much cheaper than anything we found online & we loved our little spot.

Don’t be afraid to just show up & walk around to find accommodation here. There were so many hotels + homestays in general, & plenty didn’t seem to have an online presence so we found many hotels with availability of varying price points. Ours ended up being around $50 per night.

WHERE TO EAT:

Saffron – my favorite cafe! I spent a few afternoons catching up on planning here! The ginger tea was delicious too!

Night Market – I loved the night market here! Great food options + decent amount of seating.

Two little birds cafe– small, family cafe with very yummy breakfast food!

WHAT TO DO:

The main thing to do is go to Kuang Si waterfalls and it is NOT to be missed! It might’ve been one of my top 5 waterfalls I have ever seen (and I’ve seen a lot of them at this point!). The roads weren’t great so instead of renting a scooter (which is an option), we just booked a tour (which basically just provided transportation). Sonja & I walked around the different levels of the waterfalls, grabbed a fresh coconut to help cool us off, and even went swimming in the falls! Absolutely a highlight of Laos.

We ate at the night market for dinner each night & loved strolling around the goods part of the market. I think this was my favorite for this aspect as many other markets seemed to just sell trinkets made in China. Like each stall had more or less the same thing. In Luang Prabang, it seemed like it had far more variety & craftsmanship. Lots of art & hand made goods. They even had lots of jewelry & other goods made from unexploded bombs (sad, but it was cool to see the creativity of repurposing the available resource).

Sonja & I honestly spent a lot of time catching up & playing cards in cute cafes as well as just meandering around the cute town. I also loved my morning runs!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

This was by far my favorite stop in Laos! I fell in love with the European vibe of Luang Prabang. It was slower, cleaner and felt far more “real.” There were locals AND tourists around town. The architecture was very charming. I loved the size of the town, as it wasn’t so big that you needed tuktuks to get around, but it wasn’t so small that you got bored in 2 days. I can’t tell you how nice it was to be able to run along the river in the mornings too! There was even a sidewalk for most of it – can you believe it?!

BUDGET FOR 7 DAYS IN Laos:

Accommodation: $144 ($20.5 per night) – This got very skewed because I paid for two private rooms for 3 nights in Luang Prabang – not ideal haha but luckily Laos is fairly cheap so it wasn’t too bad!

Food: $119

Groceries: $0

Activities: $35

Local Transportation: $45

Visa- $51

Total: $394 (Daily average: $56)

Transportation to next destination: $150 (flight to Vietnam)

Packing List: 3.5 months in NZ & Southeast Asia (2024)

February 11, 2024March 26, 2025Leave a comment

Once again, I am about to head out on the road! This time I am going to Fiji (1 week) & New Zealand (2.5 weeks) for a true vacation with my family, and then I will split off to travel to Southeast Asia solo for 3 months. The beauty of traveling to these locations from Jan to April is I can keep my clothes light & airy, and I don’t need tons of layers & jackets. In general, it’s much easier to pack for hot temperature locations!

Of course I am using my 35L Tortuga Setout backpack 🙂 They don’t sell the exact backpack I have anymore, but here is their latest & greatest! Can’t recommend their bags more. I have used a Tortuga backpack on each of my longterm trips!

Overall tips:

Use packing cubes!
Think through how the clothes will feel in heat. Linen & lightweight materials will be best.
Make sure that every top works with every bottom and works with every shoes. Use a capsule wardrobe as inspiration.
Less is more!

PACKING LIST FOR Southeast Asia:

Clothes

2 pairs of Lululemon Fast & Free Crop’s – I’m trying to make it easy to workout while on the road this time around.
1 pair of Lululemon Align pants – can be used for working out/walking around town or I can dress it up.
1 pair of jean shorts
1 pair of athletic shorts
1 dress
1 Romper
1 Jumpsuit (Madewell) – I’m obsessed with this jumpsuit. Hopefully it holds up well through the backpacker lifestyle.
5 Cute shirts
2 sports bras
2 athletic shirts (for running + sleeping in). One is from Vuori & one is from Lululemon
Booty shorts (to sleep in)
5 pairs of underwear
5 pairs of socks
1 black bralette
Running shoes
Waterproof sandals (will act as my water shoe as well as my cute shoes- I never said the backpacker lifestyle was glamorous haha)
Light Patagonia puffer – good for chilly planes/busses & for when I visit countries that are a little cooler, even in the summer. It also smushes down fairly small so it’s a great backpacker jacket. I’ve also used it as a pillow in a pinch.
1 Swimsuit (feel free to bring 2-3 if that’s your thing)
Sunglasses (Warby Parker)
Rain coat (Patagonia; you can pack it up into it’s pocket so I can easily attach it to the outside of my bag via a carabiner)
Tortuga Daypack (they don’t sell it anymore sadly). This acts as my personal item for flights and I can use it for adventures during the day.
Sling crossbody bag (I put it into my daypack on travel days). I use this out and about on a daily basis. Tortuga just released their version and I can’t wait to check it out!
Running band

Electronics

Computer + Charger
iPad
iPhone + Charger (I get a 6 ft cord so I can always reach the plug from my hostel dorm bed!)
AirPod Pro’s
Headphones (Bose; noise-cancelling for travel days)
Plug adapter (I use this one)
Portable charger (like this one)
AirTag (This is a no brainer these days; provides peace of mind incase I am forced to check my bag or when it’s below me in a bus. Always nice to confirm it’s still with me!)

