Southeast Asia: A Beginner’s Guide

southeast asia travel

Last Updated on January 19, 2020 by Audrey Scott

“I haven't traveled much. Where should I go?”

Well that all depends. There are so many considerations: time, budget, interests, comfort level, experience. But if you are just getting started with the travel thing, you can't do much better than Southeast Asia.

Mainland Southeast Asia – including Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Malaysia and Singapore – offers some of the safest and friendliest semi-exotic travel around for people of all budgets and ages. For new and seasoned travelers alike, this region offers heaps of cultural and visual stimuli, a developed tourist infrastructure, endless activities, safety, and incredible food. And best of all, it's relatively cheap.

Continue Reading

What to Do in Singapore? Eat!

Last Updated on November 20, 2017 by

Singapore, an unexpected stop on our Southeast Asian itinerary thanks to a cheap flight from there to India. Our culinary expectations for this small city-state were low, particularly in the wake of our street food experiences in Thailand and Malaysia. Yet in the three days before our flight to India, it seemed like all we did was eat.

Continue Reading

Avoiding Theft at Airport Security

Arrival in Quito, Ecuador

Last Updated on July 17, 2020 by Audrey Scott

As we prepare for our departure to Guatemala and secure the various latches on our gear, I'm reminded of being robbed by airport security employees in Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport last year. Fortunately, miraculously – and somewhat shadily – I was reimbursed.

A recent comment from a woman who had money stolen at airport security in Toronto, Canada served as a reality check that this sort of thing can happen anywhere.

Continue Reading

Visiting Burma: How To Do It Responsibly

Last Updated on December 27, 2019 by Audrey Scott

While reading Nicholas Kristof’s opinion piece on Burma (Myanmar) last month I was consumed by a rush of memories – conversations and images from of our month-long visit there last year. My comment on his article shares my views regarding the effectiveness of international sanctions in changing the behaviors of the military government (junta). I also address whether or not travel to Burma helps or hurts ordinary people.

Continue Reading

Burma’s Golden Kite

Last Updated on April 16, 2018 by

The Golden Kite of Burma (Myanmar): the trail connecting Rangoon (Yangon), Bagan, Mandalay, and Inle Lake. These four locations form a common itinerary for visits to the country. Their golden stupas, fields of ancient Buddhist pagodas, floating villages, and royal palaces tell a story of place caught between its modern-day struggles and an underlying narrative of a bygone era.

Continue Reading

Rangoon Reflections

Last Updated on February 17, 2018 by Audrey Scott

Rangoon, Burma. The name conjures the tropical blues of a steamy colonial outpost.

We wondered: would the current reality still match?

Rangoon, Myanmar
Smoke break, Rangoon street market.

Continue Reading

It’s the Little Things

Last Updated on December 17, 2019 by Audrey Scott

Obstacle-removing turtles, cavorting monkeys, remarkable chana masala and free shoe repair. We didn’t find entries for these in our guidebooks, but we did find them on the streets and in the hills of Penang, Malaysia.

Continue Reading