Singapore

March 25, 2026 ~ Cat ~ Leave a comment

A slightly over 2 hour flight from Bali and I’m back in Singapore for 5 days. Several people had told me that the half a day I had on the way south from Malaysia to Indonesia wasn’t enough (they were right) and so I was back, to spend the longest amount of time in one hotel since Adelaide in mid-December (it’s now the middle of March).

My flight arrived mid afternoon, and having booked a hotel near a metro station that was essentially on the one line from Changi airport, I’d arrived to find that due to engineering works, I would have to take a slightly more convoluted journey. An hour or so later, I had reached the hotel a 2 minute walk from Lavender station feeling quite pleased with myself for navigating the metro. You can pay for Singapore’s metro using contactless cards at the gate so no need to worry about getting tickets from anywhere (though there were manned ticket booths at the stations too).

After sort of unpacking and making use of the air con (low 30s and humid in Singapore), I headed out to Gardens By The Bay in the evening and by the time I’d got some food and meandered around, I’d inadvertently timed it very well for the Garden Rhapsody music and light show which happens every evening at 7.45pm and 8.45pm. I called it a night after that as it had been a fairly long travel day.

The Supertrees at Gardens by the Bay with Marina Bay Sands hotel in the background

I started the next morning with a walk through nearby Kampong Glam. It was quite peaceful wandering through the narrow streets in the morning, this area comes to life in the evening.

Next up I headed to Raffles Hotel for the one drink I had to buy in Singapore, a Singapore Sling at the Long Bar. I was there by 11.30am and found only 2 people in front of me in the queue. Advantage of being a solo patron is that I ended up sat at the bar! Obviously it’s a thing to do here, and it certainly comes at a price (£31 for one drink including tax and tip), but it was pretty cool to be sat at the bar, sipping on the most expensive drink I’ve ever bought, and eating as many of the ‘free’ monkey nuts as I could manage. The queue was snaking round the corner when I left at 12.30pm.

I then wandered towards Little India, and stopped off at a hawker centre for a delicious laksa (£2.50!) for lunch. After spending the afternoon in the AC in the hotel room, I headed to Orchard Road, full of shopping malls, and a quick walk up the very pretty street of Emerald Hill. Back to Kampong Glam for dinner in the evening.

The next morning I went back to Gardens by the Bay to visit the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest. Tickets for both of these cost $46 SGD. I loved wandering around both of these and getting some houseplant and garden inspiration for when I’m back home!

After some chicken satay for lunch, I continued my botanical day by heading out to the Botanical Gardens. I’d planned this slightly poorly and arrived in the mid afternoon heat. After a very slow wander to a cafe in the centre of the gardens, I had an iced tea and slice of cake before calling it a day and heading back to the cool AC in the hotel.

One of the things I’ve been missing food-wise on my travels in Asia is cheese. And one of the missions I gave myself for Singapore was to find cheese (my other mission was to find shampoo/conditioner for curly hair, only partially successful). My cheese mission was successful and I put myself into a cheese coma!

Considering the prices here, this plus my iced tea was only £25 – not bad!

I needed to walk off the cheese so I headed out to East Singapore in the afternoon, for a walk along the East Coast Beach, and through Katong and the very pretty Peranakan Houses. Not a lot of tourists make it out this way, and it was a very nice, peaceful walk through the neighbourhood and to the nearest MRT station to get me back to my hotel.

On my final day I decided to head to Sentosa Island. Sentosa is essentially an island resort for the city. There are gorgeous beaches here, as well as Universal Studios, an aquarium and a bunch of hotels. I took the monorail over and walked up the beach path to Siloso fort which is the remnants of one of the many forts which in the past fortified Singapore, and free to visit.

After a slow wander back along the beach (it was again a very hot day, I am hoping I will see some benefit from all the walking in the hot humidity when I get home and go running again…), I had Singapore chicken and rice for lunch before heading back to the mainland. There are heaps of shopping malls in Singapore, and whilst I still don’t have any room in my bag, I did enjoy wandering around some of those in the Marina Bay area. I got a bit excited about seeing an M&S Food – I just about resisted the Percy Pigs – for some reason they seem to import the milk from the UK which seems slightly mad…

It was definitely worth coming back to Singapore for a few days. Aside from the obvious tourists sights, I really enjoyed some of the quieter places in East Singapore too. It’s pretty expensive here though and a bit of a shock to the system after the last couple of months in SE Asia. You can keep costs down by eating at hawker centres and taking the metro/MRT (I’ve no idea how they work out the ticketing, I used my debit card at the gate each time I used the MRT which I did fairly extensively over my 5 nights here, and it cost me £10 in total which included getting to and from Changi airport). But definitely worth spending a few days here and I’m sure I’ll be back at some point, if only on a layover.

Bali

March 19, 2026 ~ Cat ~ Leave a comment

We caught the ferry to Bali from Ketapang in the east of Java. The ferry ride was about an hour, a calm sea despite the torrential rain that joined us on our journey.

Once on Bali we drove for about an hour to our home for the next 2 nights in Pemuteran on the northern coast of Bali. We were staying in a lovely, quiet resort with cute bungalows and a lovely pool. Dinner in the hotel restaurant that night with some local Balinese rosé wine which wasn’t too bad if I’m honest! We were also treated to some local Balinese dancing, lots of twirling of hands and bending back the palms, which is quite tricky when you try to do it!

The next day was a free day. I chose to do a cooking class in the morning, where we learned how to cook some local dishes including moringa soup which we’d had at Seloliman and was delicious, fried tempeh, chicken curry, and Dadar Bali, which is green pandan leaf pancakes stuffed with a coconut sugar filling, for dessert. My challenge when I go home is to source some moringa leaves in the UK!

The next day we headed to our stop for the next 3 nights in Ubud. Ubud is in the centre south of Bali and is something of a jungle oasis. The island of Bali isn’t huge but the terrain means winding roads up over peaks in the centre of the island and so it took us several hours, and a couple of pit stops.

