South East Asia is synonymous with Westerners backpacking between hostels for months in order to find themselves. Whilst it has always been a dream of mine to have this sort of experience, South America is my dream destination, so I have unconventionally visited SE Asia in a series of smaller trips, including Singapore and Indonesia in 2016 and Vietnam in 2018. I'd planned to visit Thailand in 2020, however due to Covid-19, this trip was postponed until November 2022, when I finally managed to explore Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia.
I travelled with a friend I'd met on a Summer course in South Africa, who I'd already been to Kosovo, North Macedonia, Latvia and Lithuania with, so I knew we travelled well together, which is always important when holidaying with friends.
Krabi, Thailand
We started our tour in Krabi, a coastal region of Thailand from which the Phi Phi islands can be accessed. Originally, we'd planned to visit the island Koh Samui, but November is the monsoon season so we settled on Krabi instead.
We left London at 21:30 on a Tuesday and arrived in Krabi (after a short layover in Bangkok) at 16:30 local time (GMT +7) on the Wednesday. Luckily, we managed to sleep for the majority of the flight so we avoided jet lag successfully. Our Airbnb ended up being a 4-star resort, which was a nice surprise, although I did get bitten by a mosquito as soon as we arrived. Something to know about me is that I am allergic to mosquito bites (and I have type O blood so I am very susceptible to bites), so avoiding mosquitos is a top priority as otherwise it can lead to a hospital visit (spoiler: we ended up in hospital regardless for another reason, which I'll come onto later).
The next morning, we took a 'shuttle' (see: milk float) from the hotel to Ao Nang centre, where we enjoyed a hearty breakfast of poached eggs on avocado toast with parma ham and bruschetta, and then headed to the beach to enjoy a day of rest and relaxation. As we made our way, it started drizzling slightly, which quickly became an onslaught of rain (so much for missing the monsoon season). Water was pouring down the streets and as we were ill-prepared, we ended up absolutely drenched. Nonetheless, we managed to seek shelter at a café and enjoy some tea and beers until the rain cleared up.
Eventually, the clouds opened up and our beach trip resumed. We sunbathed, read our books, and swam; the views were beautiful and the water warm. For lunch, I had Pad Sei Siew with a local beer, which was delicious. We then enjoyed the sunset over the water and walked along the beachfront only to see fire dancers in the distance. As we approached to check out the commotion we were very impressed with the tricks, until we realised that the performers were in fact children, which was sad to see. On the way back to the hotel we had offers for massages and to see a boxing match, and after showering and getting ready for dinner (Pad Thai, spring rolls and beer), we took a tuktuk home. This tuktuk was literally a motorbike with a makeshift sidecar attached which I'd never encountered before but seemed to do the job.
Some things that stuck out to me in Krabi were that the receptionists in the hotel were so sweet, regularly going above and beyond for us, 7-Elevens were prolific, and the local beers (specifically Chang, Singha, and Leo) were nice and light. We had very limited time in Krabi but for those with more time, I'd recommend a boat tour to the 'four islands' or to the 'Phi Phi islands'.
Bangkok, Thailand
Surprisingly, various friends who had visited Bangkok had recommended only spending a day or two in the city as 'it was very busy and there wasn't much to see' (this was also the advice I'd been given for Phuket), however I love cities and needed to visit anyway in order for our following flight, so we decided to spend two days in the city. Luckily, a classmate from my Master's is from the Bangkok so she gave plenty of great recommendations.
Day 1
We only slept about five hours the night before our flight to Bangkok, during which there was a sudden downpour of rain and the WiFi cut. For the flight, we bought some local snacks to try including Nori Seaweed crisps (not a fan) and Pocky (the equivalent of Mikado and delicious).
On arrival in the city, we made our way to our Airbnb on the BTS Skytrain, an elevated train offering spectacular views of the city. One thing that struck me was when a blind man walked onto the train and unlike in London, where everyone keeps their head down and minds their own business, the locals all became preoccupied with helping this man and ensuring that he got on safely and was comfortable. We eventually arrived at our stop starving, so headed straight to Terminal 21, a novel shopping centre in which each floor is a famous destination (and featuring Japanese toilets), where we enjoyed some local food followed by a Hokkaido cheese tart, is a Japanese dessert similar to cheesecake but less sweet. This was also where I had my first lychee soda, which quickly became a favourite of mine.
