The blog

Twelve stops from Bangkok to the islands: how many days each place needs, which night train or boat gets you onward and where to sleep, in three to six weeks.

For many backpackers, Thailand is where the first big trip through Asia begins. This is the country behind the beaches: its people, culture, food and faith.

Thailand has 1,430 islands and 40,000 temples, so you will have to choose. These are the five experiences that give you the most for the time they take.

Bangkok has more sights than three days can hold, and that is not a problem you need to solve. The temples, the river and the street food that matter most.

Bangkok might be the best street food city in the world, and the best food here comes off a cart on the pavement. The five dishes to start with, and where.

Around 300 temples, a mountain above town and khao soi on every night market. The things to do in Chiang Mai that are worth your days.

From a kilometre of closed-off street to a few food stalls by a city gate: the five Chiang Mai night markets, what to eat there and on which day to go.

130 kilometres, three hours and 762 bends. Minibus, bus, scooter or the little plane: what each way from Chiang Mai to Pai costs and who it suits.

Pai is tiny, but almost everything worth seeing is spread across the valley. The canyon, the sunrise above the mist and the other things to do in Pai.

You will not lose many hours in Chiang Rai itself. The hills around it are another story: the White Temple, tea fields, misty roads and the Golden Triangle.

Chiang Rai is the last stop in Thailand for a lot of backpackers. Chiang Khong, the Friendship Bridge, Huay Xai and the slow boat, step by step.

Khao Sok has no list of twenty sights to get through. There is jungle, there is a lake, and there are the animals that live in between. Where your days go.

Railay before the crowds, a day of island hopping and 1,237 steps up Tiger Cave Temple: the things to do in Krabi and Ao Nang that deserve your days.

Maya Bay on the first boat, the viewpoint at sunrise and a night of fire shows: the things to do on Koh Phi Phi, and why timing is everything here.

The west coast by scooter, nine beaches, a national park and sunsets over the Andaman Sea: the things to do on Koh Lanta that deserve your days.

A day on the water, a night at a night market and the southern tip at sunset: where your days on Phuket go, and what you save for next time.

A day on the water, the ring road by scooter and a market where dinner costs two euros: the things to do on Koh Samui that are worth your days.

You can see Koh Phangan in three days, but you will not run out of things to do. The sunsets, the Full Moon Party, the scooter day and the bays worth your time.

Once a month thirty thousand people pack onto Haad Rin beach. What to expect, what those buckets really do to you, and how to keep hold of your stuff.

Five viewpoints on twenty-one square kilometres, and the difference is not what you see at the top but how you get up there.

Almost everything on Koh Tao happens in or under the water. Where your three to five days should go, and what you save for next time.

The best food on Koh Tao is not on the beach. Our favourite places to eat in Sairee and Mae Haad, from fresh fish to noodle soup, and what you pay.

An Open Water on Koh Tao costs around ฿11,000, about €290. How many days it takes, what you do on each one, and what to sort out before you get in the water.

Eight stops from Huay Xai to the 4000 Islands: how many days each place needs, how to travel on and where to sleep, in two, three or four weeks.

On most Southeast Asia routes Laos is the stopover between Thailand and Vietnam. This is the country behind that idea: its people, faith, river and pace.

Ziplining through the rainforest, days on a mountain road and drifting down the Mekong: the five experiences that make a trip through Laos.

Huay Xai is a border town with two experiences that shape the rest of your trip through Laos: the slow boat down the Mekong and the jungle of Bokeo.

Luang Prabang is a small town with a list longer than the three days most backpackers give it. Kuang Si, the alms round, the night market and the Mekong.

Everything in Nong Khiaw is ten minutes' walk apart, and you still cannot fit it into two days. The viewpoints, the river and the treks worth your time.

Vang Vieng is one main street with a valley around it that swallows days. Sunrise viewpoints, balloons, blue lagoons, caves and tubing, and when to do each.

For a city most people only pass through, Vientiane has a surprising amount on the list. COPE, the golden stupa, Buddha Park and sunset on the Mekong.

Thakhek has no list of sights to get through. It has one thing, and that is the loop. Kong Lor cave, the drowned forest, Tha Falang and where to stop.

Pakse is not a place for ticking off sights. You see the town in a morning, and everything you remember happens out on the Bolaven Plateau.

There is less to do on Don Det than anywhere else in Laos, and that is exactly why you are here. Cycling to Don Khon, waterfalls, dolphins and hammocks.

Fourteen stops from Hanoi to Phu Quoc: how many days each place needs, how to get to the next one and where to sleep, worked out for three, four and six weeks.

