Hey there! 👋 

Happy Wednesday, I hope you’ve had a wonderful start to the week!

It’s week 14 of my accountability challenge with my friends (we’re all sending one newsletter a week until literally next week because they get here next week ahhhh). I missed last week because I was on route to the mountains in Pakistan. 🇵🇰 

Thank you SO much for engaging with all my Pakistan content, it has definitely sparked my love for creation again. I hope to stay consistent until the end of the year at least, and hopefully grow my page (it’s been stagnant for a long time lol).

Which means that consistency is 100% the way to grow on any social media platform… 🧐 

This month has been wild…

I launched my budget-friendly Nepal group trip for next April 16-27!!! It’s an exploration of incredible Kathmandu, its culture and temples and a 7-day trek to Annapurna Base Camp which is 4,130m above sea level.

I travelled to Pakistan for two weeks on a press trip (gifted trip) and had a blast, but it was also exhaustinggggg. I could sleep for a month, but had to return back to work after kind of, almost taking two weeks off. It was NICE!

I had lots of great coffee, great food and great times with friends in Chiang Mai.

I moved into a new apartment when I came back here (I found it on Airbnb). Chiang Mai is filling up fasssst as high season (Nov-Jan) approaches. It’s cool season in northern Thailand and the perfect time for digital nomads and tourists to visit, except it gets so busy! It’s my 4th year spending winter in Thailand and I’m actually shocked at his statement haha. 😅

If you’ve dreamt of travelling South East Asia, but have no idea where to start… I got you ⬇️

It’s been a long time since I first went to Asia, it’s actually a really funny story about how clueless I was… I studied abroad in Australia, and on my way home to Ireland, decided to travel in Asia. I had no clue what I was doing, so I booked 6 flights to spend 2 days in each of these places: Darwin, Bali, Bangkok, Tokyo, Abu Dhabi (for my 21st birthday) and then fly to Ireland. I thought I’d get “bored”. Hahahah how clueless was I?

Now, I wouldn’t go to a country for less than 10 days, and I think that’s usually way too little for a place!

Sooooo, if you’re planning a trip, here’s an overview of where I would travel if I had 3 months for my first time in South East Asia. And if you have any more questions, DM me on Instagram and I’ll be happy to answer.

Here’s a rough 3 month itinerary to get a sense for the continent and experience lots of different things. ✨

(double-check all visas depending on your passport - my advice is general)

1 month in Thailand: Bangkok - South to Khao Sok National Park, Krabi and a few other islands - North to Chiang Mai, Pai, Chiang Rai (you can now get a 60-day visa exemption when you arrive into Thailand)

3 weeks in Laos (cross over from Chiang Rai and take slow boat): Luang Prabang - Nong Khiaw - Vang Vieng - Vientiane (capital city with very little to do) - Thakhek - Pakse - 4000 islands (30-day visa stamp on arrival or you can pre-apply)

1-2 weeks in Cambodia: Siem Reap - Phnom Penh - Islands (Koh Rong, Koh Rong Sanloem) - Kampot (main attraction for me in Cambodia is Angkor Wat - I’d spend more time in Vietnam or Laos) (30-day visa stamp on arrival or you can pre-apply)

3-4 weeks in Vietnam (more if you can): Da Nang - Hoi An - Hue - Ninh Binh - Hanoi - Cat Ba - Ha Giang - Sapa (must pre-apply for your visa, unless you are from a country that allows 45 days on entry - check this!!)

Hope this helps 😀 

Some bits you may be interested in

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Don’t skip out on travel insurance! You can start your SafetyWing policy at any point of your trip, even if you have left your country of origin.

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Ev x