So glad we decided to splurge out on a hotel than spend the night in the airport. We slept once in Kuala Lumpur airport and while it wasn’t all that terrible, I definitely prefer a bed to a seat in the food court. [Read more…]
Things lost on the road
Wrapping up a year of travel, I thought I would make a list of things I have lost this year.
- four toenails, thanks to Rinjani
- my iPod
- my swimming costume
- a beanie
- my consumption of meat
- my Australian identity (After spending four years living outside of Sydney and a good part of this year in Vietnam, I now feel a whole lot more Vietnamese than Australian.)
- a fear of squat toilets and peeing in nature (When we were waiting for our bus to Danang, I asked a woman where the bathroom was. She brought me to the side of the road and we peed on the grass along with three other Vietnamese women, while a bus pulled up next to us.)
- caring about what i look like (Though this may come back upon arriving back in Europe. Right now I am too used to wearing the same thing everyday and not wearing any makeup.)
Traveling Asia as an Asian girl with a white guy
Traveling with a white guy sticks out more in Asia than in Europe. (Though I was yelled at a few times and called a puttana in Bologna while I was traveling with a white male friend.) Unfortunately, it’s still a (white) man’s world, especially in Asia. [Read more…]
Where we stayed for under $20: recommended budget lodgings in Asia
Here is a compiled list of our favourite budget places we stayed throughout Asia. We paid less than 20USD/night, and a majority of them under $15. (Though a lot of the time we negotiated the price/ it was low season/ we were staying a few nights.) None of these places we booked – we just found them while walking or motorbiking, looking for accommodation. I know you can definitely get much cheaper (and we have stayed much cheaper but then cleanliness also goes down), but we these places are the ones that stand out when I think about all the places we have stayed on this trip. They were clean, comfortable and had a nice vibe. [Read more…]