Toiletries (I use a bunch of little toiletry bags to keep these all organized)

Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Flosser
Any medication you take
Retainer
Deodorant
Makeup
Makeup Remover (I’ve become obsessed with cleansing balm for this because it isn’t a liquid, & it’s highly effective at getting makeup off at the end of the day!
Razor
Conditioner + Shampoo (Get containers to put your products into & refill on the road!!)
Face wash
Brush
Pocket Hand Sanitizer– I keep one in my backpack and one in my sling/purse. Great in general, but also for when inevitably there is no soap at a random bus stop bathroom 🙂
Sunscreen (I love Sun Bum)
Chapstick (Don’t forget to get one with SPF)
Ibuprofen
Hair ties and bobby pins
Moleskin
Bandaids
Cough drops
Topical steroid cream for bed bug bites or regular bug bites to help with itchiness

Miscellaneous

Passport – no explanation necessary 🙂
ID
Travel Credit Card (no foreign transaction fee; I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve (hello lounge access!)+ Capital One Venture Card)
Debit Card (Charles Schwab has the best one because it reimburses ATM fees from any ATM in the world 🙂 )
Record of your plans (I make folders within my email inbox to keep track of everything or you could print out a copy of your itinerary)
Extra Passport photos
Thumb drive with all documentation if desired
Travel Towel (this one has a cool carrier that you can attach to the outside of your backpack with a carabiner)
Sarong/beach blanket- My roommate got this for me! Perfect for any countries where I need to cover up more as well as the beach or to dry off from a swim. It may be redundant with the travel towel but I brought both so time will tell 🙂
Water Bottle
Ear Plug
Eye Mask (you can either go the classic eye mask route or get one like this that almost acts like your eye mask + ear plug since you can play white noise through the built in bluetooth speaker- pretty cool!)
Inflatable Neck Pillow (I use a carabiner to hang this on the side of my backpack)
Lock (for staying in hostels or locking my bag.) Get the combo lock so you don’t have to worry about tiny keys. I take two to be able to lock two different compartments in my bag AND so I can keep my computer/passport/iPad compartment still locked when I use the other one to lock a locker within a hostel.
3 carabiners – I just attach them to my backpack and over the course of the trip they will hold everything from my water bottle, shoes, rain jacket and more. You will not regret having a few on hand.
Pack of playing cards
Portable neck fan (like this one from Amazon)

Here is everything spread out on a table!

Here is what is packed in each packing cube:

One sports bra, one bralette, underwear, socks, & booty shorts

One jumpsuit, one romper, one dress, one pair of jean shorts, one swimsuit, two pairs of leggings

All packed up and ready to go on another adventure!

Turkey

January 29, 2024May 17, 2024Leave a comment

CITY: Istanbul

HOW LONG: 6 NIGHTS

I went to Turkey with Jake, a friend from the US, who came to visit over Thanksgiving. Turkey Day in Turkey!!!

Logistical notes:

Make sure to apply for your visa ahead of time!
To get to the city center in Istanbul, you can take a bus from the airport called Havaist or the new metro line (M11). We ended up taking the bus.
Unless you plan on getting around exclusively by taxi, you will need to buy an Istanbulkart (a contactless, prepaid transportation card) to be able to use the metro and other public transportation services (tram, bus, Metrobus and ferry) in Istanbul. (Highly recommend taking a ferry at some point!). We got confused by the machines, but you need to find one that sells the actual card, not just a machine that tops up an existing card. I found that using google translate app was quite helpful in figuring this out.
Here’s a great guide of how to get to/from the airport.
It’s helpful to get cash out as many vendors/taxis only took cash (if you are American, make sure to get a Charles Schwab debit card to get any ATM fees reimbursed)

Jake is so happy to be on hour 29 of traveling!!

ACCOMMODATION:

We splurged on hotels in the other two spots in Turkey so we stayed in a private room at the Cheers hostel in Istanbul. We thought it would cool to have views (see two photos below) of the Hagia Sofia, which was indeed true until the Call to Prayer woke us up twice throughout the night every single night. Night ideal when Jake was trying to adjust to an 11 hour time zone change.

The hostel room was very old and basic, but it did the job. However, the room was quite warm & the AC was turned off for the winter. Normally wouldn’t be a problem to just use the windows to cool the room off at night, but we couldn’t leave the windows open because the city was so dang loud. Between the garbage getting collected at all hours of the night, construction starting at 6am (it felt like), and the Call to Prayer, we couldn’t get any sleep if the windows were open. The free breakfast was pretty great and there was a hostel bar, so overall seemed like a decent hostel.

WHERE TO EAT:

Incili Mozaik – We ate here our first night after a long day of travel (8 hrs for me, 30hrs + for Jake) so we ended up in the touristy area close to our hostel. We honestly expected subpar, yet expensive food as such, but we ended up loving the food. We might even say it was out favorite meal in Istanbul (although it could be just that we were so tired & hungry that anything tasted good haha). My Turkish meatballs were so moist & tasty. Jake loved the assortment of meats he got. Honestly, a great spot that is very close to the Hagia Sofia.

Yigit – Cute, local breakfast spot

Zapata Burger– Because we couldn’t find a restaurant that served a Thanksgiving meal, we decided to just go out for a classic American meal – Cheeseburger + fries 🙂 This burger was fabulous and the fries weren’t half bad. Although we would’ve rather had some turkey and mashed potatoes, this was a great alternative.

What to do:

There is so much to do in Istanbul – it’s a huge city! Here are a few highlights:

Hagia Sofia – you can’t not visit it (you also won’t miss it, as you can hear the call to prayer 5-6 times a day and it’s LOUD)
Blue Mosque – I actually this one was more beautiful
Balat – cool colorful neighborhood, cute cafes, bohemian/hippie vibes
Kadikoy- our favorite neighborhood. Just make sure to map to the center of this area as google maps took us to a very weird part of the neighborhood where nothing was going on lol. You can use Zapata Burger to map yourself to & then you’ll be in the mix of the neighborhood.
Do a Hammam – Here’s a summary of what it is & some of the best places to do one. It’s a must do while in Turkey if you like spa experiences.
We loved taking the ferry across from the European part of the city (we stayed in Sultanahmet since it was close to a lot of the mosques) to the Asian part of the city (if I came back, I’d stay in Kadikoy).