Whilst I’d booked this trip through Java and Bali as one 3 week trip, it was actually 2 trips of 2 weeks from Jakarta to Ubud and then 1 week around Bali. The first part of the trip ended in Ubud and we had a final dinner with the group which sort of doubled up as a pre birthday celebration as it was my birthday the next day. There was cake!

With absolutely no conscious planning on my part, my birthday ended up being a free day in Ubud. I booked myself a spa package with a Balinese massage, body scrub and citrus bath as a treat, and very relaxing it was too!

We met the new group that evening (only 3 of us out of the 9 on the first trip carried on through Bali) and the following day we had a guided walk around a village on the outskirts of Ubud. We stopped at a local house and made a traditional Balinese offering. These are made daily, both at home and at shops, hotels, restaurants, for gratitude and balance between good and evil. You see them everywhere around Bali, they are usually accompanied by a burning incense stick.

Balinese offerings and houses and statues around the village

That evening we went to a traditional Kecak dance performance. This was a real spectacle, the ‘music’ is provided by what must have been at least 50 men chanting throughout. It was quite hypnotic. There was also traditional dancing, and fire.

The next day we left Ubud, via some very picturesque rice terraces. Pretty sure people come here for shots for the ‘gram… We also had a cycling trip on the way – 15km almost entirely downhill. I’m not a confident cyclist, I’ve only been on a bike 3 times in the last 20 years and 2 of those were in Indonesia in the last fortnight. The heavens opened after 5km and I, along with a couple of the others, bailed and went the rest of the way in the minibus. Everyone else seemed to enjoy it though!

We ended the day in a small village called Undisan. The following morning we had a guided walk around the village, seeing the temples, and some local crafts including making these beautiful, delicate ornate head pieces out of bronze sheets. We ended the walk with a traditional bungkus lunch which is what the workers in the rice fields would eat – delicious chicken, veggies, tempeh, tofu and rice.

After lunch we headed to Sibetan Village, where we would be staying in home stays with the local villagers. One of the things I really enjoy about these kind of trips is getting off the beaten track, away from the usual tourist hotspots, to see a bit about what life is really like in these places. This village grows a lot of salak (snake fruit, so called because of how the skin looks). We were greeted with a glass of salak juice which was very refreshing, and later tasted some salak wine and liquors…the flavoured versions were more palatable than the neat liquor!

In the evening we went to a local restaurant and enjoyed some more delicious food, along with more salak for dessert.

In the morning we had a walk around this village, learning about salak and other plants that grow here. I’ve really enjoyed the walks around the villages and seeing everything that grows – a lot of plants that I have as houseplants at home! As I was travelling in the run up to Balinese New Year (Nyepi), we also saw lots of ogoh ogoh statutes under construction. The villagers make these and then parade them though the towns and villages on the eve of Nyepi before burning them to purify before the new year. This was also really cool to see and learn about.

After lunch we journeyed towards our next stop near to Mount Batur. An early rise (3am) the next morning for another attempt at a sunrise hike. Would I be third time lucky on my current travels at seeing a sunrise having gotten up so early?!

We drove to the foothills of the volcano, as far as the road goes, and then started the hike. It was completely pitch black and even with head torches, I found it quite difficult to see what I was doing. We walked upwards with some breaks for around an hour and 40 minutes. We waited at the top, literally in the clouds which were blowing over, but eventually we saw the sun, and a small cheer erupted from everyone gathered on the mountain. We watched for around half an hour or so as the sun kept disappearing and reappearing behind the clouds. After failed sunrises at Angkor Wat and Mt Bromo, I’m very glad that finally a very early wake up was really worth it!!

We were back at the hotel for breakfast and a shower, and then headed off back to the north coast, to Lovina, for 2 nights. After lunch at a local cafe which provides employment for deaf people (a great initiative), we had free time for the rest of the day. I mostly spent it resting in the air conditioning though I did make it to the beach for sunset.

We had a full day of activities the next day, starting with a drive back to the north west of the island, past Pemuteran where we stayed on our first couple of days in Bali, to Menjangan Island where most of the group did some snorkelling, and I stayed on the boat. We were moored over a coral reef that was quite shallow and I could see quite a lot of fish zooming in and out of the reefs. Certainly more than I would have seen without my glasses if I had snorkelled (I’ve learnt this from prior experience!)

We had lunch on the island and on the way back, we stopped off for a soak at Banjar Hot Springs which was very much like having a warm bath. Apparently bathing in these springs can make you look years younger but I’m not quite sure about that…

That evening we had dinner at a local restaurant with some more delicious Balinese cuisine. The corn fritters were a winner for me, but all of it was fantastic.

The next day was our last full day on the trip, and my final full day in Indonesia after almost 3 weeks. We headed south east across the island, to Sanur. We stopped along the way at Gitgit Waterfalls, where we were the only people there, and later at Pura Ulun Danu Bratan temple, which is on the edge of a lake and has some beautiful gardens.

We arrived in the beach side resort town of Sanur in the late afternoon. I had just enough time for a walk up and down the beach before our final dinner.

Before I arrived here, I wasn’t sure I was going to like Bali. My impressions were probably based on the resorts on the south of the island, Sanur, Kuta, Seminyak – just another beach holiday destination. I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, in particular the villages and seeing the local life, as well as Ubud, which was touristy but had a nice, laid back vibe to it. Disclaimer it is still low season, not loads of tourists, and perhaps I’d feel differently at other times of the year. But the people are so very friendly, and I remain obsessed with the rice terraces.

Now back to Singapore to stay in one place for the longest time since Adelaide in mid December!

Java

March 9, 2026 ~ Cat ~ Leave a comment

After barely 24 hours in Singapore (I’ll be back in a few weeks to explore properly), I took the short flight over to Jakarta, on the island of Java in Indonesia. Having managed to pay for my e-visa online in advance after filling out the online arrival card prior to departure, it was a straightforward entry into the country through the e-gates, though sadly no stamp in my passport! It’s also possible to get a visa on arrival at the airport for 500,000 rupiah (£22).

