Travelling to Asia
Even if Carlo & I were not together yet I can share with you my adventure in Asia.
It was November 2014 when I left Australia after 2 years of Working Holiday Visa, I had just met Carlo and I didn't know if I would have seen him again as my visa was expiring and I had planned to travel on my own in Asia.
Yes it was my first time travelling solo in Asia and I was a bit scared to get lost and I wanted to travel on the cheap as a backpacker.
Of course I met new friends to share my trip and it was so much fun..!
First at all I give you here below my 4 Travel Tips to keep in mind if you like to plan your trips, you will find also pics and info regarding Indonesia and Thailand.
1. Make a plan
Whatever you decide to travel solo or not, I suggest you to make a travel plan. Of course the plan can change while you are travelling but it will give you a schedule. In my opinion, a great travel guide is Lonely Planet.
2. Find a cheap accommodation
I always look into few website to choose my accommodation for my trips. I suggest you www.airbnb.com, www.hostelworld.com and www.tripadvisor.com, where you can check also reviews from other travelers.
3. Live on a daily budget
If you are trying not to spend a fortune like me, try to settle a daily budget so you will know how much you can afford. Eat and live like a local, I personally love eating at local markets and meet new people.
4. Make the most of it!
Yes, because you don't know if you will be back or not so try to do as much as you can and don't forget to enjoy it, we only live once!!!!
BALI - Indonesia: what to see and what to do
When I arrived in Kuta I realized it was a crowded place as I have never seen before and I rented a scooter which was the cheapest way to travel solo around (about 12/15$ per week). After a couple of days I found my way to drive around the cahotic and crazy traffic of Kuta and I went alone exploring the north and east side of Bali where I got lost and found heavy rain on my way back.
I wanted to surf almost of my 3 weeks for this reason I chose to stop in Kuta. The surf's dudes where really friendly, I had a couple of places where I was going every day looking for different waves and company, I met really great friends.
You might find Kuta crowded and frenetic and it might push you to go away as soon as possible but from here you can easily go surfing, sailing, diving, fishing or rafting anywhere in the southern part of Bali and still be back for sunset.
Don’t forget to visit the colorful market in Seminyak and try a relaxed Balinese massage!!!
Things NOT to do: if you respect nature and animals as I do, I reccomend you not to try the famous Civet coffee, that includes part-digested coffee cherries eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet. They way they treat this litte animals makes me really sad.
Here below my pictures of the places I have visited with a short paragraph about each place.
Sunset on the waves from Kuta Beach.
Every day a different sunset at the beach
Surfing in Kuta Beach, the most famous beach in the southern coast.
Enjoying a cold Bintang Beer at the beach.
Umbelievable how this guys work hard all day, but they still having time to relax and enjoy the beach vibes.
Picture with the surf's dudes, crazy guys but I had such a good time.
Thailand: what to see and what to do
After Indonesia I was going to stop in Thailand for 3 weeks before going back home for Christmas in 2015.
I started my journey from Bangkok of course, where in 2 days I went visiting the temples around the capital, the famous Floating Market of Dumnoen Saduak and the Train Market of Maeklong.
As female solo traveler I wanted to do it on my own and organize the trip by myself. I went to Koh Pangan for the famous Full Moon Party (don’t forget to get there at least 3, 4 days before the event otherwise you will find only expensive accommodations!).
I have seen some really amazing beaches there, the weather was great too the Full Moon Party… I don’t remember much except the terrible headache the day after and the buckets of mohitos of the day before..
I was ready for the next place and I decided to take a night ferry on the way to Koh Tao (the worst transport ever). The beach is clear blue, I did a day snorkeling where they took us in the middle of garbage and dead corals, it wasn't what I have expected, I had a bit of disappointing about. A couple of days here and went to visit the famous Koh Phi Phi Island (from the movie "The Beach") and found it really crowded.
Then I moved forward, I stopped by Pucket to visit a friend and caught a plane to Chiang Mai, really a nice town up to the north. I didn't know at that time that there is an Elephant Sanctuary, where they take care and rescue elephants, I would defenitively come back for that.
I rented a scooter and drove to Chiang Rai where I visited the White Temple, really amazing!
On the way back to Bangkok I took the train to Ayutthaya the old capital, where I fed my soul around all this old temples, really a must do!
Things NOT to do: Elephants tours, they generally treat them really badly. The Tiger Kingdom for the same reason, they drug tigers and keep them quiet to make pictures with tourists, how incredibly bad is that? but the problem are tourists that pay for that and keep the business on.
Here below my pictures of the places I have visited with a short paragraph about each place.