Overall Thoughts:

I have mixed feelings about Istanbul. On the one hand, it’s huge & loud & overwhelming & busy (fun fact: Istanbul topped the list for the number of international arrivals in 2023, followed by London & Dubai). On the other hand, there were some cool pockets & neighborhoods with fun cafes, nice large sidewalks for strolling, & beautiful architecture. Given I spent 5 days here, I don’t feel like I missed much that I would’ve wanted to do, but if I had only done 2-3 days, I might’ve felt like I needed to return.

CITY: Cappadocia

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I can’t say enough good things about Kelebek Cave Hotels. The room itself was spectacular and just so unique. It was huge and the bed was so comfy. The free breakfast buffet was extensive and the views from everywhere in the property were stunning. The thing that really took it over the top was the staff were all incredibly helpful and bent over backwards to make sure our stay was excellent. They booked everything for us (airport transfers, hot air ballon ride, sunset ATV ride, and even mailed some postcards on my behalf). Can’t recommend this hotel enough!

WHERE TO EAT:

Inci Cave Restaurant – We met some other travelers at lunch at chatted with them so we invited them for dinner that night. The restaurant put us in a private room that was basically a carved out cave. Very cool! Food was pretty good, but the room was the standout element. It was fun to have some new people to chat to as well!

Turkish ravioli restaurant – we’d heard about the Turkish so when we came across this restaurant we knew we had to eat here! Jake said it was one of his favorite meals in Turkey. Nice ambiance and excellent service.

What to do:

There were quite a few activities to choose from in Cappadocia, although it’s really known for their incredible Hot Air Ballon rides.

Sunrise Hot Air Balloon rides – this is why most people come to this region, and it did not disappoint! The scenery from up above is unreal- it felt like a mixture of Sedona, Bryce Canyon, & Mars. It was so peaceful, serene and magical the entire ride. It was truly incredible to see the scenery and once you add 100 other balloons also along the horizon – it’s just indescribable. At the peak, we were 950m above the ground! FYI they can often get cancelled due to weather, and it was cancelled both mornings we were there… luckily we were able to change our flights to later on the day on our last morning there and the balloons were good to go! Well worth the stress of changing last minute flights. We paid 180 euros per person, which isn’t cheap, but it’s a no brainer to do. Our hotel arranged it all for us, so it was a breeze. I would recommend booking the balloon flight for your first morning you are there so if it gets cancelled, you still have other mornings to go. It’s for this reason too that I would say you should spend a few days here in case your first go at it is cancelled. Also it was quite cold in November when we went, so bring layers if you are going in winter.

Sunset ATV ride – This started out not that fun as it was freezing cold (we were here in November) and it was raining… not a recipe for success. They gave us rain jackets, but the weather literally put a damper on the experience. However, the weather turned a little clearer by the end and we did get to explore a few awesome views/sites in the end, including Rose Valley, Love Valley, & Red Valley. Unfortunately the clouds ruined any chance of a sunset, but we still enjoyed the experience. Maybe just check the weather before you book! Here’s an example of a tour (although we just booked ours through our hotel the night before).

Take the Red or Green day tours – We did the Green one, as this is what other folks had recommended. We got to see one of the underground cities (pretty impressive), Pigeon Valley, an Onyx factory, Selime Monastery, a nice hike along a river (although ours was shortened due to weather) & Goreme Panorama. This is a nice way to see a ton of sites in an efficient manner.

We loved grabbing a drink or snack at one of the many cool restaurants that have views of the city.
There are a few walks/hikes you can do, but when we tried to do one, we experienced the craziest/strongest wind either of us had ever seen so we didn’t last long before seeking refuge in a cafe for some lunch.

Overall Thoughts:

Cappadocia is definitely worth a visit! It’s so unique and I enjoyed it for more than just the hot air ballon ride (although this was undoubtably the highlight). This was my favorite stop in Turkey!

CITY: Antalya

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at the Perge Hotel in Antalya, which was almost amazing. The room itself was awesome! We really splurged and got a room with an amazing private deck & hot tub, knowing that the pool would be closed for the season. The room was huge and literally had two bathrooms, basically a dream. The location was great – right on the Mediterranean, but still walking distance to the Old Town. However, the hotel was a bit of ghost town (to be fair we were there in off season in Nov, but still it was odd). The front desk staff were very strange, awkward and not very helpful. They charged us 70 euros for laundry and didn’t tell this upfront (obscenely expensive for laundry). If they had had the customer service level of the Kelebek hotel, this stay would’ve been perfect!

WHERE TO EAT:

Mono Terrace – This was the only standout restaurant in Antalya that we ate at. The food was great, but even better was the rooftop vibe & views. Definitely go at sunset! Cocktails were fun & reasonably priced, which was a bonus.

What to do:

There is definitely way more to do here in the summertime, as this is the most popular beach destination in all of Turkey. People scuba, snorkel, go on a boat cruises and just lay in the sun on the beach. Given it was in the 60’s most days, we did not have those options. In fact, it was quite slow and quiet when we were there.

It poured rain one day so we headed to the mall and went to a movie (3 hr movie in Turkish 🤪). Honestly going to movies while traveling is one of my favorite ways to escape a bad weather day! (But normally I prefer English movies with local subtitles 🙃)

When the sun popped up, we meandered the streets of Old Town. It was actually quite nice to explore without the throngs of tourists that I’m sure are here in the summer.

I went on some runs (Jake tried to join me but couldn’t keep up 😄) through Old Town and along the water front.

We meant to go on a hike to see some waterfalls but ended up just enjoying the gorgeous deck and tiny private pool on the hottest day we had. After a fairly packed week of activities, we were happy to have a chill day, mostly playing cards (I won – don’t worry).

