It’s hard to believe that only 6 months ago I went on a 3 month long backpacking trip to Southeast Asia which took me to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. From mango sticky rice at the night markets in Chiang Mai to swimming with ginormous manta rays in Nusa Lembogan in Bali,…
While traveling in Southeast Asia, one of the biggest money savers has been staying in hotel for free–for weeks at a time. The free hotel stays were booked using different methods: hotel points earned through credit card sign up bonuses, free credits earned from hotel booking apps and Best Rate Guarantees. In total, we booked 28…
While planning our travels through Vietnam, we underestimated the amount of time and actual travel to get from one region to another. It may not look like a large country, but Vietnam is very long with shifty road conditions, so it could take a very long time to get from point A to B and…
I just spent 30 days in Vietnam while backpacking through South East Asia and Vietnam quickly has become one of my favorite countries that I have ever visited. One of the main reasons being Sapa, a great hill town in the northern Vietnamese highlands. I did the usual touristic stops that everyone visiting Vietnam must…
To travel from Bangkok to Cambodia, you have a few different options which depend on your budget, time and patience. You can take the train, a bus, or a cheap flight to get to Cambodia. Like for most people visiting Cambodia for the first time, my main motivation for traveling there was to experience Angkor…
The last time I remember getting any type of clothes made was when I was 12. My mom made my sister and I matching red pea-coats for Christmas with a matching red barrette. I felt like a classy little 12 year old ready to take Paris by storm, but of course this was in Los…
One of the main attractions of Cambodia is the Angkor Archaeological Park in Siem Reap and for good reason. There are just acres and acres of forest land with ancient Buddhist and Hindu temples dating back to the 9th century constructed out of blocks of stones that weigh tons and each temple is unique in…
If someone were to ask me, what city I thought is the most hip of them all in Southeast Asia, I’d easily say the dusty city of Siem Reap, Cambodia. While it does have a pub street, you will not find much of a party scene in Siem Reap like you would in Bangkok or…
Before arriving to Thailand, I promised myself: no tourist traps. By the second day of gracing my presence in Southeast Asia, I already broke my promise and quite frankly, it’s quite hard to avoid. No matter how much research you put into places “off the beaten path” you’re eventually going to end up at one…
It’s not hard to find great quality, cheap hotels in Asia. There are 5-star hotels for $80, budget hostel dorms for $5 a night and everything else in between–you can’t really go wrong. With budget in mind you can take savings even farther by using the Hotel Quickly app which let’s you book last-minute stays…