South East Asia .... a bucket lister's paradise

Travelling continues to be one of my greatest passions. It's true what they say that its the one thing you can spend money on that makes you richer.

I just got back from just over three weeks in South East Asia: Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia and I fell in love with the people and the places. Its definitely an area I want to explore more ... and I'm already planning a trip back to Siem Reap to volunteer at a school that I visited as I want to truly immerse myself in the culture and give something back. Aside from being an incredible trip, it was also a great place to cross some things off the list. 

Here's a rundown of some of the things I crossed off and others which should have been there. This blog will also turn into a travel blog for a bit as each place I visited is worthy of its own post for anyone wishing to go there, but for now lets go back to the list.

#22 - Fly on a zipwire through the jungle

I had the opportunity to do this in Chiang Mai Thailand. It wasn't on the original trip  itinerary but its always appealed to me and a local guide recommended using 'Jungle Flight', as some of the places really rip you off. Its something I've always wanted to do ... I love a bit of action and adventure, but don't really have the balls for bungee jumping so this will suffice for now. It was so much fun! There are about 30 platforms and you zip  across from one to the other on zip wires ... feeling relatively safe which is more than I can say for most of the activities I tried out there. Loved the 300m zip line through the jungle with nothing but the trees below and scenic mountain landscapes all around. The scariest bit was actually the freefall/abseil required to get down from some of the 40m platforms, but after closing my eyes when my stomach came to my throat on the first jump I enjoyed those too. A great day out in the jungle (and an opportunity for some extreme selfies)!

  

- Difficulty: 2/10 (All you need is a bit of time, some balls and around 2000 bhat)

- Thrill factor: 9/10 (flying through trees and then jumping off them was exhilirating)

- Sense of acheivement/fulfilment: 6/10 (lived up to my expectations, but not life changing)

- Recommend to a friend: 10/10 (one of the funnest things I did on my trip)

 

#34 - Ride an Elephant 

This something I've always seen photos of people doing on their Asia trips or seen on travel documentaries and thought would be fun so when we had the opportunity to do it in Luang Prabang, Laos I jumped at the chance. Just to set the scene a little, we were due to do this after our lunch by the Mekong River, travelling through the local village to the sandy banks of the river and then showering/bathing with the elephants. Sounded great, right? So we trooped up to the elephant centre and the majestic animals were beckoned from their lunch in the jungle for riding. If you've never been up close and personal with an elephant the sheer size of them will take you by surprise. They are massive!!! Huge!! Gigantic!!! (you get the idea) They eat between 300-350kg a day and have unsatiable appetities (I think I may have been an elephant in a previous life - genuinely relate to the constant hunger). It really struck me how small I felt next to these giant beasts. Then came mounting the elephant. We rode on a seat so had to climb up some stairs to mount it. The seat didnt feel safe or secure at all and I was worried about putting my feet on the poor elephant so wasn't the comfiest of rides as we swayed through the village atop the elephant, with no leash or stick or commands, accompanied by a 15 year old boy who seemed to be in no control of the elephant and was more focused on taking photos of the wild pigs and other village life for us on the cameras we'd handed to him. As I mentioned earlier the elephants were taken from feeding time for us to ride and therefore our elephant appeared to be starving, constantly stopping to eat a tree and even eyeing up a few chickens despite being vegetarian. It was also about 40 degrees so he was pretty flustered. So i spent most of the journey worried about the poor hot and hungry elephant and the rest trying not to fall out of my seat as it went down slopes and over hills. Once we got down to the beach by the river I started to enjoy it as the ride felt safer, the elephant was fed and therefore seemed happier and the location was amazingly scenic. When it got to the showering with them part I chickened out ... it had been a long day, the river's waters looked murky and i didnt fancy the hour long drive back to the city feeling wet and filthy. I did however enjoy feeding bananas to the elephants and petting them. Throughly more enjoyable for me than the initial ride through the  village, and substantially more enjoyable for the elephants. Now that its crossed off the list I'm not in any hurry to repeat the experience but loved meeting the beautiful creatures. 