My arrival transfer to the hotel in Jakarta was a little hairy. I was fairly sure the driver was nodding off on the way, a well timed cough on my part seemed to wake him up!

This trip, through both Java and Bali, is also with Intrepid Travel. We started that evening with the usual welcome spiel and then dinner at a restaurant next door. I went straight in with the Nasi Goreng (fried rice), one of the dishes Indonesia is known for.

The next day we had a tour around some sights in Jakarta, including the Istiqlal Mosque which can hold 200,000 people, and is also across the road from Jakarta’s cathedral; an old Chinese Mansion House, a wander around Chinatown, the port area and finally in Fatahillah Square before lunch (more nasi goreng) at Cafe Batavia. You could certainly see the Dutch influence in the architecture here.

The following day we started our journey across Java with a very comfortable train journey, approximately 4 hours to Bandung. The scenery was spectacular once we got out of Jakarta, with lush green fields, rice terraces and soaring volcanic peaks.

When we arrived in Bandung, we went to a local restaurant for lunch – I am travelling during Ramadan, a lot of restaurants are closed during the day – before having a walking tour of Bandung. Quite a lot of art deco buildings here.

The next day we went to Tangkuban Perahu, the largest volcano in West Java which also has the great advantage of being able to drive right up to the rim! Some pockets in the crater were gently bubbling away as a reminder that we are on the Ring of Fire. Long time readers may recall my love of plate tectonics and volcanoes from prior travels and I really enjoyed this excursion.

We also visited a tea plantation and some hot springs, both of which were deserted through a combination of Ramadan and it being low season.

We went for dinner on Braga Street in downtown Bandung in the evening where we were served our alcohol in teapots, nominally due to Ramadan, though this hasn’t happened anywhere else in Indonesia.

The next day we were back on the train and heading to Yogyakarta. The travel took most of the day with the train journey being 7 hours through more beautiful scenery. Not as many volcanoes in Central Java but still plenty of rice terraces, and more lush greenery.

Yogyakarta was the first place in Indonesia that I’d seen Westerners. Definitely a sign of low season. We stayed in a lush (both literally and in the Welsh sense of the word) hotel which was covered in greenery, very close to Prawirotaman Street where there are lots of restaurants and bars. This area of Jogja (as the locals call it) also has lots of street art in the narrow alleyways.

We were staying 3 nights in Jogja and on the first full day we had a trip out to Borobudur temple, the largest Buddhist structure on earth (I do feel I’ve heard variants on this at various temples throughout Southeast Asia…). A very interesting-looking structure and different to other temples I’ve seen recently. It poured it down throughout this trip but it did mean I finally got to use the plastic poncho I brought with me!!

The following morning we had a bike ride out into the countryside, learning about local activities including making tempeh and brick-making from mud, pigeon racing, and batik printing. We all agreed that this was one of the highlights of the trip so far.

A chilled afternoon for me as the heavens opened again.

We left the following morning to continue our journey eastwards, again on the train. We stayed this evening at Seloliman Nature Reserve. It’s an educational centre which teaches the locals about plants and nature, and they grow a lot of their own food. We had a delicious dinner and a peaceful evening.

We enjoyed a walk around the nature reserve and local village in the morning. The village sits at the slopes of a volcano, and the fertile soil means that rice terraces are abundant. We had lunch at the reserve and a delicious herbal tea made with herbs and spices from their gardens. At the last moment, secang wood is added which turned the tea a vibrant red colour.

In the afternoon we headed towards our next stop close to Mount Bromo, as we would have a very early start the next day. Mount Bromo is the most active volcano in East Java, and it seems that tourists generally get up in the middle of the night (2.30am in our case) to drive up to a viewpoint in time for sunrise. As we were at altitude (around 7,000 feet), it was much cooler – the coldest I’ve been since I left the UK nearly 4 months since – and I can finally say I’ve worn everything I’ve brought with me!! We were in 4 wheel drive jeeps which were very necessary up the winding mountain roads and across the sand in the caldera.

We arrived at the viewpoint in plenty of time and there was already a sliver of red sky in between the clouds. However, about 10 minutes before sunrise, we were cloaked in cloud, so sunrise was sadly something of a non-event…

Afterwards a few of us took the opportunity to do the 30 minute or so climb up to the rim of Mount Bromo, which remained shrouded in a combination of cloud and steam from the volcano itself. It’s a bit of a scramble up some loose volcanic soil to start with but then there is a staircase of around 200 steps up to the crater. I didn’t hang around too long as the cloud was a bit wet, and a got a couple of burning lungfuls of sulphur.

By the time we’d climbed back down, the cloud over its neighbour, Mount Batok, was clearing. This volcano last erupted over 400 years ago so its slopes are covered in green vegetation, unlike Bromo which erupted 10 years ago and so its slopes are covered in the lava flow. The visual contrast between Batok and Bromo is cool to see.

We then drove back to the hotel for breakfast. On the way back, we could see what we couldn’t see on our way to the volcano in the morning…all the terraces for rice and vegetable growing. Some of the terraces were so steep into the hillsides that it was quite incredible to me that they could be farmed at all! Whilst they are clearly important agriculturally to this area, they are also so beautiful to look at. I have become a little bit obsessed with the terraces as we’ve travelled across Java.

After breakfast we got on our last train of this trip, further east to Kalibaru, which puts us in a good position for the ferry to Bali the next day.

After a slightly shaky start (I didn’t love Jakarta, it’s a massive city and where we stayed wasn’t great for wandering around), I’ve really enjoyed Java. I think the scenery here, with all the lush green vegetation, rice terraces and volcanoes, is my favourite from my winter of travelling. The Javanese people are all very friendly and welcoming, and despite the rain (it is the rainy season after all), it has been a very enjoyable place to visit.