Overall Thoughts:

Antalya would’ve been awesome if we’d been here during the summer. However, despite being here in the offseason, we still enjoyed it. I’d happily return to check it out when it’s more happening.

BUDGET FOR 14 days in Turkey:

Accommodation: $1,433 ($102 per night): Jake and I decided to splurge and stay at cool/fancy hotels since it was overall pretty good bang for your buck.

Food: $238

Groceries: $0

Activities: $442 (I treated Jake to the hot air balloon ride since he didn’t really want to go in the first place (weirdo), which accounts for $180 of this)

Local Transportation: $271 (includes 3 flights within Turkey)

Total: $343 (Daily average: $170)

Transportation to next destination: $51 (Flight to London)

Southern Thailand

July 3, 2023July 3, 2023Leave a comment

March 2020

CITY: Koh Lipe

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

Bloom Cafe and Hostel was such a nice hostel. While it wasn’t as social as other hostels I have been to, you will get such a great night sleep. The bunk beds are all custom made so the height between the beds is higher than normal. Also, no need to climb a pesky ladder to get into a top bunk- theres a wooden staircase to get you where you need to go. The beds are comfy and you have that coveted personal light, plug and curtain. There are lockers under the bed to store your valuables. The front desk was helpful in organizing discounted breakfast, transportation off the island and snorkeling trips.

WHERE TO EAT:

Bloom Cafe– This was the cafe attached to my hostel and it has amazing breakfast and lunch! Probably my favorite food I had on the island.

Tropical café– Your classic instagrammable cafe. It was cute to sit in, but I wouldn’t say the food was to die for.

Sea La Vie– A great spot to hang during the day or night. Good drinks, great atmosphere, and fun decoration.

Bennys on the beach– The perfect spot for an appetizer and drinks at sunset. It’s a tranquil, little spot!

I also fell in love with the Thai pancakes that all the different tiny food stalls have up and down the Walking Street. So delicious as a snack or late night noms.

WHAT TO DO:

The main activity I did was a half day snorkeling trip and it was great. There are two main routes that all the boats use and I opted for Route B. Apparently it’s the “better” route.

Other than that, I spent my days exploring the island, sitting in the sun, and meeting up with Max (the Australian I met in Borneo) and some friends he had made. We watched sunset and bar hopped around the island.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

This was my favorite island in Thailand because of it’s small size. It’s just so easy to get around because all you need are your two feet! I can’t stress how happy I was to be able to walk the whole island. It’s also filled with great restaurants and beautiful beaches. Can’t ask for much more than that! I would come back here in a heartbeat.

CITY: Koh Lanta

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Blanco Hostel for two nights while in Koh Lanta. At first I was unsure whether I would like it, but it ended up being super social as there were tons of different spots outdoors to chill and sit and meet new people. The restaurant on site has plenty of food options and the hostel is a 5 min walk from the beach. There are lockers and free breakfast available. Overall would stay here again.

WHERE TO EAT:

There was nothing too notable about the food options around the hostel. Luckily I didn’t mind the food at the hostel. The one restaurant I would recommend is May’s Kitchen. There were lovely women welcoming us at the front and the food was delicious!

WHAT TO DO:

I took part of the hostel’s 1/2 day of snorkeling and drinking on the boat for sunset. It was a great way to see some of the best snorkeling spots near the island as well as make some new friends from the hostel.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Koh Lanta was another beautiful island in Thailand, however I much preferred Koh Lipe.

CITY: Khao Sok National Park

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

The night before and after the adventure into the national park I stayed at Chillax Hostel. I have nothing negative to say about this hostel. The front desk was very helpful and the wifi was decent. I also ate at the hostel both nights for dinner and it was delicious. I slept great here and would highly recommend this hostel!

WHERE TO EAT:

I only ate at the hostel, but no complaints here 🙂

WHAT TO DO:

The main reason for coming to Khao Sok is to take an overnight to explore the national park by boat. I booked my overnight excursion through my hostel the day before- no need to book ahead of time. This isn’t the exact tour I did, but it gives you an idea of what’s included and an potential itinerary. Exploring the park via boat is magical. It feels like a whole different world. We also hiked through a cave and got to see all types of animals, including thousands of bats. Staying on the wooden huts on the lake was a really cool experience and I highly recommend it!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

This was such a fun stop for me from start to finish. It was lovely spending time on a lake and doing some hiking. After spending weeks and weeks on sandy, salty, beaches, I was thrilled to swim in some fresh water and spend time amongst stunning rock formations surrounding the lake.

CITY: Koh Tao

HOW LONG: 6 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I met up with Sabrina, a good friend from home, and we booked at Summer of ’69 for 2 nights. This was charming small hostel, with a cool evening vibe filled with guitar jam sessions and a bar onsite. While we enjoyed our stay and had planned on staying 2 additional nights, it was now mid-March of 2020, which meant Covid-19 was making waves. After a few folks in our room were coughing all night, Sabrina and I made the call to switch to a private room at a hotel nearby.

Koh Tao Simple Life Resort was a lovely place to end our trip (we made our way to Bangkok to fly back to California after our time in Koh Tao). The free breakfast was a big buffet of delicious treats. After months of 10 person dorm rooms, it was so, so nice to have a room and bathroom to ourselves. The pool and daily room cleaning was nothing to complain about either. We also preferred this area of the island to where Summer of ’69 was located. Lastly, the staff were so wonderful and kind. Highly recommend this place.

WHERE TO EAT:

Maya Beach Club– I enjoyed a few delicious smoothies while laying on their lounge chairs on the beach. Sabrina and I spent hours laying in the sun here 🙂

Plug and play – We enjoyed a delicious brunch here! Would definitely recommend.

