Singapore is clean, beautiful and blissfully organized — like nowhere else in Southeast Asia! Unfortunately, that comes at a price. Singapore is much more expensive than the rest of Southeast Asia. For a cheap, basic backpacker’s itinerary, what would cost you $20-30 in Thailand or Vietnam would cost you upwards of $50 in Singapore. But […]
How to Do Singapore on the Cheap Read More »
Everyone was right – Little India WAS worlds away from the rest of Singapore. The city-state’s immaculate streets were suddenly filled with every color of the rainbow. Swaths of crimson and azure silk hung from fabric shops; gold jewelry glittered from glass-covered cases. But it was still Singapore – still clean, still orderly, still marvelous!
Getting Henna in Little India, Singapore Read More »
Lots of people dream of finding a random island in Thailand, getting a beach hut for a dollar, and spending days doing nothing and spending next to nothing, just chilling on a beautiful beach with a guitar. I’m sorry to break it to you, but that image, more or less, no longer exists. Thailand’s islands
Koh Chang: The Last Cheap Thai Island Read More »
I survived a shipwreck. Saying that feels unreal – like it happened in a dream, or a really bad Lifetime movie. Seriously, did this actually happen to me?! But it did happen, and I survived. This is my story. The Beginning I was invited to join Perama Tours’ Hunting Komodo by Camera tour as a
Adventurous Kate Gets Shipwrecked in Indonesia Read More »
They are the cutest kids you’ve ever seen, they can swear their heads off in multiple languages, and they can get you to buy anything. They’re one of the symbols of Sihanoukville, Cambodia – the child vendors selling bracelets on Serendipity Beach. You will grow to love these kids, who spend their days selling overpriced
The Adorable, Trash-Talking Kid Vendors of Sihanoukville Read More »
It takes a lot for me to lose my cool. I’ve managed 34-hour bus rides with locals lying in the aisles and smoking cigarettes. I’ve managed beds full of ants and squat toilets covered with cockroaches. I’ve managed scams, strep throat, and sleep deprivation. So when I finally lost my cool and freaked out, what
Meet My Nemesis: Durian Fruit Read More »
As our bus hurtles down the road to the beach town of Mui Ne, Vietnam, my friends and I have abandoned the laptops and guidebooks in our laps. The reason? We’re unable to drag our eyes away from the landscape unfolding before us. How can this place exist? In Vietnam, nonetheless? It looks like the
Mui Ne: Like Nowhere Else in Vietnam Read More »
“Do the Nha Trang boat trip. Do the Nha Trang boat trip!!” There’s something that I’ve learned in my months on the Southeast Asia Backpacker Trail — if several people fervently tell you that you have to do an activity, you do it. No questions. So as soon as we rolled into Nha Trang, Vietnam’s
The Infamous Boat Trip of Nha Trang, Vietnam Read More »
Street food, as any Southeast Asia traveler knows, is one of the culinary highlights of the region! Street food in Thailand may be the most famous, but Vietnam has many delicious specialties worth trying, from Hanoi to Saigon. Here are some of my favorite dishes, shared by region from north to south: Pho, or noodle
Street Food in Vietnam Read More »
I knew Hoi An was famous for its abundance of custom clothing tailors, but I had no idea just how crazy fashion in Hoi An could get! It started with a girl I met in my dorm in Hanoi. She was wearing incredible Nike sneakers made out of beautifully patterned Asian satin. “Your shoes are
Designing AWESOME Custom Clothing in Hoi An Read More »