Tag Archives asia

Having traveled in Australia for little over four months, I notice that at times I’m longing back to South East Asia. Don’t get me wrong, I’m absolutely in love with Australia. Even though every country in South East Asia presents itself with its own challenges, life does tend to be very simple which is something that I can really enjoy. In these countries there are little to no worries about how much you are spending, logistics always seem to work out and don’t cost you a fortune and the locals introduce you into a completely different way of living. Sometimes it does seem nice to live in that tiny beach town and teach scuba diving to tourists while you go out almost every night. Although, knowing myself, I would get sick of that pretty soon though.

Penang in Malaysia is an island with many good things. First and foremost, it is known for its excellent selection of food courts, restaurants and street side stalls. Second, it is known for its art scene. Most of the action when you are visiting the town will be found in Georgetown. This is the part of Penang which is a UNESCO heritage zone and where you will find almost all of the hostels and restaurants discussed in this post. Penang, however, is bigger than only Georgetown, there are beaches, hills, markets all around the island and even one of the biggest (literally) and most impressive Buddhist temples of South East Asia, the Kek Lok Si Temple.

If there is ever a place to enjoy life in Vietnam, it most surely is in Hoi An. This cosy town in the middle of the country is full of exceptionally beautiful colonial buildings and has the best food, excellent shopping, a cosy atmosphere and one of the best spas of the entire country. Almost everybody that comes to this city stays longer than they intended to. I know I did. Since the city is most likely located halfway through your trip, whether you’re going south to north or the other way around, it’s the perfect place to relax, regroup and head back into the hustle and bustle of the rest of the country. Besides you’re going to need a couple of days anyway if you want to have some garments custom-made. Hoi An is after all thé place to do it. Sure, they will tell you that it can be ready within 24h, but when it comes down to it, you don’t want a badly finished piece of clothing nor do you want to be the person that is making the seamstresses work through the night. But most importantly, this is the city to eat, A LOT. The food here is by far the best I’ve eaten in Vietnam and you can even learn how to make it. Enjoy yourself with way too much shopping (I had to send a box home) or a trip to one of my favorite spas.