10 Safety Tips for Backpacking Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is worth the hype. It’s one of the most spectacular, bizarre, and beautiful places I’ve ever been. As comfortable as this laid back atmosphere is, lax laws means fewer safety standards than here in the Western world. Traveling to Southeast Asia will be one of the highlights of your life — it just requires a bit of heightened personal responsibility. This is the land where they’ll sell you cheap beer for hours on end and think nothing of sending you into a kayak in deep, murky waters at nightfall without a life preserver. No one means to cause you any harm– safety just isn’t high on the list of priorities. Not all will tell you there are mosquitos carrying malaria or dengue in a particular area– they’ll just laugh and say “there are no mosquitos.” It’s a cultural thing to have a bright outlook on everything rather than take precautions. If you or someone you love is about to jettison off to this corner of the world, particularly if it’s their first overseas adventure, here are some backpacking safety tips for Southeast Asia. Watch out for scams. This is true of every major city everywhere in the world. 99.1% of the people in Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, are fantastic people and will drop everything to help you. But there are still the occasional scams on unwitting tourists — particularly in the tourist areas of cities. Different regions will have different scams, so read up before you arrive. A few of the common ones in Bangkok: Taxi drivers not turning on the meter; telling you an attraction like the Grand Temple is “closed” and taking you somewhere else for a “private tour” with their friend where you’ll have to spend an exorbitant amount. Hanoi has its own set of scams, including one where “shoe cleaners” will throw gum on your shoe and try to clean it off for you in exchange for a fee. (Just keep going.) Bonus Tip: In Bangkok, take the MRT from the airport (BKK) instead of a taxi — the rush hour gridlock is fierce. Ask: Where is the Closest Decent Hospital? It is 2017, but that doesn’t mean a world-class hospital exists in every heavily tourist locale. Thailand has some of the best health care in southeast Asia, whereas hospitals in Laos and Vietnam are dicey. Within Thailand, Koh Tao is one of the hottest destinations for backpackers, but there isn’t a full-fledged hospital there. There are clinics, yes; but for anything serious, you’ll need to be transported to Koh Samui, which is an 1.5 hour journey by ferry. I always take a kit with over the counter medicine with me to save myself the hassle of finding it abroad....
Thailand and Vietnam: The Ultimate 1 Month Itinerary
I love the hub of cities, the serenity of the countryside, extraordinary cuisine, beaches, and limestone karsts. Southeast Asia has it all, and more. I wish I’d had several months to enjoy this region, but it’s hard to be a full-time traveler when your other love is working 50 hours a week in television. If you’re also short on time and want to take in the spectacular scenery of Thailand and Vietnam, you’ll LOVE this 1-month itinerary. It’s a diverse mix of some of Southeast Asia’s highlights at a manageable pace. It includes two major cities (Bangkok, Hanoi), beautiful beaches (Railay, Koh Tao), countryside (Mai Chau), and SPECTACULAR limestone karsts (Khao Sok, Halong Bay, La Han Bay). Yes, there are a zillion blog posts about how to travel this area! However, packing lists and itineraries differ from traveler to traveler, and I always love reading those details as they inspire ideas of my own. Let’s get to it! Bangkok: 4-5 Days Everything you’ve heard about Bangkok is true: It’s humid, crowded, chaotic…but completely electrifying. Spend Day 1 getting acclimated to the time difference and readjusting to being on land after 30+ hours in transit. I met two other people at my hostel and tagged along with them to a charming floating village. It was completely by chance, but it’s the perfect first day in southeast Asia. Spend Days 2 and 3 doing the touristy things: visiting the temples, sampling street food, drinking coconut juice out of a bag, and shopping at Pantip Plaza. Enjoy the nightlife, and be smart about it (don’t drink more than you can handle, don’t accept drinks from strangers, don’t walk back to your hostel alone, etc). Spend Day 4 hanging with any new friends or checking out another place you’ve heard of through word of mouth. A few awesome activities near Bangkok: bicycle safari of the countryside or a day tour of the ruins of Ayutthaya, a smaller version of Siem Reap. Where I Stayed: In a Box Hostel, which fit all four of my criteria: Clean, quiet, close to the metro, and NOT on Khao San Road. If you’re going to splurge, Bangkok is the city to do it: there’s plenty of plush accommodation at reasonable prices. Travel Day: Bangkok -> Koh Tao There’s a bus and boat combo straight to Koh Tao from Bangkok, which takes about 10 hours. The overnight train/ferry option takes 13 hours. You can also fly direct from Bangkok to Koh Samui and take the ferry to Koh Tao, but it’s pricey. (When I did this trip, I spent two disappointing nights on Koh Samui. Some people love Koh Samui… maybe it’s good for luxury getaways and honeymoons, but from my perspective as a flash packer, it fell flat and...
Is Cheow Lan Lake Thailand’s Most Underrated Destination?
The limestone karsts of Southeast Asia have been calling my name for years. How I never managed to hear about Cheow Lan Lake at Khao Sok National Park until I was sitting on a longtail boat right smack in the middle of it is a mystery. While we were in Bangkok, our guide had undersold an unassuming “additional trip to a lake” as part of our stop at Khao Sok National Park. The lackluster description and additional cost made me consider giving it a miss. Fortunately, I let my decision be swayed by group opinion, and I found myself in one of those rare instances when forking over the cash without doing any research yields MASSIVE rewards. “What are your plans after Thailand?” one of my tourmates asked in one of the rare moments when my camera wasn’t smashed against my cheek. “Vietnam,” I answered, my eyes continuously darting around in an attempt to take in each beautiful moment. “I have to see Halong Bay… although now, I’m doubting it could top this.” “More beautiful than Vietnam,” our guide interrupted with an enormous smile. “More beautiful than China. Most beautiful in all of Asia.” It was only my fourth day in Asia, but I believed him. Cheow Lan was the most beautiful sight I’d seen in my life. About Cheow Lan Lake Cheow Lan Lake is located within Khao Sok, Thailand’s largest national park. While the formations and rainforest of Khao Sok is estimated to be one of the oldest in the world, Cheow Lan Lake is man-made, created as an electricity source in the early 80’s. There is evidence of this flooded landscape in shallower waters, where the tops of lifeless trees hauntingly remain. After cruising along for thirty minutes, and had seen zero evidence of civilization since getting on the boat. We passed one other longtail with four passengers. I was in a constant state of awe and disbelief — Where are all the tourists? Why isn’t this on the cover of every guidebook? How do people not know about this?! Just when my eyes were about to explode from taking in so much beauty, our destination appeared: Floating bungalows, microscopic in size at the base of the massive surroundings. We squealed at how remote, picturesque, and perfect it was. With the exception of a group of tourists that stopped by for an hour, we had the floating bungalows completely to ourselves. We basked in the sun, swam, kayaked, had a delicious lunch, and took hundreds of photos. It was glorious. How Does Cheow Lan Lake Compare to Halong Bay? It isn’t always fair to compare destinations, but Cheow Lan has a similar draw as Halong: Spectacular limestone karsts shooting out...
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I'm Laryssa, and when I'm not working in film or television, I'm attempting to travel -- or I'm here, providing resources for working in film or travel. Read more Elsewhere on the internets
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