Traveling to South East Asia.
South East Asia. People often associate this area with corruption, drugs, danger and other negative connotations because it consists of so many third world countries (for example - my mother, who was born in the Philippines, is terrified at the thought of me wandering around Manila, automatically assuming that I will instantly get kidnapped and sold to a prostitution ring. Or something like that). When I think of South East Asia, I envision picturesque rice fields, exquisite temples, gorgeous beaches on countless islands and the amazing culture that is South East Asia.
My boyfriend and I decided we HAD to travel around SE Asia since we're so close, living in Australia. We started looking at flights and to our amazement - flights to Bali, Indonesia were as cheap as flying from San Diego to Sacramento (that is, if you book it pretty late. Regardless - reallyyyy cheap flights from Oz to Bali!). We narrowed down which countries we wanted to go to - mainly by what we've heard and where we've always wanted to go. So all of our flights are now officially booked!
My boyfriend and I decided we HAD to travel around SE Asia since we're so close, living in Australia. We started looking at flights and to our amazement - flights to Bali, Indonesia were as cheap as flying from San Diego to Sacramento (that is, if you book it pretty late. Regardless - reallyyyy cheap flights from Oz to Bali!). We narrowed down which countries we wanted to go to - mainly by what we've heard and where we've always wanted to go. So all of our flights are now officially booked!
It's a little bit difficult to read, but to sum it up - we're exploring a little bit of Australia/NZ first (Nate's mom is coming to visit!) and then flying from Melbs to Perth then to Bali, Indonesia for 4 nights, then to Thailand for 5 days (Phuket & Bangkok), then to the Philippines for 5 days where we'll spend most of our time in Boracay, then to Singapore and then Malaysia. It's unfortunately not that much time at each place so we're going to have to squeeze a lot in! The plan is to basically just sleep during transportation and then utilize the rest of the time to explore.
We've started to research each country more and have compiled lists of things we want to do in each place. We probably won't book much of our accommodation (perhaps the first place at a few countries, at most) because most places are relatively cheap regardless. Our goal for hostels/hotels is to spend less than $50 each a night so we'll each spend a little under a grand (each) for the entire trip (minus food, play money & so on). This definitely shouldn't be hard since you can literally find places for $10 a night - although that might conflict with my germaphobia-ness. |
Activity Planning.
So I, of course, have another "tab" on my excel spreadsheet (in addition to my Flights Info) that lists every country, possible activities, relevant websites and prices. (My bedroom is constantly a mess but I still manage to be organized in some ways). Nathaniel and I thought it would be good planning to get an idea of how much certain activities cost so we can make sure to budget for them. One thing that we did, which I would advise against - is booking all of our flights before doing any research. We kind of did it on a whim and it was a good idea in the sense that if we didn't do it right away, a) flights might go up and b) we might change our mind or c) something might come up to where we would decide it wasn't a good idea anymore (which I guess would be the same as B). Anyway, we booked them right away and I wish we looked into each place first because we kind of picked the super touristy locations which means a) lots of tourists and b) things are a bit more expensive because it's touristy. As in expensive for Asian countries - so you know, $15 for accommodation as opposed to $6.
Bali, Indonesia
- Horseback riding on the beach during sunrise
- Swim with dolphins
- White water rafting
- Bike riding through forests/jungles
- Various water sports - parasailing, jetskiing, snorkeling etc
- Hike Mt. Batur Volcano
- Canyon Tubing
- Hike Mt. Agung
Phuket & Bangkok, Thailand
- Visit Wat Chalong temple
- Phang Nga Bay - limestone cliffs/islands (James Bond Island)
- Koh Phi Phi Island & Maya Beach (where The Beach was filmed)
- Elephant trekking (AKA ride elephants!)
- Tiger Temple - this had a LOT of mixed reviews. Half the people said that it was an amazing experience and that it's a great tiger conservation center while others said that the tigers are all drugged up. I guess only one way to find out...
- Floating Market (see main pic at the top)
Philippines
- Ariel's Point - snorkeling, kayaking, cliff diving
- Mt. Luho hike
- Visit the Banaue Rice Fields
Singapore
- Geylang Neighborhood - Red Light District