Now onto Bali…

Malaysia

March 1, 2026 ~ Cat ~ Leave a comment

After our final night in Trang, we drove south to the Malaysian border at Bukit Kayu Hitam. A fairly straightforward land border crossing, a scan of all our luggage and a 90 day tourist visa granted – though I will only be here for a week.

We continued to George Town in Penang and arrived in the late afternoon. After settling into the hotel, we had a brief orientation walk before heading to a hawker centre for some Malaysian street food and a beer.

The next day started with a journey out to Kek Lok Si temple in the hillside above George Town. Afterwards we headed to the old town and saw the town and city halls (very British style) as well as a clan jetty and some street art on Armenian Street.

It was very humid on this day. After finding lunch in some air conditioning, a few of us then set out on a street art tour of the old town. There is so much street art here, some are on the main streets, some in little, narrow alleys and despite it being lunar New Year’s Eve, it wasn’t too busy.

We headed back to the hotel in the late afternoon and had some dinner across the road. The restaurant was pretty busy as a number of places were closed for lunar new year. We ended the night on the rooftop of the hotel as fireworks were going off in celebration of the year of the horse.

I really enjoyed George Town, the old town had a lovely vibe to it and I’d definitely recommend you come here if you’re visiting Malaysia.

The next day was a travel day to Kuala Lumpur. Back in 2004 as a shy and naive 19 year old, I had 2 nights in KL (as the locals call it) on my way to a working holiday in New Zealand. I stayed in a hotel on Jalan Alor in Bukit Bintang and was so scared I did not leave the hotel room. Thankfully my confidence has improved in the intervening 20 or so years…

Our hotel was on the edge of Chinatown. We arrived mid afternoon and headed to the Central Market for a late lunch. We were also lucky enough to see a lion dance which is traditional to see being performed in the streets at lunar new year. We then headed to the Petronas Towers and then took the Bukit Bintang walkway, an air conditioned walkway between the towers and a large mall about a kilometre away in Bukit Bintang.

In the evening I managed to meet an old university friend for a coffee and cake, and to try and catch up on the 18 or so years since we last saw each other! One of the things I love about travel is meeting up with friends from around the world and although we met at university rather than travelling, without my current travels I’m not sure when we would have seen each other in person again.

We had a free day in KL the next day. Most of the group started the day with an early morning trip to Batu Caves. Going early (we were there by sunrise at 7.30am) meant we missed the crowds and the heat, and most of the monkeys which roam in this area. It’s a bit of a climb up the nearly 400 colourful steps, and at the top is a cave containing a Hindu temple.

We were back at the hotel for a late breakfast and afterwards some of us meandered around the sights in Chinatown, which was all decorated with red lanterns for new year.

I had booked to go up the Petronas Towers in the afternoon, something I’d intended to do 22 years ago so was very pleased to finally get there on this trip. I find these towers to be so very elegant and it was cool to be on the sky bridge which, fun fact, is not actually connected to the 2 towers! It is constructed to sway in the wind and so the bridge can move slightly in and out of both towers. Some excellent views to be had from the skybridge and the viewing platform.

The next day we were off to our final stop in Malaysia, Melaka, also sometimes written as Malacca. Like George Town, Melaka is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I found it more crowded the George Town (maybe because of the timing of the new year holidays), but there’s lots of pretty buildings and more street art to be seen.

We had 2 nights in Melaka and on our full day we started with a trishaw tour (like a rickshaw but with 3 wheels). We saw a number of sights in the old town including the Christian churches, mosques and Chinese temple.

After a lovely lunch along the river, my roommate and I meandered the streets in the afternoon, had a McFlurry and headed to some air conditioning in the hotel before our final evening in Malaysia. A group of dinner followed by drinks at a bar along the riverfront.

This trip in Malaysia was focused on the cities rather than the natural scenery. I enjoyed the sights and art in George Town and Melaka and it was so great to meet up with my old friend in KL, as well as finally getting to the Petronas Towers.

Next up, 24 hours in Singapore before onwards to Jakarta…

Bangkok to Trang

February 20, 2026 ~ Cat ~ Leave a comment

After feeling at my most ‘race across the world’ getting to and from a few days R&R on Koh Samet (via a minibus and ferry), I was back in Bangkok, this time in Banglamphu. This area of Bangkok contains the famous, or infamous, backpacking area around Khao San Road. I’d stayed in this area on my previous trip to Thailand in 2019 and back then we did spend a lively evening on Khao San Road. However, this time, that didn’t happen. Partly due to age, and mostly due to elections being held which prohibits the sale of alcohol from 6pm the day before the election for 24 hours.

I did, however, spend time wandering around Rambuttri, which has a lot of restaurants and cafes, and found a good (western) lunch spot for smashed avo and sourdough.

The next trip I’m doing is with Intrepid Travel, who I’ve only travelled with once before. 12 of us in the group, from a wide range of countries. We met up the first evening as usual for introductions and dinner.

The following morning started in now-familiar fashion for tours starting in Bangkok – a Khlong boat trip and a visit to Wat Pho. My third time at both! Wat Pho certainly less busy than at New Year, and if I do come back to Bangkok again, I can probably skip it!

We had a free afternoon before our overnight train south. Along with a few others, I went to Wat Intharawihan which has the tallest standing Buddha in Bangkok. The statue itself is quite flat, and so a different presentation to others seen so far. And despite being in a relatively touristy area, it was quiet and peaceful here.

The overnight train south was an older model than the one I’d taken to Chiang Mai a month or so ago. Narrower bed up top, 2 seatbelts strung vertically being the only barrier to me not rolling out of bed, and the less said about the toilet, the better!! But it got us south to Surat Thani bright and early the next day. After breakfast at a cafe by the station, we set off on the couple of hours drive to our hotel for the next few nights in Khao Sok. This area of the country has huge limestone karsts, not dissimilar to the scenery in Vang Viang and Halong Bay. We arrived at the hotel shortly after 10am and were able to check in. We spent the day relaxing by the pool and enjoying the scenery as we had a full day of activities on the lake in the national park the following day.