Vietnam is so long that the north and the south barely resemble each other. Where that comes from, and what it means for your route.

The five best things to do in Vietnam are spread across 1,650 kilometres. Here they are, in the order you meet them travelling north to south.

The food, an early morning at the lake and one full day out of the city: the things to do in Hanoi that deserve your days, and what can wait.

In Sapa everything worth doing is outside: the valleys, the rice terraces and the mountains above them. The things to do in Sapa that earn your days.

The Ha Giang Loop is about 350 kilometres in three or four days, with more stops than you can make. These are the ones worth getting off the bike for.

Cat Ba is an island of 285 square kilometres, and two days get you a long way. The things to do on Cat Ba, from Lan Ha Bay to the empty east coast.

Ninh Binh is a small valley where everything is a bike ride away, so it is easy to plan too much. The things to do in Ninh Binh that really earn your hours.

Phong Nha itself is small, but what surrounds it is anything but: some four hundred caves and a national park you can lose days in. Where your time goes best.

Hue has one walled Citadel, seven imperial tombs and a kitchen half of Vietnam is jealous of. What to do with your two days, and what to save for later.

For most backpackers Da Nang is a two-day stop, and those two days hold more than you expect: beach, mountains, caves and a bridge that breathes fire.

Hoi An is small, and that is exactly the problem: everything is a short bike ride away. The lanterns, the food and the rice fields that matter most.

Nha Trang is a beach town with a surprisingly long list of things to do, when you mostly came to do nothing. The islands, beaches and food that matter most.

Da Lat is a base, not a city to tick off: almost everything worth seeing is outside the centre, up winding mountain roads. Canyoning, coffee and waterfalls.

Mui Ne has no endless list: dunes, a stream, a fishing bay and ten kilometres of beach. What matters here is when you go, and this is when.

The Cu Chi tunnels, a street food tour on the back of a motorbike and Cholon at seven in the morning: the things to do in Ho Chi Minh City worth your days.

The little islands off the southern tip, a day on a scooter and the fish you pick yourself at the night market: the things to do on Phu Quoc in three days.

Five stops from Siem Reap to Koh Rong: how many days each place needs, which bus or boat gets you onward and where to sleep, in ten days to three weeks.

Everyone comes to Cambodia for Angkor Wat. This is the country behind it: the Khmer empire, the Khmer Rouge years, the Mekong, the islands and the people.

Cambodia is not a country for ticking off a list. These are the five experiences that stay with you longest, from world famous to almost unknown.

Angkor covers 400 square kilometres and more than a thousand temples. The sunrise, the quiet temples, the circus and the food that deserve your Siem Reap days.

The bats at sunset, the bamboo train and a morning cycling between the villages: how to spend your two days in Battambang, Cambodia's quiet surprise.

Phnom Penh is the city backpackers rush through fastest, and where that pays off least. The history, the food, the river and the nights that deserve your time.

In Kampot your list gets longer than your stay, while nobody here is in a hurry. The mountain, the river, the pepper and the fireflies that matter most.

Koh Rong is small enough to see in a few days and slow enough to lose a week on. The beach, the glowing plankton and the boat day that matter most.

Eleven stops from Manila via Palawan to Siargao: how many days each island needs, which boat or flight takes you on and where to sleep, in three to six weeks.

The one country on our route where almost every stop means crossing water. What that does to your plans, your budget and your travel days in the Philippines.

The five experiences that stay with you longest, from the lagoons of El Nido to the sardines of Moalboal, and which island you need to be on for each one.

The walled city, lunch in the oldest Chinatown in the world and a rooftop in Makati at sunset: how to spend one or two days in Manila.

Most routes treat Puerto Princesa as a one night stopover, which is why so much here gets missed. The Underground River, Honda Bay and what else to do.

Port Barton is small, and that is the point. The turtle trip, the beaches by scooter and the campfire: how to spend two or three days in Port Barton.

Four island tours, a bay with 45 islands and enough beach to stay for weeks. Which tours to book in El Nido, and what to do on the days off the boat.

Coron is a harbour town with a handful of streets and far more to do than fits in them. The lakes, the wrecks and the days that are worth your time.

Boracay is under ten square kilometres and still gives you a list longer than your days. The sunset, the sand and the day on the water that matter most.

Almost everything in Moalboal is within fifteen minutes of Panagsama Beach. The sardines, the canyon, the turtles and the dives that make your three days here.

Siquijor is a 102 kilometre ring road and otherwise mostly bends, palms and sea. The waterfalls, the sunset and the lap of the island that matter most.

