Tag: Southeast Asia Travels 2013
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Traveling Through Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and Japan, Summer 2013
After spending three months living and working in Antarctica with the United States Antarctic Program, I was dropped off in Christchurch in February, 2013, and spent the next three and a half months traveling up through Australia and New Zealand, around Southeast Asia, and finally up to Japan. It was an incredible opportunity, the trip…
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Kyoto, Japan
Kyoto, Japan – the final stop on my journey through Asia, and certainly a beautiful one. I had just spent 5 days in Tokyo with friends, and although I really really really loved Tokyo, I wanted to experience riding on the bullet train, and wanted to see the Japanese cultural capital of Kyoto. Although Kyoto…
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Roadtripping from Tokyo to Yokohama
My friend Taeko was nice enough to come meet me in Tokyo, and after spending a few days there, her and I met up with another friend and the three of us set off by car down to Yokohama. More vending machines for ordering at fast food joints! Chinatown in Yokohama My favourite drink! Our…
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Pre-Dawn at the Tsujiki Fish Market, Tokyo
A quintissential activity for any traveler visiting Tokyo for the first time is a pre-dawn visit to the tuna auction at the Tsujiki Fish Market – and I did just that. About 4 in the morning, trucks full of flash frozen tuna start arriving and offloading the fish into the auction house. Small forklifts zip…
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Tokyo, Japan
Japan, at long last. It was the #1 country on my to-do list for many years, and I was glad to finally make it there. Although Japan is obviously not part of the traditional Southeast Asia travelers route, I was able to get a 10 day stopover there as part of my USAP return ticket,…
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Back in Bangkok
After Cambodia, my next stop was Japan, but to get there, I had to make a brief trek back to Bangkok to catch my flight north. Round 2 in Bangkok was a lot of fun. I met up with some friends I had met previously in my travels, saw a movie or two, and relaxed.…
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Exploring Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Angkor Wat, Cambodia – finally my opportunity to visit the world’s largest religious monument – and I was completely tired out and bored with visiting religious monuments. Initially the whole situation was a bit depressing – but it turned out better than I could have expected, and I had an incredible time exploring this epically…
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First Things First in Siem Reap: Circus and Swimming
Two days in Phnom Penh, and then it was off to Siem Reap. Although my main activity in Siem Reap was to be exploring Angkor Wat, I did take time for a few other things. First, a good friend of mine invited me over to the luxurious La Residence d’Angkor hotel. The hotel sits in…
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Entering Cambodia via Phnom Penh
Vietnam was great, and I really wish I could have spent much more time there. It’s certainly a country worth returning to. However, I was on a somewhat tight schedule, and still wanted to see Cambodia. I took a bus across from Saigon to Phnom Penh, and checked into the Mad Monkey Hostel in the…
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Saigon, Vietnam
And my final stop in Vietnam was a quick two days in Saigon. I was feeling under a bit of a time crunch, but still wanted to at least get a brief view of Saigon. I flew from Hoi An to Saigon. Walking around the city was fantastic, and it certainly has a distinct character.
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The Cu Chi Tunnels
What trip to Vietnam would be complete without a trip to visit the famous Cu Chi Tunnels? From Wikipedia: The tunnels of C? Chi are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels located in the C? Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam, and are part of a much larger network of tunnels…
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Exploring Hoi An, Vietnam
Finally, I was in the famed city of Hoi An, Vietnam. I had heard of the town from a number of friends, and was excited to be there. Staying at the Sunflower Hotel was great, and gave me a great location to explore. Sunflower’s pool is fantastic! At night, there are beautiful lanterns placed everywhere,…
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Biking from Hue to Hoi An, Vietnam
Next stop after Hue was our final destination of Hoi An, Vietnam. For this last leg, we rented motor scooters, and took to the open road. Fueling up in the morning before departing town. Out on the road, the views were beautiful. For lunch, we stopped at the Langco Bay Banyan Tree Resort – a…
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Planting Rice
Hue, Vietnam is surrounded by rice paddies – and after literally months of seeing rice everywhere in SE Asia, I felt like I needed to know more. Through a few connections, I got connected with a woman who worked her rice paddies in a nearby village. I got driven out to her house, and then…
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The Hue Imperial City
Next stop in Hue was the Hue Imperial Palace. From UNESCO: Established as the capital of unified Viet Nam in 1802, Hué was not only the political but also the cultural and religious centre under the Nguyen dynasty until 1945. The Perfume River winds its way through the Capital City, the Imperial City, the Forbidden…
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A Beach Bar in Hue, Vietnam
Hue was beautiful, in part because of the prime relaxation opportunities available – including this nice beach bar on an unnamed, pristine beach just outside of Hue, Vietnam. To get there, we drove out to a spit of land, and then hiked through a shady bamboo tunnel. The bar also has a few little cabanas…
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Arrival in Hue, Vietnam
A few days on the road, and finally we were in our first larger town, Hue, Vietnam. We stayed at a local hostel, and upon checking into our dorm rooms, immediately grabbed a few bikes and set off to watch the sunset, again, over the farmland. Hue is a beautiful town, and it took just…
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Sunset at the Phong Nha Farmstay
After a day of exploring Paradise Cafe, we rolled on over to the beautiful Phong Nha Farmstay for an evening swim, drink, and sunset. The farmstay is a beautiful hostel located right on the edge of a huge section of farmland. The various buildings that make up the farmstay are clean and nice. Out back,…
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Inside Dong Hoi’s Paradise Cave
Driving southward in Vietnam, one of the distinct highlights of the natural landscape is the world-class cave formations. Although our time traveling through the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park was limited, the essential stop at Paradise Cave was incredible. View Larger Map This gigantic cave was only discovered in 2005, and tourists have only been…
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Going Inside the Vinh Moc Tunnels, Vietnam
On our way down to Hue, we made one brief, but solid stop at the Vinh Moc Tunnels. From Wikipedia: Vinh Moc (V?nh M?c) is a tunnel complex in Quang Tri, Vietnam. During the Vietnam War it was strategically located on the border of North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The tunnels were built to shelter…