We checked into our Airbnb only to discover that the pool was closed for maintenance, the drinking water was temporarily unavailable, and that we had gotten the day wrong for Loy Krathong festival, so in fact would be missing the hundreds of picturesque lanterns by the river. Nonetheless, we didn't have much time to wallow as we wanted to explore the area nearby, including Korean town and a local park. Furthermore, my friend had ripped a nail and we were keen to enjoy a massage so we had a lot to get done that day.
It was 30°C and extremely humid, however everything was surprisingly walkable and as we approached the park a couple of things surprised me: firstly, there was a Boots store (which I'd only seen in the UK up to this point), secondly skin whitening treatments were abundant. As we headed towards the local park, we saw a dog park, as well as skyscrapers and a fountains, however then we heard music and followed it to reveal a live show and various interactive displays for the WOW market (Wonder of Well-being City 2022).
I have had many massages on holiday, many of which I'd rather not repeat, so I'm usually opposed to massages abroad, however I couldn't go to Thailand and not get a massage. I opted for the 'safest' choice (and my personal favourite): a facial. Before the massage, we were offered cold towels and ice water, which was a nice touch, however as it turned out, this was only the start of what would become my best massage to date. The facial was incredible and the masseuse even gave me a mini back massage and stretched out my limbs. Afterwards, there were cookies and tea awaiting us and I honestly felt like a new woman. The spa was called My Spa and I'd strongly recommend it if you're visiting Bangkok.
As we left the spa for Korean Town, it was pouring with rain once again (a common theme throughout this trip), however it was a very short walk and I'd come prepared this time around so we had no trouble getting to Korean Town for dinner. I had a stir fry and tried kimchi for the first time, which was spicy but enjoyable. We then visited Cabbages and Condoms, a restaurant which supports programs in rural development, education, and HIV/AIDS. It was recommended to us and was where I tried sweet, sticky rice and durian ice cream (a fruit known for its pungent smell and prohibited on public transport throughout the city), which wasn't to my taste. Instead of mints or chocolates, you get condoms on receipt of your bill and this place was adorned with sculptures made from condoms which was entertaining but also educational and helped to raise awareness for social causes including HIV/AIDS and primary health.
Day 2
Our second day in Bangkok was our more cultural day, so after an accidental lie-in, we bought some 'gap year trousers' (as shorts weren't allowed in the temples and I'd forgotten all my other elephant trousers in London) before heading towards the Grand Palace. The metro station (Sanam Chai) was stunning and hinted at the Palace's beauty, however I was not prepared for what was to come: the huge complex featured intricate murals, colourful ceramics, a mix of European and Asian architecture and the showstopper: The Emerald Buddha. I've seen many a temple in my day, but this was something else and I'd strongly recommend a (free) tour with it in order to fully understand and appreciate what each part of the palace signifies.
After visiting the incredible palace, we passed the Ministry of Defence en route to Wat Pho, only to be told that the temple was closed to tourists for ceremony. Instead, we opted for a canal cruise in which we saw Phra Pin-Klao Bridge, Talingchan floating market, and Wat Arun, alongside many local dwellings and shrines. I'd already been to a floating market in Vietnam, however this one differed in that it consisted of a floating platform with many stalls as opposed to various boats selling their produce on the river. The boat tour was much more enjoyable than I'd anticipated and we were dropped off at Wat Arun at sunset, which was gorgeous - I was honestly surprised by how highly I regarded the temple.
We walked past a food market on our way home, which was fun to explore, and then devoured sushi for dinner (unfortunately the card machine wasn't working so my friend was escorted to an ATM to get out cash), before heading to our humid apartment for some shut-eye.
Bangkok was not at all what I expected; I'd pictured neon signs, crowded roads and unruly motorbikes, however it was nothing like Vietnam's roads packed with motorbikes or India's tuktuks squeezing through the traffic. That said, the public transport was busy, albeit easy to use and convenient, there was a lot of meat being cooked on the streets, and we only saw a tiny portion of the city so undoubtably we missed a lot of the stereotypical streets.
Other sights we were recommended included Chatuchak weekend market, ICONSIAM shopping centre and Jim Thompson house museum.
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Although Cambodia is very high on most travellers' bucket lists, it was never a top priority for me. That said, we were in the area and I was intrigued by Angkor War, the largest religious monument in the world, so we took a slight detour to visit the landmark. I knew the fundamentals about Cambodia's devastating history, however was keen to educate myself more on the matter.