The next morning we drove about an hour to Khao Sok National Park, and to the Cheow Lan Lake. We boarded a longboat to sail across the lake to one of the floating restaurants and activity hubs where we did some kayaking before enjoying lunch. After lunch we were back on the longboat for more scenic cruising and a short hike through the rainforest before returning to shore. I’ve been to Khao Sok on my previous travels and it didn’t disappoint, the scenery is stunning here.

The next day we continued to head south to Krabi. More kayaking, this time through mangrove forest and through some caves, before lunch. We continued to Ao Nang in the afternoon. The weather in this part of Thailand is increasingly hot and as we had a walk to the beach in the late afternoon, the temperature actually reminded me of the 40C heat in Adelaide…though there may have been another reason for my overheating. Dinner that night was at a seafood restaurant and unfortunately I was beginning to feel unwell before the food arrived. After feeling increasingly green through dinner, I headed back to the hotel room and did not leave it for 36 hours…

Thankfully we had 2 nights in Ao Nang and I was feeling much better by the time we left to continue south to Trang province. We stopped at a local village, Baan Mod Tanoy, where we learned about the village life in a predominantly Muslim area, and got the chance to do some Batik tie-dying, we all have our souvenir T-shirts to take home. Another local lunch, which was delicious even though I avoided the seafood!! We headed to our hotel at Pakmeng Beach where I was still taking it relatively easily so whilst the others in the group went to explore the beach (significantly quieter than Ao Nang), I rested in the air conditioning. It has become much more humid and tropical as we head south.

This was my last full day in Thailand as we headed to Malaysia the following day. It’s been almost 3 weeks since I arrived back to Bangkok from Cambodia and I’ve covered the length (if not quite the breadth) of the country in that time. Thailand is a fascinating country with lots to see and a great culture to try and immerse yourself in. A bit of a trek from the UK but a great winter sun destination for those looking to avoid the worst of the winter!

Onwards to Malaysia…

Bangkok again and Northern Thailand

February 8, 2026 ~ Cat ~ 1 Comment

Back to where I started a month ago, in a nice hotel with a rooftop bar and pool in the heart of Bangkok’s Chinatown. I had 4 nights here which is the longest I’d been in one place since the cricket in Adelaide before Christmas, almost 6 weeks ago. I didn’t have many plans here as I’d already been to the Grand Palace and Wat Pho on my previous visit (and I’ll get to go to Wat Pho again when I join my next trip heading south).

I made it to Lumphini Park (using the metro) and spent time wandering around the streets of Chinatown. I particularly enjoyed meandering through the arty neighbourhood of Talat Noi. I also went to an enormous mall at Siam Center and despite not being in the market for anything being sold there (mostly designer stores and, for some reason, cars), it filled a couple of hours wandering round. I also did another street food tour, this time in the evening, which was a different experience as Chinatown was much busier.

We’ve reached the part of the trip which I hadn’t actually booked when I left the UK. I’d left a couple of weeks here and a couple of weeks in the middle of March for a bit of flexibility. In the run up to Christmas I started looking at options and knowing that on the G Adventure trip we were going straight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai on the train, I thought it would be interesting to take a slower route north so I found this trip on TourRadar which helpfully started at the same hotel that the G Adventures trip finished at.

The guided part of the trip started on day 3, bright and early as we left Bangkok at 7am to travel north to Ayutthaya, at one time the capital of Thailand. It is essentially an island surrounded by rivers and we saw 3 temples and had a boat cruise on the river.

The first temple, Wat Phananchoeng, contained the biggest Buddha I have ever seen indoors, it was so big it actually caused me to gasp when I saw it.

People included for size context, at Wat Phananchoeng, Ayutthaya

We also went to Wat Yai Chaimongkhol which has a Buddha head embedded into a tree and finally to Wat Mahathat before getting on the boat for about an hour’s cruise around the city.

We continued to head north and ended the day in Kamphaeng Phet. This was a nice riverside location but felt fairly off the beaten track and not sure there were many other westerners apart from me and the 2 French ladies on my trip. Their English was as good as my French so we were all very thankful for Google Translate as we enjoyed a drink together in the evening.

The next day we went to Lampang, visiting Wat Phra That Lampang Luang, with another glistening pagoda and naga staircase. After lunch we visited San Kamphaeng Road, outside of Chiang Mai, which is home to a number of shops selling various locally produced wares including gems and jewellery, lacquerware and silk. All of the places we stopped were receiving bus loads of tourists.

We then arrived in Chiang Mai for a 2 night stay. I headed off to the night markets for food and a bit of shopping – a replacement skirt and a fan!

The following morning we had an early start (7.30am) to head out to Doi Suthep, which we visited on my previous visit. As this was early on a Saturday morning rather than the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, it was a much quieter experience, and there was a slight chill in the air which I found very pleasant but the locals all had their jumpers and coats on!

It was so peaceful walking around with hardly anyone else there. We were back at the hotel by mid morning and had the rest of the day free. As we didn’t have much free time in Chiang Mai on my last visit, I headed into the old city and to some of the Wats that had been recommended. It had become quite a hot day by this point so it was a fairly slow meander punctuated by lunch.

Another trip to the night market for dinner and a relaxing evening before heading off early the next morning back south to Sukhothai. On the way we stopped in Lamphun, to visit Wat Phra That Hariphunchai, another gleaming gold structure which is a thousand years old.

We continued south and arrived in Sukhothai in the mid afternoon. Sukhothai was the first capital of Siam, and is now a historical park with the ruins of hundreds of temples. It’s possible to cycle between the ruins (motor vehicles are not allowed within the park) but I was not quite dressed for cycling (I had a long skirt on suitable for the temple in Lamphun) so took a golf buggy instead, definitely a better option in the heat! The temples here, some ruined, some having been restored, are in the Khmer style and again I could see some similarities to Angkor.

