On the road again! (flights booked & all!!)

Leaving Dublin on Nov 26th. Will be arriving in Singapore on the morning of the 27th. Two days in Singapore then off to Manila (Philippines). I have an open return from Bangkok. Hoping to take in Malaysia, Cambodia & Laos aswell. Roll on the good times, this day two weeks I'll be in Singapore. No more soul destroying job. Time to live a little once again!!!!!

Decided against South America in the end, heard lots of good things about the Philippines and decided to see SEA this time properly.

 

That's great news,Spacer..

Finally you move out from this island called Ireland..
try to put your adventures online..I will follow them..
I wish you a good trip..and lots of adventures..
wanna go Cambodja+Laos as well??
rough travelling,I've heard..
Angkor Wat is worthwhile..
Tiger

 

Spacer..just check out some pics from Cambodja,Laos,Philippines.
I'll try to find some links..let me know your exact intinerary
and thanks again..for your postings in my India thread..
you're a travelling man,mate I recall my years on the road:leaving:
http://www.tropicalisland.de/cambodia.html

Tiger

 

Congratulations, you made an excellent choice.
And who knows, we might run into eachother as I am also travelling around SE Asia at the moment. For now I am in Malaysia, but I might visit the land of Thais, Cambodia and Myanmar as well. No plans really, just going with the flow. I probably end up in Siberia as I always seem to end up somewhere I did not plan to go.

Enjoy your travels.

 

Awesome Awesome, Happy journeys, I'll be on a plane December 28th heading to Hanoi in Vietnam....


Mike...

 

Hey spacer! You lucky devil! You must be feeling so excited now...

Laos is fantastic, probably my second favourite country behind nepal and india... I think you'll appreciate it. The people are incredibly chilled out, and it's so damn cheap. The key thing to enjoying Laos; Take it REALLY slowly, don't try seeing too much too quickly. Be patient with the Laotians, a lot of them still haven't quite worked out westerners and our ways. Don't expect them to rush for anything.
In northern Laos the buses break down constantly (even the tourist buses), they go painfully slow winding through the mountains and if you buy a ticket for a bus too late you run the risk of having to stand the whole journey. Patience is key. You have to adjust to the Laotian pace of life then you'll really enjoy it...Luang Prabang is one of the most beautiful cities i've ever been too (they also have a buffet in the night market for 1$ a pop, the foods fantastic), and from there you can take a boat down the river to visit these really beautiful waterfalls...It's also more than worth making the long journey (several bus/mini bus rides) up to the laotian/china/burma border area to a small town called Muang Sing. There is very little to do in Muang Sing (unless you like cheap opium!) but it's a base for some small treks (good value) and eco-treks into the hill tribes around the borders. It's no where near as touristed as the nepal treks, the villages are just wooden shacks on stilts withy pigs and chickens running around everywhere. Expect to have lots of Lao-Lao (like raiksy in nepal) forced on you in the evening and lots of singing of songs and general merriment!

Heard great things about the Philliphines, maybe i'll end up there, who knows? I'm probably flying out in late febrary/early march now to india, then going to Bangladesh, Burma and probably revisit Laos before my english teaching in Vietnam...So who knows? Might bump into you. Keep in touch.

 

I can't wait at this stage only a few days left! I'll drop in with the odd post to let you all know how I'm getting on.

 

awww dude, sorry I missed this post before you headed off. Hopefully you will get the chance to see this at some point, but HAVE A FOOKING WICKED TIME MATE!!!

Stay safe and say "Sawadee Kah" to the Thais for me

 

Well Ladies & Gents,


I'm in the Philippines now up in the north of Luzon in a place called Baguio. Singapore was boring and Manila was crazy, far too many sex tourists. Of next to Sagada.

Anyway, I'll drop in again with another update at some stage.

Later.

 

Yeah, keep us posted

 

Up in a beautiful little place in the mountains now called Sagada. The bus journey up was 7 hours on bad roads but was amazing. It was like being back in the Himalaya. It's so nice up here because of the slow pace of life. I've done som small treks aswell so it's nice to be getting fit again and I went to an amazing waterfall yesterday. Most other places in the Philippines is full of fast joints and full on consumerism so this place is a breath of fresh air. Will post more when I can.

Later peoples.

 

so philliphines, not as great as everyone says (consumerism and fast joints doesn't sound very appealling!)?

Small treks and waterfalls sounds nice though!

Questions;
What is the food like?
What is the price like?
What are the other travellers like? How many are there? Is it easy to get off the beaten track?
Any trouble with crime? Any interesting local aminist religions or is it all christian? Are the people friendly?
What is the tout/hassle factor like?
What are the beaches like?

Take it easy...Think of me slaving away over xmas at my job scrapping enough money together to hit the road again!

 

Glad you're having a lovely time Spacer.
I have returned to the UK for 2 weeks and it's weird. I love the UK and I hate it and am bored at the same time.
Have a lovely Xmas and New year.

 

Food is good but difficult for a vegetarian, I've had to start eating seafood. Great selection of fruit though. It's little more expensive than Thailand but not to bad. As for the other tourists in Manila it's mainly drty old men but here in Sagada it's backpackers. Not nearly as many as other places in Asia and easy to get off the beaten track. Here in Sagada although they are Christian but also still maintain certain parts of there animistic past. People are friendly but a lot more stand offish than in other countries but nice all the same. The good thing is there are no touts or people hassling you anywhere, you can walk by all the souvenir shops without any hassle. As for the beaches haven't been to one yet but I'll let you know when I check them out.