- Difficulty 6/10 (Provided you can find an elephant centre which is easy enough in Asia and dont freak out by the lack of safety its doable)

- Thrill factor: 5/10 (More scary at times than thrilling, largely due to the size of the elephants and lack of control from our guide)

- Sense of acheivement/fulfilment: 4/10 (i did it, elephants are beautiful creatures, but enjoyed the feeding more than the ride)

- Recommend to a friend: 5/10 (some people love the experience, i spent most of the time feeling sorry for the elephant or fearing it would stampede into the jungle or that i'd fall off and get trampled)

 

#70 - Ride a tuk tuk

 

There are many types of tuk tuk in South East Asia but the premise is largely the same - some kind of motorcycle attached to some kind of carriage. They are cheap and relatively comfortable and so they are the most popular mode of travel in most cities in that part of the world. I rode a ton of tuk tuks and actually miss them now I'm back. I had some great tuk tuk drivers, like the awesome Mr Smiley in Phnom Penh, and some less good ones like my driver in Bangkok who gave me a 90min tour of the city's sites for $2 but spoke no English other than 'photo' 'buddha' and 'up to me, up to you' ... still not exactly sure where he took me so might have to do some googling to label my photos from that day. Beware though, there are lots of tuk tuks who overcharge tourists or insist on taking you to shops and outlets where they get comission for taking customers. Agree on the destination and price before you ride them. Also avoid tuk tuks with red flags on the top in Thailand - apparently those are run by the mafia! A fact I didnt find out til my last day in Thailand.

 

 

- Difficulty 1/10 (Relatively comfortable. Wish we had them at home)

- Thrill factor: 5/10 (Some scary moments e.g. when facing the chaotic traffic in Vietnam or being thrown about in the carriage on a bumpy dirt path in Siem Reap but generally felt safe)

- Sense of acheivement/fulfilment: 2/10 (not life changing, quite fun)

- Recommend to a friend: 8/10 (best way to travel in Asia)

 

#114  - Eat an insect

 

Food closely follows travel as one of my greatest passions. I love trying the local delicacy in each place I visit. In a lot of places in Asia these can be weird and wonderful - insects included. I guess this item appeared on my list out of a childlike curiosity as to what bugs tasted like. There are all sorts of creepy crawlies readily available for tasting in most markets ... crickets, grasshoppers, silk worms, spiders, beetles etc. I opted for trying grasshoppers in Chiang Mai as apparently the worms squirt and ooze in your mouth (eugh). The woman at the stall wouldn't let me buy just one so I ended up with a 100g bag of around 30 grasshoppers and sat down in a bar armed with a glass of wine and my newly purchased snack. Its a bit weird at first as you need to pull of the legs before eating it (wouldn't wanna get grasshopper stuck in your teeth would you) but then, as they've been fried and marinated, its essentially just a crunchy, savoury snack. I actually ended up eating about 10. Probably wouldn't eat them if the novelty factor wasn't there but largely tolerable. I also tried some crickets in Phnom Penh which were similar in taste and texture and an assortment of weird fruits and vegetables and even some really tasty frogs. I drew the line at the worms, quali foetus and gross looking fermented eggs that were offered to me though .... those just made my stomach turn.

- Difficulty 7/10 (Once you get over the mental block that its a bug its fine)

- Thrill factor: 2/10 (Not exciting just satisfying the curiosity).

- Sense of acheivement/fulfilment: 1/10

- Recommend to a friend: 5/10 (if you are a curious foodie like me its worth doing as i couldn't really compare the taste to anything else)

 

Things that weren't on my list but should have been:

 

 

• Travel solo. So many people freak out when I say I went on my own but I loved it. You don't have to compromise as to what you want to do and you get to enjoy just 'being' somewhere. So many peaceful moments were enjoyed and I totally switched off. As long as you're not stupid its perfectly safe and you meet a ton of interesting people along the way.
• Take cooking lessons. I did cooking school sessions in Thailand and Cambodia and a cooking demo in Vietnam. My passion is food and learning about ingredients and techniques from the various countries was both fun and interesting. I've come back armed with knives, bowls, spices and recipes and can't wait to recreate the dishes at home. If cooking isn't your thing then try whatever else your passion is in a different country ... it adds a new perspective.
• Visit Kuang Si falls, Halong Bay and Angkor Wat. I took about 400 photos in each of these and they didn't do justice to the natural beauty of these places. A must see for any one travelling to South East Asia.

 

There's so much other stuff too ... but those will be covered in my travel blog posts which are coming soon! Watch this space!