After overnighting in Sukhothai, we had a long drive back to Bangkok the following day, broken up with a visit to Lopburi, previously famous for the macaques roaming the streets, they’ve now been rehoused just outside the city. We also saw a couple more temples to round off the trip.

We arrived back in Bangkok in the early evening. I’m really glad I decided to this short trip. Whilst I am now a little templed-out, it was very interesting to visit these historic places, which had far fewer tourists at them than the temples in Bangkok. I enjoyed Sukhothai in particular and would recommend anyone coming to northern Thailand to include it in your itinerary.

Now for a few days R&R on Koh Samet before the next trip starts…

Cambodia

February 1, 2026 ~ Cat ~ Leave a comment

My second new country of this trip. We left Ho Chi Minh City early in the morning to try and get to the border at Bavet before the rush. This proved a success and there was no queue as we were stamped out of Vietnam. We walked with all our belongings perhaps a couple of hundred metres to the Cambodia border. As with Laos, I was getting a visa on arrival (it is possible to get an e-visa in advance but you had to print out the confirmation and as I have been travelling since early November and wasn’t sure if I’d have access to a printer, I decided to go with the VOA). I was the only one of the 16 of us needing a visa on arrival (30 USD plus 5 USD stamping fee in cash, no passport photo needed despite what the UK FCO travel advice suggests, could be different at an airport), and as with Laos, I was through the border before most of the rest of the group. And another lovely full page visa in my passport!

We then walked a short distance to pick up our bus in Cambodia and started driving towards Phnom Penh. There is essentially one road from this border post to the capital, and for the most part it seemed lined with shops, stalls and small businesses. The noticeable thing for me was the amount of plastic littering the roadside which made me a little apprehensive as to what state Cambodia would be in.

We stopped for lunch after a couple of hours at a roadside diner, and I had pho (after somehow completely missing it in Vietnam). Pretty tasty.

We drove another couple of hours and arrived in Phnom Penh in the middle of the afternoon. I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting in Phnom Penh but it greatly exceeded any expectations I might have had. It sits on the Mekong and as we crossed the bridge into the city, we were greeted by lots of modern, tall buildings, well-maintained streets and public areas and it was very clean with no real sign of the plastic that had littered the roadside most of the way.

After checking into the hotel we had a cyclo tour of the city. Cyclos are 3 wheeled bicycles with a large seat up front for the passenger, which gives you a headlight-level view of the city. We were taken to Wat Phnom, the palace and then dropped off along the river in time for a sunset cruise. It was really interesting to see the city from this angle and I enjoyed the mixture of architecture styles.

We then had about 90 minutes sailing along the Mekong and admiring the views of the city as the sun set. It was pretty glorious to be honest. The Mekong has featured heavily through my journey through Indochina, starting at the Thai-Laos border and sailing for 2 days to Luang Prabang, seeing it again in Vientiane and then again at the delta in Ho Chi Minh City, and finally here in Cambodia. It is so important to life in this part of the world and seeing it through several countries affirms that.

Sunset sailing on the Mekong, Phnom Penh

The next day we went to the S-21 Prison in Phnom Penh, and to the Killing Fields a short drive outside of the city. We had a local guide with us who spoke to us about the atrocities that the Khmer Rouge had committed, and told us of his own experiences during these times, which was incredibly powerful and emotional to hear.

Only a handful of people survived S-21 prison and one of those still alive today was in the grounds of the now museum, sharing his story. It was incredible to be able to meet this gentleman, Chum Mey, who is in his mid 90s.

Whilst learning about the murderous atrocities of an horrific regime isn’t perhaps on many people’s holiday/travel agendas, I think it is an important and necessary visit to make, and many parts of that morning will stay with me for a very long time.

I needed some time to decompress in the afternoon. I probably should have consulted the itinerary a little more closely when I booked this trip as this day was also the anniversary of my husband’s death. Always a difficult day and certainly compounded by what we heard about in the morning.

We ended the day, and our short visit to Phnom Penh, on a happier note on a rooftop bar to watch the sunset. I think I’m losing count of the number of amazing sunsets I’ve seen on this trip, and I’m sure there are many more to come yet.

The next day we headed off to Siem Reap. We had a stop off in the morning at a service station which aside from the usual service station affairs, also had a stall selling various fried critters. I did have a go at some of them (mostly crunchy and fried with garlic and soy) but some were a little too large…

We stopped later for lunch at a lovely restaurant overlooking a lake. I had chicken and veg in a lotus leaf which was very good.

We arrived in Siem Reap around mid afternoon, and headed out on a tuk tuk tour of the city and countryside. We saw a large mural in the city which has been painted to reflect the experiences of the recent conflicts between Cambodia and Thailand, as well as receiving a blessing from a monk in a local temple before driving out to the countryside for some street snacks and yet another awesome sunset. The tuk tuks were all driven by ladies and it felt good to be supporting the ladies in building jobs for themselves.

The next day was the first of 2 days spent in the Angkor complex. On the first day we visited the Bayon temple, Preah Khan and Ta Prohm.

There is a lot of restoration work going on but it is amazing to see these structures, a lot of which date from the 12th century. The detail in the stonework in the galleries is truly incredible.

We had a free afternoon and I spent the time relaxing before we went to an Apsara dance show and dinner in the evening. Certainly aimed at tourists, the food was a 5 course tasting menu of Khmer food which was delicious. The dinner was accompanied by various traditional Apsara dances and some martial arts. All in all a very enjoyable evening.

I was up early the next morning as this was my one chance to see sunrise at Angkor Wat. We left the hotel at 5am and drove out about 20 minutes to the temple complex. It was still pitch black when we arrived and sat ourselves by the moat. Whilst the sunrise itself was disappointing due to it being cloudy, it was pretty incredible to see Angkor Wat emerge out of the darkness.

After breakfast which the hotel had kindly packed for us, we had a tour around the Angkor Wat complex which was very impressive to see up close. At this time in the morning it also wasn’t too busy and the temperature was reasonable too.