Day 1
Having only slept 3 hours, we were keen to caffeinate before our flight to Siem Reap. We made a trip to Starbucks, where a 'Red Velvet Oatmilk Latte' was being showcased, and with Red Velvet being my favourite cake, I had to try it. The taste was very accurate, however it was far too sweet for my liking but I was glad to have tried it.
Cambodia was the only country for which we needed a visa and customs/immigration forms, and the airport was unexpectedly pretty and modern. Our Airbnb, which turned out to be another 4-star resort (although in actual fact I'd have rated 3-stars), was near the airport (as Siem Reap is very small) so we got a 'remork', essentially a carriage attached to a motorbike to our hotel. The driver was slightly pushy and dropped us off at the wrong place, and then for a while the hotel couldn't find our booking so it wasn't the best start, but eventually they sorted us out and offered us an upgrade, alongside early check-in, which was very much appreciated. The Airbnb had also offered free transfers but then ignored our request for one and claimed to have body wash and shampoo available, which wasn't the case, so despite the hotel staff being lovely, the Airbnb host was subpar.
This was another of our 'rest days' so we jumped straight into the swimming pool and lapped up the rays, which was exactly what we needed. That said, there was a territorial cat that kept hissing at us, which was slightly unnerving. As the afternoon approached, we showered and then got a tuktuk to the city centre to explore the area. There was a river running through the pretty city, however the highlight was definitely 'pub street', which was reminiscent of a strip in Ibiza, Albufeira, or Sunny Beach.
We settled in and were offered weed and tuktuk rides multiple times, but people weren't pushy at all so if you declined the offer, people wouldn't persist, which hasn't always been the case throughout my travels. We tried a local dish called Lok Lak, which consists of peppercorn beef and rice, alongside summer rolls which had a strong lemongrass flavour. We also enjoyed the local beer, Angkor, which was delicious, as we watched the World Cup. At some point that evening there was a blackout, however eventually the lights returned and we were ready to pay our bill. Unfortunately, neither me or my friend had cash (as I'd used the last of mine on the remorks and my friend had been paying by card throughout the trip), however stupidly we had also left our cards at home so were relying solely on ApplePay. That said, we'd confirmed with the restaurant beforehand that they accepted ApplePay so weren't anticipating any issues - we were mistaken. After twenty solid minutes of trying each of our cards repeatedly, calling the manager and restarting the card machine to no avail, my ApplePay finally notified me that the machine didn't accept Mastercard (despite the machine saying it did). Tragically, neither of us had any Visa cards and the manager looked so broken from dealing with us; things were looking pretty bleak. Luckily, after struggling for so long, I came across a Visa on my ApplePay, however it was my dad's from ages ago, but I knew he wouldn't mind so I used it and lo and behold: it worked! The manager looked incredibly relieved (and drained), and I called my dad to notify him of the situation. One thing we were sure of was that we needed to take money our first thing the next morning.
We still had an hour or so before our remork driver picked us up, so we went to a popular bar: TOP Afterwork SR, which was very cool and featured live music as well as happy hour and was perfect for people watching. Most importantly, they accepted contactless payments (although the manager became worried when I showed him my phone instead of a card and excited when he saw how ApplePay functioned for the first time).
Day 2
The next day, we had our free breakfast at the hotel, which was delicious, consisting of eggs on toast, a croissant with jam, and fresh fruit. The aforementioned cat made another appearance, but was quickly removed from our vicinity when the receptionist saw the discomfort on our faces.
We had arranged to do a standard tour by remork which would take us to various temples, including Angkor Wat, however first we needed to get out some cash. Our remork driver kindly took us to an ATM, which didn't have any notes, followed by a second ATM, which didn't accept our cards, followed by a third ATM, which finally allowed us to take out some cash. At long last, we could get the show on the road.
We'd bought a 1-day pass for Angkor Wat before the trip, which included multiple temples in the complex. The first temple we visited was Angkor Wat itself, which was very cool but slightly underwhelming compared to the beauty of the temples we'd seen in Bangkok a couple of days beforehand, but was still impressive. We then visited Bayon temple, which was full of monkeys, one of which decided to take my friend's bag and steal her souvenir from Angkor Wat (luckily, he ditched it nearby so we were able to retrieve it). We visited a couple more temples, including Terrace of the Elephants and Ta Prohm (the Tomb Raider temple) too, which were all very unique and impressive. My favourite was probably Ta Prohm, as there were parts that had fallen alongside restored parts, and tree roots grew into the temple which was very cool to see. That said, it was very humid and we were sweaty, hungry and tired, so eventually we called it a day and had a late lunch of Cambodian noodles in the city centre.
