Hi everyone! I’m traveling to Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand over May and June. I’ll be backpacking for 64 days, and after the first 20 I will be on my own. Looking for recommendations of places to go and not go, must sees and must do’s while I’m there! More into the nature and culture. Not big into partying. Thanks in advance!

Been in Asia 5 months now.
1. You will bring way too much shit.
2. Bring lots of sunscreen and bug repellent, it’s expensive af.

3. It’s summer now. It was 35° today.

Jim this ^^

Jim very true. It was 35 or higher every day we were in Cambodia. Plus humidity. Plan to spend extra if needed for AC.

For real. I’ve been camping on a beach for two weeks and there’s no relief from the heat. Except for the ocean which is nice and warm too. I swear I’m not complaining and I’m so sorry you guys are experiencing winter still.

Having just come back, I would say don’t miss Cambodia. Terrific people, culture, food, nature and I felt very safe. My husband and I went on our own in February.

Id also say dont skip Cambodia Stay in the north in thailand if partying not your scene, get your beach time in bali or Philippines instead. Stay in caangu in bali, ubud a must if u want to do yoga/chill/do creative thibgs. spend as much time in vietnam as possible. Pack light, buy everything in asia instead (except spf and spray!!!)

Indonesia - Bali for sure! So much to see and do!

Leaving Philippines/Thailand on Sunday! Been here a month, happy to help. Yes pack VERY little and just buy what you need and do laundry (super cheap). I preferred Philippines - most of my friends preferred Thailand - so to each their own. Philippines is generally cheaper then Thailand.
I loved Siagrao in Philippines. Ko Phi Phi in Thailand is super neat, but touristy! Scooters are super fun (and dirt cheap - we rented one for 24 hrs and it cost under $15 INCLUDING gas we bought) to rent - found them easiest to ride in Siargao (as opposed to larger cities) roads are chaos. Also paid a few guys to take us by boat (2 hours each way) to a “private” and “secluded” island for the day (super cheap). They even cooked us lunch on the beach - freah caught fish, chicken, watermelon, rice and raw fish etc...
Hit me up if you have any specific questions.

Ben-Pam I am sure you might have some ideas!

I always love taking a cooking class! It’s a fun activity and a good way to interact with some locals. I did mama nois in Chiangmai Thailand and paon bali in ubud and both were great!
I also really loved exploring nusa lembongan island off of Bali. There were really amazing natural views (devils tears, blue lagoon) enjoy!

In Vietnam, buy a cheap motorbike or scooter, and do the trip from Saigon to Hanoi, very, very worth it.

Craig do you have to get a specific license to be able to drive in Vietnam?

I think you're meant to, when I went I had the international license. Only got stopped once, and it wasn't an issue..

I got stopped without any licence and it was less then $20. Definitely do it!

Definitely get the international drivers permit. It’s only $25 at bcaa. Saves me tons of baht in northern Thailand. Whereas my friend (Canadian that lives there) doesn’t have a licence and has to pay the extortion fee every damn time.

Craig Driving in Vietnam may come as a shock to the uninitiated

Many things in Asia may come as a shock to the uninitiated Ian

Koh Lanta, in Thailand. Gili Air by Lombok Indonesia. I was on air about 10 days longer than expected. I stayed at Gili Air Lagoon and absolutely loved it! I took a cooking class at Gili Air cooking school and it was fabulous

Aimee Falkenberg

I enjoyed Yogyakarta in Indonesia, if you’ll be in Java and the Gillis were nice before they were taken over by party tourists but they’re not the same today as when I first visited. In the Philippines I went to Baguio in the mountains and that was gorgeous. We drove to a small beach town from there at one point but I didn’t get a chance to check out all the beaches the Philippines are known for. Lots of great cultural experiences in Chang Mai and it has a different vibe than some of the beach / city vibes in the south. If you decide to go to Koh Phagnan stay at
Shiralea Backpackers Resort - the best people, food, nice accommodations and far from the full moon party craziness. Have a great trip! I love SE Asia.