Baia Burger Concept – Wow did we enjoy a burger and milkshake from here! I also had a delicious apples and cinnamon french toast! As I write this, I wish I could go back and eat more of their yummy food.

WHAT TO DO:

Koh Tao is famous for it’s gorgeous scuba diving so Sabrina and I spent one morning diving in two different spots near the island. It was beautiful! Definitely a highlight of my time in Thailand.

Other than that, you better believe that with Sabrina with me, most of our days was spent lying on the beach soaking up with sun and taking dips in the ocean every so often to cool off from the humid heat. It was quite the relaxing last stop of the trip.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Koh Tao is a beautiful island in the Gulf of Thailand. I loved the food scene and beach scene here. Breathtaking views and a fun place to walk around. Definitely enjoyed my time here.

Singapore

July 3, 2023July 3, 2023Leave a comment

February 2020

While in Montenegro in 2017, I was lucky to meet a lovely gal from England at a hostel. We hit it off and stayed friends throughout the years, and fortunately we discovered we would both be in Asia at the same time! We decided to meet up in Singapore before heading to to Borneo together.

CITY: Singapore

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

My friend Louisa and I booked a 3 night stay at the Bohemian Chic hostel, but when we arrived, then said they had a better room at their sister hostel, Chic Capsules. From my research I didn’t find that the options for hostels in Singapore were all that great. None seemed all the social, but luckily because I was with Louisa, I didn’t have to stress too much about finding a hostel that I could easily make friends. The hostel had free breakfast and a capsule bed setup, which was quite a treat. The room was completely dark, but each bed had a personal light and curtains. It meant anyone could sleep whenever they wanted, which was great for me because I ended up being quite sick while in Singapore. I think at one point I slept 16 hours in a 24 hour period. The two sister hostels are a 2 min walk from each other and are located in the Chinatown area of Singapore.

WHERE TO EAT:

OK honestly, given that I was so sick the whole time in Singapore, I barely ate anything besides some plain crackers. However, I was craving an Impossible burger the whole time I was abroad, and Singapore is one of the few places outside the US can get it, so we headed to The Marmalade Pantry, which is adorable. Great for a girls lunch!

Found the Impossible Burger in Singapore!

We also went to Privé in Clarke Quay. It was very cute and also had a great truffle Impossible Burger. All I could handle was a chamomile tea though 😦

Lastly, we joined a family friend of Louisa’s at nice Italian restaurant called Original Sin. I had some delicious bread and cheese, a rare treat in South East Asia.

WHAT TO DO:

Louisa and I explored the Botanical Gardens (slowly) one afternoon, which is quite beautiful.

The highlight in Singapore was having a drink at the top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel (like in Crazy Rich Asians) at Cé La Vi. Such cool views. After our drink we walked around the Supertree Grove nearby.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I wasn’t able to explore much or eat much because I was so sick, but Singapore was still quite delightful. I can see why people are enchanted by this sprawling metropolitan city in the middle of Southeast Asia.

Bali, Indonesia

July 3, 2023Leave a comment

Jan 2020

CITY: Canggu

I spent 3.5 weeks exploring around Bali and a few other islands nearby. After 3 months of non-stop adventuring in NZ & AUS, I was very excited to do a whole lot of nothing in Bali to rest and recuperate. Who said traveling wasn’t hard?! Luckily for me, Bali was filled with time spent with my sister, friends from NZ, and new friends. I also got by open water scuba certification! There were good things about Bali and not so great things, but more about that later.

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I met my sister at the Bali Airport and we took a taxi to our hostel in Canggu, called The Farm Hostel. Because my sister was visiting on her “holiday,” we decided to splurge on a nice hostel and The Farm is known as one of the more popular spots in Canggu. However, we regretted it. While in general it was a nice spot, the place was filled with a bunch of influencer types who were on a 3 week holiday/vacation so we didn’t really connect with many of them (as much as we tend to do with other backpackers). We thought we might extend a night once we got there, but we fairly immediately decided to move on to Ubud. The facilities were nice but it was fairly loud at random times. The breakfast was not that filling. The pool was enjoyable, but we didn’t love the people around so we were happy to continue onward.

WHERE TO EAT:

Rise and Shine Cafe– My favorite brunch spot in Bali 🙂 I went a total of 3 times here. Can highly recommend the french toast, the breakfast sandwich and the pancake rolls as well as any of the smoothies.

Fish Bone Local– While waiting for the surf lesson, Ellie and I stopped here for a drink and it was such a nice, airy, casual vibe.

WHAT TO DO:

Ellie, my sister, was a bit jet lagged and I had hit a bit of a wall from the non-stop adventure of NZ/AUS so we slept in and got brunch both days. The highlight for us was a surf lesson down at Canggu Beach, though. We organized it through the hostel, but check out Airbnb Experiences for other options.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Canggu didn’t impress us all that much. We found it difficult to walk around due to the small streets and crazy drivers and motorbikes. It was fairly crowded with people and we didn’t meet anyone we really connected with. However, stay tuned to my opinion on Canggu after coming back a second time.

CITY: Ubud

HOW LONG: 5 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

My sister and I headed to Ubud after Canggu, and following the less than fun experience at the hostel, we decided to splurge on a hotel. We loved our stay at Bebek Tepi Sawah hotel. It was a small hotel with about 8- 10 rooms, two restaurants (one just for hotel guests) and a spa. The bed was so comfy, the room was spacious and the bathroom was dreamy with a bath and outdoor shower. The staff were so kind and helpful. The only downside was it was a bit far from the main bit of “downtown” Ubud. I wish it was more in walking distance, however, the hotel offers a shuttle that will take you down to two different spots in town as well as pick you up. Overall great place to stay.