Again, some renovations ongoing, but to see the craftsmanship in the stone work and the galleries was really special. It is absolutely worth seeing in person and if you get the chance to come to Cambodia, you should certainly spend a few days here.

After a final evening in Siem Reap, my short time in Cambodia had come to an end and we flew back to Bangkok the next day, back to where I’d started my Indochina journey almost a month earlier. It’s been an amazing journey through 4 countries and I’m grateful to have had the time to be able to do this trip. One of the things I’m trying to do in my extended break from work is to do trips that I can’t fit into a couple of weeks’ holiday, and this certainly ticked that box!!

Now for a few days downtime in Bangkok before heading back to see a bit more of northern Thailand…

Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta

January 28, 2026 ~ Cat ~ Leave a comment

We flew from Danang to Saigon airport and arrived in the early afternoon. Traffic in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is really bad and it took over 45 minutes to drive the 5 miles into the city and to the hotel (sounds like driving into Cardiff on a weekday morning…)

After grabbing lunch at a lovely air-conditioned food court across the road from the hotel, I took myself off on my own walking tour of the city. After managing to cross the road (slightly easier than Hanoi and a few more traffic signals), I headed to the Post Office and to Notre Dame Cathedral. Saigon / Ho Chi Minh City – the locals use both names – has in my opinion the most French-influenced architecture of all the places I’ve been in Vietnam. Though the cathedral is not as far along in its renovations as its Parisian equivalent…

I walked back towards Independence Palace, and to find a Circle K convenience store (7-Eleven’s seem to be the convenience store of choice across SE Asia apart from Vietnam where Circle K’s are ubiquitous) for some snacks and supplies.

It was the weekend but it did feel somewhat easier to wander around HCMC than Hanoi.

After dinner we had a walk to Saigon’s Beer Street which, let’s say, is a different vibe to Hanoi’s Beer Street. Rather more dancing girls, bright lights and loud music.…

The next day we went on a tour out to the Cu Chi Tunnels, which were used in the war by the Viet Cong and are an extensive network of underground tunnels with supply lines, living quarters, hospitals as well as lots of booby traps to deter the ‘Tunnel Rats’. They are quite ingenious but incredibly narrow and life must have been extremely difficult for the Viet Cong living in the tunnels. I think it is always good to visit these places, especially when this is very recent history.

After the tour we returned to the city and had a free afternoon where I went to look at the Opera House which I’d somehow missed the previous day. Instead of walking the 20 minutes there in the increasingly hot and humid temperatures, I used the HCMC metro which is a recent addition to the city (only 1 line at the moment) but was very easy to use (tap the contactless card) and I was there in 5 minutes!

This was the final night with some members of the group who weren’t continuing to Cambodia (and this was where my previous trip in Vietnam had ended) and we also met some new people who would be joining us in Cambodia.

However, we still had another day in HCMC and everyone in the group had opted to do a Mekong Delta day trip. We drove out of the city for a couple of hours before getting on a boat to cross part of the delta to Unicorn Island, where we enjoyed honey tea, some local music, discovering you can pop rice like you can pop corn, ate some chewy coconut sweets and discovered snakes in wine…

We also had a gentle narrowboat trip on the island before lunch. After returning to the mainland we visited Vinh Trang Pagoda which has a couple of quite large Buddhas in its grounds. As we left to drive back to the city, there were a few spots of rain in the air, which is the only rain I’ve seen so far in south east Asia.

I’m really glad I came back to Vietnam. A lot has changed in the last 9 years, not least the number of cars and tourists. It remains a wonderful country to visit, with awesome sights and scenery, a fascinating history and the most amazing food!!

Next stop – Cambodia

Hue and Hoi An

January 26, 2026 ~ Cat ~ Leave a comment

We arrived on the overnight train in Hue on time but I’d be lying if I said I’d had a restful night. The train was newer than last time (all toilets were western rather than squats) but the mattresses were still as solid and it was still a very jiggly journey not massively conducive to sleep…

We arrived at the hotel too early for check in but early enough for breakfast. After breakfast we headed off to see the main sites in Hue, starting with the Citadel, a huge fortified imperial city built in the early 1800s. Large parts were destroyed during the Vietnam War and there was restoration work ongoing around the site. Indeed I didn’t remember some of the buildings we saw this time from my previous visit and the tour guide said that some of the restorations had been completed quite recently.

We then headed out to the Thien Mu Pagoda, a short journey south of the city. I did remember this from last time! I think the photos I took last time kept it in my mind. By this point the morning was warming up, and getting more humid.

Some of us had then opted for a motorbike tour (as a passenger I hasten to add!!), which included visiting the Royal Tombs (also under renovation and we didn’t see them all), an ancient arena previously used for elephant and tiger fighting, driving into the countryside and past rice fields, and learning about growing and harvesting rice which an absolute staple with every meal.

We were back at the hotel by mid afternoon and had the rest of the day free before dinner. I think Hue has gotten more lively since my previous visit. There was quite a bustling restaurant and bar area and after dinner a few of us spent the rest of the evening sat on the roadside on the tiny chairs drinking beer and people watching.

We set off the next morning, driving south over the Hai Van Pass on our way to Hoi An. It’s a pretty spectacular drive climbing up over the hills (mountains?) and if anyone has seen the Vietnam episode of Top Gear, you might remember this part. We were blessed with some pretty good weather to see up and down the coast.

We arrived into Hoi An in the late afternoon. I’ve said elsewhere before that Hoi An is the prettiest place I’ve ever been and I still think that is the case despite the hoards of tourists making it less peaceful and relaxing than last time…

The old town is a UNESCO world heritage site and you need to buy a ticket to enter (120,000 Vietnamese Dong / c£3.50) which lasted for the duration of our stay in Hoi An. The ticket also includes entrance to up to 5 specific monuments/temples/museums/cultural experiences out of more than 30 in the old town.

In the evenings, Hoi An really comes to life with all the colourful lanterns and riverboats, as well as the night market and the many bars and restaurants up and down the riverfront. We had dinner at a restaurant overlooking the river and then spent the evening listening to live music in an Irish bar.