Bali is beautiful, relaxing and so peaceful.
We are currently in Thailand. Started out in Phuket and just arrived in Ao Nang Krabi. We like it in Ao Nang way better- more jungle and less ppl. We are then doing Koh Lanta, Koh Lipe then Langkawi and the. off to Kuala Lumpur.
Have done Koh Samui before many years ago and loved it there too.
Feel free to private message me if you have any questions about our trip and what we loved/hated:)

Aimee Falkenberg , any info you have about Ao Nang would be great. We leave in 3 days for a few weeks there with two you kids (5&7). Thanks

Matt I highly recommend you connect with Benyathip Taikhuan with Adamaman Tours. She is INCREDIBLE and has set us up with all of our tours and transfers. We just got here yesterday with 4 kids and staying at Caanan and Cliff Villa which we found out last night is super close to pretty much everything. They have Tesco food market and 7 eleven that has pretty much everything you will need. There are tons of restaurants - we tried one last night that was amazing and lots of kids in there too. I can PM you a picture of it if interested - best curry we have had!
We are doing old Krabi Town and night market with the kids tonight and Benyathip has organized Hong Islands tour in the next few days as well. That’s all I can tell you with today starting as our second day here:) Pm me if you have questions. Have not seen a mosquito here in Ao Nang, we saw lots in Phuket.
ITS HOT AND HUMID!!!

Aimee Falkenberg we too will be there in little over a week with kids, I would love the name of the restaurant!

Bonnie I will take a photo tomorrow!!

Aimee Falkenberg Thank you

We have been to the Philippines and Thailand. The Philippines is absolutely amazing—beautiful beaches/islands all to yourself, yummy food and amazing people. We went to Davao-Samal island (rented scooters and a local took us around for two days), enchanted river (stunning), island hopped in surigoa, Cebu-oslob and swam with whale sharks, Bohol. It was amazing! We will do Palawan when we go back!
Thailand we went to krabi, Railay beach (only get there by boat), Koh phi phi (loved), Koh lanta (great for renting scooters), Koh Samui (busy), Koh pha gnag (loved, rented scooters and explored), Koh tao (great diving and snorkeling areas), chiang mai (did an elephant sanctuary here and was amazing, lots of temples, markets), chiang rai for a day, Bangkok

Philippines- visit siargao island, Davao city, Samal island, camiguin.

Indonesia - obviously Bali (Canggu is the best city on bali). Also go to the Gili and Nusa Islands BUT i highly highly recommend going over to Flores. it is incredible and way less touristy than bali. it was my fav part about indonesia this far

Krabi Thailand.

Darian Knapp

This is great guys!! Thanks!

Filipino Here
Echoing other visitors - Visit Palawan, Siargao. You can skip Manila tbh. Maybe spend a day or two in Makati, Pasay, or Fort Bonifacio. Baguio is cool. Boracay also reinvented itself so that's neat too. Davao in the south has some cool resort islands to snorkle/chill on. And General Santos is mostly interesting Jungle and hills.
It's mostly what you'd see in other tropical paradises. Try all the street food. Taho in a cup is dope. All the Sisig. Fresh Pan De Sal. If you do hit Gen San, try the tamilok for a good story. And of course, Balut.

Vietnam: Phong Nha Caves with Oxalis Tours and Sumatra: Bukit Lawang - stay at Back to Nature. Both amazing places!!!

Given the amount time you have, suggestion to have an open end travel to as many places as can from south to north in each country then crossing borders overland, focusing Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Northern parts of these countries will give a whole different dynamic experience with their culture, people, lifestyles, and scenery that people have appreciated immensely. Otherwise, you may regret skipping over certain places and may consider someday to make plans to back track these places again. Many travellers we ran into these days in SEA are really enjoying and appreciating their open end itinerary visiting as many places as possible. We just came back from Laos a few weeks ago and already planning to go back and back track to some of places that we should visited or spend more time. There are so much to do, so much to see, and so many places to go that will take your breath away. Have a happy travel.

I agree with this 100%

Flores Island and Komodo National Park was my favourite place in Indonesia

Koh Tao was my favourite place in Thailand...soooo chill and beautiful.

I’m currently in Pu Luong Nature Reserve, about 3 hours from Hanoi. Beautiful countryside with the authentic rural lifestyles of the local people and few tourists. My recommendation would be to get here soon...before the rest of the world discovers it!

Buy the lonely planet books. Everything is there.

Ko Phayam outside of Ranong, Thailand Very mellow and relaxing island. No cars and not overrun with scooters.

Since you are interested in culture and you are so close consider taking a short flight to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat. It is an amazing place and huge. If you decide to do this contact me for more info though you are probably overwhelmed with all the info you already have.