WHERE TO EAT:

L’ Osteria– This was a more upscale Italian restaurant near the Monkey Forest. I had a very yummy pizza and pasta that my sister and I split. Ambiance here was so lovely.

Suka Espresso– Had a delicious burger (hard to come by in Bali) and a milkshake! Also, just a cute place to hang around in.

WHAT TO DO:

The main activity Ellie and I did was an “instagram” tour around the area. We booked through Airbnb Experiences (just search from experiences in Ubud and tons of options will come up). While I normally don’t love doing things like this, it was a fairly economical and efficient way to see some sites around the area. We visited the Water Palace, Gate of Heaven, waterfalls, a Swing and some rice fields. It felt a little silly to be amongst the heavy stream of tourists doing the exact same thing, but like I said, it was an efficient way to see a lot in one day. And of course we got some fun pictures 🙂

Ubud is known for the Monkey Forest in the city center. You can spend 1-2 hours walking around the many groups of monkey’s (over 700 monkey’s in total) living here. This was a fun afternoon activity. Just be careful with your belongings as they are famously known to pickpocket whatever they can get their hands on.

Other than that tour and the Monkey Forest, Ellie and I put some serious spa time in. We got multiple massages over our 5 days, a facial, a hair treatment and a body scrub. All for less than one massage would cost at a hotel in the States 🙂

We also had dinner with Sabrina, who was getting her Yoga Teacher Training nearby. This is the 7th country Sabrina and I have been to together 🙂

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Ubud was a nice little break from the go, go, go travel I had been doing. It was nice to relax, see some monkey’s and hang with Ellie. Definitely don’t skip Ubud while in Bali.

CITY: Gili T

HOW LONG: 5 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at three different spots in Gili T:

Broken Compass– This was a cute, homey hostel on Gili T. It’s fairly small so it’s easy to get to know the people staying there. There are activities most nights and a pool so again it’s fairly easy to be social. I spent 2 days here before switching to Gili Castle because I got a discount there through the dive shop I was getting certified through. Would definitely stay here again (and I wish I had stayed here the whole time…. you’ll see why below).

Gili Castle– This is a party hostel, which is already strike one for me (lol). I am really not into party hostels as I usually don’t find too many people I connect with and I don’t drink a ton so normally I don’t seek out party hostels. However, given the discount I decided to be “responsible” and take advantage of cheap accommodation. Boy did I regret that! Let’s just say that after not being able to sleep for 5 hours, I woke up at 4am covered in BED BUG BITES. SO let’s just say there is no reason to stay here.

Marygio Resort– After the bed bug debacle, I decided to move to a hotel. This was a beautiful little oasis. Not it’s not a 5 star hotel, but for $40 a night, I was thrilled to have a king bed, a private bathroom and a pool to dip in.

WHERE TO EAT:

Casa Vintage Living– My favorite smoothie bowl spot on Gili T. It’s off the main street, which means it’s not as crowded and it’s affordable. They also have a location on the west side of the island for prime sunset watching.

Gili Bliss– This is on Gili Air, the smallest of the Gili islands. We ate here while on the snorkeling day trip. It was such a cute spot and as per usual I got a delicious smoothie bowl.

Regina Pizzeria– If you are craving an affordable pizza, look no further.

Gili Teak– a great spot to watch the sunset on the western side of the island.

Coffee and Thyme– ate here a few times for lunch and dinner. Smoothie bowls galore. Are you surprised?

Honeyst– This was a special dessert spot that combines ice cream, mango and honey. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but wow do they know how to play with flavors. Stop here in the heat of the afternoon for a cold treat or after dinner.

Banyan Tree– another great cafe on the beach with a fun, colorful menu.

The many delicious meals of Bali! Can you tell I like smoothie bowls?

WHAT TO DO:

Scuba diving- There is a lot of great diving in the area and I took advantage and got my open water certification here! Highly recommend Gili Divers. I had a blast here.

Snorkeling- I booked a day trip snorkeling around the 3 islands, which was great. I saw the Gili Meno underwater statues, turtles and plenty of fish. It was about $8usd so quite cheap and booked it through Broken Compass, the hostel I was staying at.

Ride a bike or walk over to the western part of the island for sunset. The sunsets are legendary and there are tons of cute bars set up for this very purpose.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Gili T was a blast. I loved that there were no cars and you can just walk/bike around the island. A perfect mix of relaxing + adventuring with the incredible scuba diving/snorkeling available. While the bed bugs put a hamper in things, it didn’t stop me from loving my time here in Gili T.

CITY: Nusa Penida

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

Nuansa Penida hostel was literally named one of the best hostels to visit in 2020 by hostelworld so if you find yourself on Nusa Penida this is the place to stay. Two beautiful pools. Super comfy beds. Met great people. Small restaurant onsite. Curtains on the bed. Lockers in the room. Nice bathroom. Would definitely stay here again.

WHERE TO EAT:

Sunny Cafe– This was my favorite food on the island. Every dish was delicious!

Secret Cafe– Very instagrammable spot, and while the food was good, it wasn’t the best I’ve ever had. Worth a stop though!

WHAT TO DO:

Through Nuansa hostel, we did a tour of Broken Beach, Angel’s Billabong, and Kelingking Beach. I didn’t feel the tour was worth the time/money with the excepting of Kelingking Beach. I would highly recommend battling the crowds to visit this spot.

We also tried to snorkel with manta rays, but unfortunately they weren’t anywhere to be seen the day we went 😦

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

While Nusa Penida is definitely beautiful and less touristy than other spots around Bali, the lack of infrastructure showed. The roads were treacherous and difficult to navigate. No way to get around besides hiring a driver unless you were brave enough to battle to narrow, windy, bumpy roads. It was difficult to get food at night unless you wanted to eat at your accommodation each night (which I felt got old). There were power outages each day I was there (once at night while I was in the pool, which turned out magical because the stars were insane). All in all, Nusa Penida was not my favorite, but if you have the time, it’s not a bad spot to hang for a few days if you know what you are getting into.