Bohol is the island where your list is longer than your days: hills, tarsiers, waterfalls, a wall full of turtles and a beach with fire shows.

Thresher sharks, sandbars and that boat at five in the morning: where your two or three days on Malapascua go, and what you save for next time.

A morning in the water, a day on a boat and a day of just riding: where your four days on Siargao go, from Cloud 9 to Sugba Lagoon and the rock pools.

Heads and feet, temples, monks, the Khmer Rouge years and why shouting gets you nowhere: the written and unwritten rules of Cambodia for backpackers.

Laos feels like the most relaxed country in Southeast Asia, but that vibe says little about the law. The rules on drugs, vapes, temples and the alms round.

Po and opo, Filipino time, saving face and the strict rules on Boracay: the unwritten and written rules of the Philippines every backpacker should know.

Siam is simply Thailand. The name changed in June 1939, went back briefly in 1945 and has stayed put since 1949. Where you still come across Siam today.

Travel through Thailand and you will come across the word ladyboy. What kathoey means, why gender diversity is so visible here and how to be a respectful guest.

From temples and clothing to scooters, vapes and the Thai king: the customs and laws you want to know as a backpacker in Thailand before you go.

Saving face, using both hands, crossing the road in Hanoi and the photos you should not take: the written and unwritten rules of Vietnam for backpackers.

From amok steamed in a banana leaf to bai sach chrouk off the morning grill: the Cambodian dishes and drinks you have to try, and how to eat well on the street.

Sticky rice, laap, grilled meat and busy markets: the Lao food you have to try, how people actually eat here, and what to drink at the end of the day.

Adobo, sinigang, lechon, halo-halo and the morning's catch on the grill: the Filipino food you have to try, where to eat it and what it costs.

From pho on a plastic stool in Hanoi to cao lau in Hoi An: the Vietnamese food, coffee and beer you have to try, and how to eat well without overpaying.

In Cambodia the bus does most of the work, but there is also a train, a boat across Tonle Sap and a tuk-tuk app. Travel times, prices and border crossings.

Laos has a fast train that crosses the north in hours and a slow boat that takes two days. When to take which, how the borders work and what it costs.

Over 7,000 islands and no railway: how to get around the Philippines by flight, ferry, bangka, van and jeepney, what it costs and where it tends to go wrong.

Which licence and permit you need in Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and the Philippines, why your rental scooter is a motorbike, and what insurance says.

Which distances you sleep through, when flying pays off, how the island boats connect, and what getting around Thailand actually costs.

Which stretches of Vietnam you do on the night train, where the sleeper bus wins and when flying pays off, so you do not lose days on the road.

Ziplining across a valley, days of trekking through rainforest and sleeping in a treehouse forty metres above the ground. How it works and what it costs.

Any place can call itself a sanctuary, including one where elephants carry tourists all day. Here is how to tell the difference before you book.

From €17 a day in Battambang to €20 in Siem Reap: what a bed, a plate of amok, a beer and a tuk-tuk cost in each place on the Cambodia route.

November to February is the best time to visit Cambodia, but the temples are at their greenest in the rainy season. What each part of the year gives you.

From €15 a day on Don Det to €20 in Luang Prabang: what a bed, a plate of laap, a beer and a scooter cost in each place, and what two weeks add up to.

November to February is the best time for Laos, but that is when the waterfalls are small. What each part of the year gives you, and when each place peaks.

From €18 a day on Siquijor to €25 in El Nido: what a bed, a plate of adobo, a beer and a scooter cost, and why boats and flights are what make it add up.

The complete packing list for Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and the Philippines: what comes with you, what you buy there, and why half-empty is the goal.

The best countries to backpack in Asia: five Southeast Asian neighbours that join up into one route. What each costs, does best and who it suits.

From €16 a day in Pai to €25 on Koh Phi Phi: what a bed, a meal, a beer and a scooter cost, and what three weeks in Thailand adds up to.

Thailand has two coasts with opposite seasons and a burning season in the north. What each part of the year gives you and which places are at their best.

From €17 a day in Ninh Binh to €25 on the Ha Giang Loop: what a bed, a bowl of pho, a beer and a scooter cost in each place, and what a month adds up to.

Vietnam has three climate zones that do not run in step. When the north, the centre and the south are at their best, and which months work everywhere.

Planning your first backpacking trip: which country to pick, how much time and money you need, what to sort before you go and what to book once you are there.

Solo travel in Southeast Asia: where you meet people without trying, what travelling alone costs extra and how to stay safe on your own.

How to string four countries together: the order, the four border crossings, which way to go in which season, and what the whole trip costs.