Travels

From October 2022 till May 2023, my partner and I decided to take a career break and travel through South East Asia.

You can see loads more photos and stories on my Instagram.

Singapore and Malaysia

We started our travels in Singapore to taste some of the Michelin-rated hawker stalls and delicious kopi. After a couple of weeks, we then traveled to Malaysia to visit Kuala Lumpur and Penang in the north. Penang is particularly known for its delicious food, beautiful architecture, and Char Koay Teow.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Penang, Malaysia Penang, Malaysia Singapore Singapore Penang, Malaysia Penang, Malaysia Penang, Malaysia Penang, Malaysia Singapore Penang, Malaysia Penang, Malaysia Penang, Malaysia Penang, Malaysia Penang, Malaysia Penang, Malaysia Penang, Malaysia Penang, Malaysia Penang, Malaysia Penang, Malaysia

Thailand and Cambodia

From Malaysia, we took a boat to some of the islands on the west coast of Thailand. There are so many beautiful islands you can visit; I’d definitely recommend Koh Lipe or Koh Tao, with beautiful beaches and great diving spots. After all the sun and beaches, we hit the road and traveled to Bangkok. It was great to be back in the city with all the foods you can think of, galleries, museums, and so much more.

At this point, our visa was approaching its end, but there was still so much to see in Thailand. We decided to extend our stay and head to the north of Thailand to see the cities of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. We couldn’t miss some of the picturesque temples in the country.

After Thailand, we traveled to Cambodia to see the royal palace in its capital city of Phnom Penh and learn more about the brutal history of the country. We also had to go and see Siem Reap and the Angkor Wat temples in the north, the eighth wonder of the world.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia Bangkok, Thailand Bangkok, Thailand Chiang Mai, Thailand Chiang Rai, Thailand Chiang Rai, Thailand Bangkok, Thailand Phnom Penh, Cambodia Chiang Rai, Thailand Bangkok, Thailand Siem Reap, Cambodia Battambang, Cambodia Koh Lipe, Thailand Siem Reap, Cambodia Chiang Rai, Thailand

Vietnam and Taiwan

From Cambodia, we headed to Vietnam. At this point, it’s almost the end of the year, so we figured we take a little break and stay in one place for a little while. We found this pet sit in Hoi An, in central Vietnam. The town is beautiful, even though it’s very popular with tourists, but it has some of the best banh mi we had in the whole of Vietnam.

We then flew north to Hanoi, which kind of became our base for various other trips. We went to Ha Long Bay for a cruise for a couple of days, took a trip to Ha Giang on the Chinese border, where we did a motorcycle tour through the countryside. We also visited Sapa to see some mountains or Ninh Binh with its limestone peaks.

Throughout our stay in Vietnam, we tried to learn more about the food, coffee, various tribes, and wars in Vietnam. It’s a beautiful country with so much to see.

As our next stop, we are planning to go to Japan, but it’s still a little too cold, so we picked Taiwan for a few weeks. This country was probably one of the biggest surprises. We didn’t really plan to go there or know much about it. But after a visit, I can’t recommend this country enough. With beautiful countryside, delicious food, easy mobility, and some of the friendliest people, you have to visit this place.

Hoi An, Vietnam Taipei, Taiwan Hoi An, Vietnam Ninh Binh, Vietnam Taipei, Taiwan Ha Giang, Vietnam Hoi An, Vietnam Hualin, Taiwan Taiwan Ninh Binh, Vietnam Ha Long Bay, Vietnam Taiwan Sapa, Vietnam Ha Giang, Vietnam Taipei, Taiwan Ha Giang, Vietnam Ha Giang, Vietnam Taipei, Taiwan Ha Giang, Vietnam

Japan and South Korea

As a big fan of ramen and sushi, I couldn’t wait to come to Japan, and it really did not disappoint. From bustling Tokyo to traditional Kyoto, it’s just such a cool place to visit. Everywhere we went, we only had great experiences, and even with a language barrier, everyone we interacted with was nice and kind.

One of the most beautiful places we visited in Japan was the island of Naoshima. There are some of the most beautiful art galleries that I have ever seen and just spectacular countryside. I can’t recommend this place enough to anyone visiting Japan.

Our last stop was South Korea. It turned out you can take a ferry from Fukuoka, Japan, to Busan in South Korea, and after maybe 4 hours on a boat, you end up in a modern city, with some nice beaches and plenty of seafood BBQ options.

We slowly made our way from the south through Gyeongju, Andong, and Gangneung all the way to Seoul, which was then our last stop.

Nara, Japan Naoshima, Japan Naoshima, Japan Kurashiki, Japan Naoshima, Japan Osaka, Japan Kurashiki, Japan Naoshima, Japan Osaka, Japan Busan, South Korea Kyoto, Japan Kyoto, Japan Seoul, South Korea Seoul, South Korea Kyoto, Japan Nara, Japan Nara, Japan Tokyo, Japan Tokyo, Japan