CITY: Uluwatu

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

This was not my normal backpacker spot, but when a friend I met in NZ (Sophie) invited me to join her here, I was excited to treat myself. Sal’s Secret Spot was a magical little gem (Thanks Sophie for finding this!). The room was so, so cute. The bathroom was outside (like many bathrooms in Bali) and I loved showering under the blue sky. Living up to it’s name, there were many nooks and cranny’s to cuddle up with a book or to lie in the sun. Also, the breakfast was so yummy. Anyway, if you have the money to splurge, you can’t go wrong with staying here.

WHERE TO EAT:

Casa Asia– This was nicer place to eat for dinner. Fairly extensive Italian menu with something for everyone. We also had one of their delicious desserts. Highly recommend this restaurant for a nicer meal or a date night.

Drifter Cafe– This was a cute little cafe attached to a surf shop. Good breakfast and snack food.

WHAT TO DO:

It rained while Sophie and I were here so we mostly took advantage of the nice hotel we were at and spent our time reading and getting massages. This also meant we didn’t get to go to one of the many famous cliff side bars for sunset.

While we didn’t go surfing, Uluwatu is known for it’s beaches and surfing so that’s another fun thing to do while in town.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Uluwatu was nice break from the frenetic cities in Bali and I enjoyed the down time with Sophie. There was no pressure to go see or do anything so we focused on massages and good food. If you have the time to get down to Uluwatu, it is worth it.

CITY: Canggu

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

The second time around in Canggu went much better. This was helped by the fact that I was with 4 of my favorite people from my NZ travels. Also, I had been in Bali for 2.5 weeks at this point so felt much more comfortable and relaxed. Anyway, we stayed at a MUCH better hostel called the Palms. It’s a fairly new hostel so it was affordable for such a nice hostel. Honestly I think it’s comparable to The Farm, maybe even better. The bed’s were luxurious. There were curtains and lockers and nice bathrooms. The pool was great and had some nice bean bags and chaise lounges to hang around on. Also, it’s right near Rise and Shine as well as Crate Cafe. Definitely highly recommend staying here while in Canggu.

WHERE TO EAT:

Crate Cafe– This is a well known cafe in Canggu, known for beautiful menu items for a very reasonable price. While the line can be long, it’s definitely worth the wait.

Penny Lane– The most beautiful, instagrammable, adorable restaurant in Bali. I loved it here. Definitely not local food, but delicious, delicious food. Lots of truffle options so you know I am happy.

WHAT TO DO:

We spent most of our time by the pool but did manage to venture out to hang at another pool at a beach club 🙂 La Brisa had a few pools, beach front beds and a delicious menu for food and drinks. Not a bad spot to land for a few hours to watch sunset.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Canggu was much better this time around. I was more relaxed and less burnt out (although plenty sun burnt 🙂 ). It was nice to not make any decisions and just go along with whatever the group wanted. Using Gojek (which I hadn’t gotten the hang of the first time around) made life way easier. If I ever go back to Bali, I would head straight to Canggu for the food alone.

CITY: Seminyak

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

Because I met up with three friends I made in NZ, we decided to get a villa for the group of us instead of staying at a hostel. Bali is made for this so it seemed like the right move. It’s fairly affordable if you have a group of people so it was a no brainer. We booked through Airbnb, so check out the many villas available on the site.

WHERE TO EAT:

Warung Nia– This place was such a joy to dine at. So much so that we had dinner here three nights in a row! Get ready for the best hospitality, delicious local food for local (ish) prices, and a fun atmosphere with live music.

Kynd Community – Good brunch food + but definitely more known for being Instagrammable.

Gelato Shack– It’s hard to come by good gelato in Southeast Asia, but Gelato Shack delivers!

Wacko Burger– This is a fun burger restaurant with yummy milkshakes and fries. Also pizzas, because why not?

WHAT TO DO:

Because we had a villa to ourselves, we enjoyed sleeping in and lounging the day away at our private pool. We managed to drag ourselves out by heading to a private surf lesson for the group that we booked through Airbnb Experiences. There are a ton of options so just read the reviews and book away!

On our last day we spent a day at Potato Head, a well known beach club, where we met up with two more of our friends from the NZ trip. We enjoyed the swim up bar in the pool and some poolside snacks before watching sunset in the pool. Can you tell Seminyak has been pool time heavy?

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Seminyak was more chaotic and built up than anywhere else in Bali. I couldn’t describe it as cute, quaint or relaxing. However, by staying at a villa, we were able to create our own relaxing zen zone to enjoy.

Overall thoughts on Bali

What made Bali so special for me was the many familiar faces I got to see while here. Bali itself I don’t think will ever make it on the list of my favorite places in the world. In fact, I don’t think I’ll ever be back. I wish I had gone to Lombok and Flores. Bali felt like a contrived construction of a place. Poverty intermingled with wannabe influencers and any shot the instagrammers posted didn’t ever show the trash on the ground or the stray dogs roaming around. Or the shacks locals lived in. I don’t know. Maybe I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind, but rarely did anything feel authentic. Also, I never thought I would come to appreciate sidewalks as much as I did here. It was frustrating not being able to just walk around and explore an area. Instead, the lack of sidewalks and narrow roads that barely fit one car let alone two way traffic forced us to always have a destination in mind when leaving our accommodation. However, I did have some great massages, explore new parts of our earth through scuba diving, and had some amazing smoothie bowls so not all was negative 🙂

Where I have been (Cities)

March 13, 2018May 13, 20241 Comment

This is a list of all the cities I have been to (not including the US). If you are visiting any of these, feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