One thing that I've failed to mention is that on this morning, my friend had woken up to a renascent UTI and was trying to make it through the day on pain killers, however we both knew that a trip to the hospital would be necessary for antibiotics. What we didn't know was that the hospital was under renovation so we were taken to an outdoor make-shift hospital in which occupied hospital beds lined the corridors, chairs on a terrace comprised the waiting room, and medical professionals were rushing about busily. We were taken back and forth and passed around several times before seeing a medical professional, who didn't seem to understand what the issue was as we couldn't speak Cambodian and he couldn't fully understand our English. Eventually, we were taken to another medical professional who sent us on our way with three ziplock bags of around 56 unlabelled pills, to be taken in various quantities over seven days. We then went to two separate pharmacies to request more information on these pills, but neither had any clue what they were. Understandably, my friend didn't want to take pills that she didn't have any information about so she tried to survive off of antibiotics for the remainder of our trip. Fortunately, we were heading to Malaysia, our last stop, the following morning.
I enjoyed Cambodia much more than I was expecting to, and despite the eventfulness, I look back on my time in the country fondly. The locals were so lovely, often going above and beyond, and we were extremely lucky with the weather as despite it being monsoon season, we didn't get a drop of rain, instead experiencing sunny skies and balmy temperatures.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
It was also monsoon season in Kuala Lumpur, and unfortunately the torrential rain didn't hold off for our stay. That said, it was fascinating to see and I loved the city a lot.
Day 1
Although we'd aimed to take public transport from the airport to our Airbnb, the shuttle between terminals and the trains were such hassle (the ticket machine wouldn't accept our cards and the ticket desk clerk closed the desk so we couldn't physically buy a ticket) that we got a Grab (similar to Uber) and saved the headache. It was the early afternoon and as we approached the city, dark clouds quickly replaced the blue skies and a thunderstorm surged. We'd planned to have a chill day swimming but this was out of the question so instead we grabbed some lunch. We tried a local dish called kaya toast, which consisted of toast, butter and a sweet coconut spread, served with (very) soft boiled eggs and coffee. I enjoyed the toast but the eggs were not my cup of tea.
We then got ready for a night out as a close friend of my friend lives in Kuala Lumpur so we were excited to see some bars and catch up. It was a very fun night, starting off in Concubine bar near Chinatown for happy hour and ending someplace else in the city centre. As we returned to our Airbnb, the clouds had lifted and we witnessed the spectular view of the city skyline on offer, which was also what I woke up to the next day.
Day 2
In contrast to the previous day, we awoke to blue skies and a beautiful view. We had to check-out at 11am but decided to visit the Batu caves first in order to shower afterwards and be ready for the day. I was becoming slightly agitated as everyone seemed to be taking their time whereas I was on a time crunch (that's the Londoner in me) however all of that fell away as we arrived at the Batu caves. Once again, I was awestruck and shocked by my overwhelming admiration for the temple - it was so colourful and beautiful, however the abundance of pigeons and monkeys put me slightly on edge and my legs hurt for several days after climbing the never-ending steps.
We managed to head back and check-out in time, leaving our suitcases in the building while we explored other parts of the city. We walked to the Petronas Towers, which were striking and very reminiscent of Dubai's Burj Khalifa. After appreciating the skyscrapers and the likeness to New York, we started to head towards the city centre, when the clouds drew in and it started raining lightly. Before we knew it, there was a downpour so we sought shelter inside a café whilst the first proper torrential rain of the holiday fell. Until this point I had thought calling the previous showers a 'monsoon' had been dramatic as it was just heavy rain, but after the pool and road outside the café flooded (even the locals were taking pictures), I realised that in fact, we'd just been very lucky up until this point.
As we headed to the airport, we were stuck in rush hour traffic for an hour and a half, but we made it in plenty of time and caught our red-eye flight. We arrived in London at 5.30am and I managed to work that day, putting up all the Christmas decorations in the evening as it was 1st December.
This trip was very eventful and memorable, and I'd recommend visiting each of the places aforementioned. I was scared that it would feel very rushed, but in actuality we had plenty of time to rest as well as explore and it was a great holiday. Next on my list for Southeast Asia: the Philippines!
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