We had 2 full days in Hoi An. I visited one of the cultural performances in the old town in the morning – one of the 5 specific entries with the old town ticket. It was interesting to see the traditional costumes and dancing during the 30 minute show. We then had an included lunch at Oodles Of Noodles, a project supported by G Adventures which helps children living on the streets by giving them hospitality training, English lessons and providing accommodation in order to help them create a life and future for themselves. We also visited this restaurant last time and it’s such a good initiative that really makes a difference. The food was delicious too!

I spent the rest of the day wandering around the old town, in some of the temples, over the Japanese bridge, and up and down the pretty lanes. Hoi An was impacted by heavy flooding as recently as last October but you’d never know as everything was clean and tidy.

On the final day in Hoi An I treated myself to a 90 minute hot stone massage for the bargain price of £12!! If you ever come to Hoi An, you should be treating yourselves to multiple massages at these prices! I also had some fantastic Vietnamese food in a local restaurant. I really think Vietnamese food might be my favourite cuisine I’ve had whilst travelling.

I really enjoyed revisiting these parts of Vietnam. Hue was more lively and fun than I’d remembered, and Hoi An is just so pretty, despite there being too many tourists now (of which, I do realise, I am one of those!!)

Next stop is a flight south to Saigon…

Hanoi and Halong Bay

January 24, 2026 ~ Cat ~ Leave a comment

We arrived into the airport in Hanoi in the late afternoon after a 45 minute flight from Vientiane during which time we were thrown a fairly decent sandwich. On the descent, you could see the smog hanging low over the city, and the air quality was ‘very unhealthy’. After inhaling quite a lot of dust and pollution in Laos, my throat and lungs were not very happy…

I’ve been to Vietnam before, in 2017, and in fact I am doing the exact same route with the same company. It has been interesting to see how things have changed in the last 9 years. The first noticeable difference was the number of cars on the roads. Last time they really were few and far between (due to high import taxes and lack of access to credit), with almost everyone driving scooters or motorbikes. There are so many more cars now (due to easier access to credit) and a lot of large EVs too. This makes crossing the road even more tricky as, while the scooters can weave around you, cars aren’t quite so nimble. I also felt that they are less willing to stop for pedestrians. Not that the traffic actually stops, you very much do just have to walk into the road with a sense of purpose and don’t stop until you get to the other side!!

After checking into the hotel, we went for dinner (Bun Cha for me) and then for drinks on Hanoi’s Beer Street

Bun Cha – minced pork meatballs in soup with white vermicelli noodles

The next day started with a trip to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Despite his wishes to be cremated and scattered around Vietnam, he was embalmed for people to proceed past him every day. A bit of an odd experience if I’m perfectly honest. We also went to the palace which is alongside the mausoleum and saw the stilt house that was built for Ho Chi Minh as he preferred this than the grander presidential palace.

Afterwards we went to possibly one of the newer ‘sights’ in Hanoi, Train Street. This is a narrow street which the trains from Ga Ha Noi pass through on their way out of the city. It’s lined with cafes and coffee shops and has definitely become something for the ‘gram.

We had an egg coffee, a Hanoi specialty, whilst we waited for the train to come through. When it’s on its way, the ladies come out of all the cafes and blow their whistles to clear all the tourists off the tracks (as it’s sort of a regular street when the trains aren’t there) and then the train chugs slowly past.

A free afternoon meant I retraced some of the things I remembered from my last trip, including a walk around Hoan Kiam lake, which had lots of beautiful plants and flowers in bloom, as well as a lunch stop at Banh Mi 25 which has become significantly more popular since my previous visit. Great banh mi though!!

In the evening we went to a Water Puppet Theatre show. Water puppets are particular to Vietnam and the puppetry was very interesting to watch even if I couldn’t really follow what was going on as it was all in Vietnamese!

This evening marked the final night of the trip for most of the group who had booked a 2 week trip from Bangkok to Hanoi (I am on nearly a month’s loop back to Bangkok), and we also met a number of new travellers who would be joining for the Vietnam leg of the trip. After dinner in a local restaurant, the Thailand and Laos crew enjoyed a final night on Beer Street to say our goodbyes.

It was a relatively early start with the new group the following morning as we headed the 4 or so hours out to Halong Bay for an overnight junk boat stay.

As we did last time, we had a stop at a workshop for disabled people, mostly women, where they are taught to sew and embroider. The artwork they produce is fantastic but as I’m not going home for 3 more months, I didn’t purchase anything.

We arrived in Halong Bay (the city is increasingly resembling Gold Coast with high rises and hotels) around midday and got on our junk boat which would be home for the next 24 hours. The weather was perfect, blue sky (unlike last time) and pleasantly warm. As we set sail we were served a delicious lunch which ended up being many different dishes being brought out for us to eat – more food than we could all manage.

Our home for the night and Halong Bay views

We sailed through the bay and past soaring limestone karsts on our way to Ti Top, an island with a viewpoint some 400 or so steps upwards. Much much busier than last time but still worth the views

After a gentle row around a bit of a lagoon, it was back to the boat for an incredible sunset, and more delicious food for dinner.

The following morning was a fairly early start to go to the caves, and then afterwards we had brunch whilst sailing back to land.

We drove back to Hanoi and arrived mid afternoon. I opted to do a food tour for the few hours before our overnight train south to Hue. Lots more delicious food and finished off with an egg coffee with an added shot of rum!!

I hugely enjoyed revisiting both these places. I really like the hustle and bustle of Hanoi’s old town even if it is completely exhausting trying to cross the road! And it was very special to see Halong Bay with beautiful clear blue sky.

Onwards on the night train to Hue…

	Bangkok to Trang… on Thailand
	India Safaris on Bangkok again and Northern…
	Hanoi and Halong Bay… on Gooooooood morning Vietnam
	Cat on Laos
	India Safaris on Laos