Total: 280 cities

North America (excluding the US) (3 Countries )

Canada (2)

Vancouver
Whistler

Mexico (1)

Puerta Vallarta

The Bahamas (1)

Nassau

Europe (42 Countries)

Albania (1)

Shkodër

Austria (2)

Salzburg
Vienna

Belgium (7)

Brussels
Waterloo
Bruges
Knokke Beach
Leuven
Sint-Eloois-Winkel
Ghent

Bosnia (3)

Mostar
Blagaj
Pochitelj

Bulgaria (5)

Sofía
Plovdiv
Burgas
Nessebar
Sveti Vlas

Croatia (6)

Zagreb
Plitvice National Park
Zadar
Split
Supertar
Dubrovnik

Cyprus (1)

Larnaca

Czech Republic (1)

Prague

Denmark (1)

Copenhagen

England (29)

London
Milton Keynes
Salisbury
Worcester
Stratford-on-Avon
London Southend On Sea
Reigate
Brighton
Bath
Bradford-on-Avon
Cambridge
Ardingly
Lewes
Ditchling
Haywards Heath
Lindfield
Aylesbury
Sheffield
Castleton
Holmes Chapel
East Croyden
Twickenham
Croyde
Lynton
Lynmouth
Clovelly
Bristol
Red Hill
Manchester

Estonia (1)

Tallinn

Finland (2)

Helsinki
Porvoo

France (12)

L’isle sur la Sorgue, Provence
Chamonix
Paris
Loire valley
Versailles
St. Malo
Eauze
Nogaro
Aire-del-l’Adour
Arcachon
St Emillion
Bordeaux

Germany (5)

Munich
Hamburg
Bad Oldesloe
Berlin
Stuttgart

Greece (5)

Mykonos Town
Fira
OÍa
Kamira
Athens

Hungary (1)

Budapest

Iceland (1)

Reykjavik

Ireland (5)

Dublin
Galway
Tralee
Dingle
Killarney

Italy (14)

Lake Garda
Sestri Levante
Santa Margherita
Cinque Terre
Lake Como
San Gimignano
Siena
Florence
Naples
Ischia
Rome
Menori
Amalfi
Positano

Kosovo (2)

Prístina
Prizren

Latvia (2)

Riga
Sigulda

Liechtenstein (5)

Vaduz
Triesenberg
Malbun
Stausse Steg
Balzers

Lithuania (3)

Vilnius
Trakai
Kaunas

Luxembourg (1)

Luxembourg City

Montenegro (4)

Kotor
Cetinje
Budva
Ulcinj

North Macedonia (2)

Skopje
Ohrid

Northern Ireland (2)

Belfast
Derry

Norway (2)

Oslo
Bergen

Poland (2)

Warsaw
Krakow

Portugal (3)

Porto
Lisbon
Sintra

Romania (6)

Cluj-Napoca
Sighișoara
Alba Lulia
Sibiu
Brasov
Bucharest

Scotland (2)

Edinburgh
Loch Ness

Serbia (3)

Belgrade
Novi Sad
Bajina Basta

Slovakia (1)

Bratislava

Slovenia (5)

Ljubljana
Škofja Loka
Piran
Bled
Lake Bohinj

Spain (22)

Barcelona
Madrid
San Sebastián
Sitges
Montserrat
Mallorca
Seville
Valencia
Granada
Alicante
Cadaqués
Villanova de Arousa
Villagarcia de Arousa
Pontevedra
Vilassar de Dalt
Vilassar de Mar
Cábrils
Mátaro
Girona
Vidreres
Viladrau
Santa Coloma de Farners

Sweden (2)

Stockholm
Värmdö

Switzerland (11)

Geneva
Verbier
Le Chable
Lausanne
Lutry
Brienz
Grindelwald
Lauterbrunnen
Mürren
Gimmelwald
Kandersteg

The Netherlands (2)

Amsterdam
Utrecht

The Vatican (1)

The Vatican

Wales (1)

Cardiff

Africa (2 countries)

Egypt (3)

Cairo
Aswan
Hurghada

Morocco (3)

Chefchouan
Tangier
Tetouan

South America (2 countries)

Chile (3)

Santiago
San Jose de Maipo
Valparaiso

Peru (5)

Lima
Paracas
Ica
Cusco
Aguas Calientes

Oceania (3 countries)

Australia (15)

Melbourne
Sydney
Yamba
Byron bay
Brisbane
Noosa
Rainbow beach
Fraser Island
Airlie beach
Whitsundays
Magnetic island
Cairns
Port Douglas
Cronella
Gymea Bay

Fiji (2)

Nadi
Matagi Island

New Zealand (14)

Auckland
Hot water beach
Waitomo
Rotarua
Taupo
Wellington
Picton
Kaiteriteri
Westport
Franz Josef
Wanaka
Queenstown
Christchurch
Mount Cook

Asia (10 countries)

Cambodia (1)

Siem Reap

Indonesia (6)

Canggu
Ubud
Gili T
Nusa Penida
Uluwatu
Seminyak

Japan (3)

Tokyo
Kyoto
Hakone

Laos (3)

Vientiane
Vang Vieng
Luang Prabang

Malaysia (7)

Kota Kinabalu
Sepilok
Mabul
Sipadan
George Town
Cameron Highlands
Langkawi

Singapore (1)

Singapore

Thailand (8)

Koh Lipe
Koh Lanta
Khao Sok
Koh Tao
Bangkok
Chiang Mai
Pai
Chiang Rai

The Philippines (6)

Coron
El Nido
Bohol
Siquijor
Moalboal
Malapascua

Turkey (4)

Istanbul
Goreme/Cappadocia
Antalya
Arnavutköy

Vietnam (6)

Hanoi
Ha Long Bay
Cat Ba City
Ninh Binh
Ha Giang
Hoi An