Hi friend 👋 

I hope you’re having a wonderful week!

It’s week 5 of my accountability challenge with my friends (we’re all sending one newsletter a week). Only 10 more weeks to go 😥 

It’s been a GAME CHANGER staying accountable for something.

It actually gets done, lol wuuuut.

Ps. if you rely on your own motivation to do things in life / work, being accountable is a great way to ensure you keep moving forward and keep ticking things off the to-do list.

If you don’t have anyone in your life that would be a good accountability partner, join my Freelancer Community on WhatsApp and see if anyone would be up for an accountability challenge in there.

You voted on today’s newsletter topic on Instagram, and it was SO close, but…

My favourite countries in SE Asia + top places to visit won the race.

And boy, this one will be hard to write…

I love ALL of South East Asia - it’s cheap, easy to travel, there’s lots of backpackers, the nature is INSANE, I can get a scooter almost everywhere and easily get around, and the weather is usually top notch (if you’re there in the right season).

So, my favourite countries 🤔 

Take my opinion and recommendations with a pinch of salt, because I may like something, but maybe you won’t.

And if you’re travelling around SE Asia, that’s my #1 piece of advice.

Take other people’s opinions with a pinch of salt.

‘Oh XYZ isn’t worth visiting’

‘XYZ is shite, I wouldn’t go there’

Ask why?

Maybe they stayed at a shit hostel, or didn’t meet any other travellers, or got scammed…

Those aren’t valid reasons to write a place off.

And what defines ‘favourite’ anyway?

I always say, your experience depends on who you were with and how you were feeling, and the beauty of a place just adds to that.

Anyways…

My favourite countries is South East Asia have to be:

• Thailand - because it feels like a second home, more specifically northern Thailand 🇹🇭 

• Nepal - for the trekking (it has the most incredible mountains!) 🇳🇵 

• Indonesia - its culture and landscapes are SO diverse and I don’t think you could ever get bored in Indonesia 🇮🇩 

Honestly, I can’t just leave it at that.

I also LOVE Sri Lanka (not technically, but kind of SE Asia), Laos and Vietnam.

I haven’t explored enough of the Philippines, but I did have a really cool solo experience on an island where I only saw 2 other tourists all week.

And I loved exploring Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

I also love Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and I had an incredible solo trip in Langkawi, Malaysia in 2017.

Andddd I’ve explored Malaysian Borneo and that was COOL! 🦧

Singapore is also cool for a few days.

I told you, I love it all.

I still have Brunei, Timor-Leste and Myanmar to visit.

And I’m hoping Myanmar will be soon… maybe?!

Basically, I believe that your travel experiences all depend on your interests, how you like to travel, what you like to see, and how remote you want to go.

So, my favourites might not be yours, and that’s okay.

But I promise, they’re pretty good ones!

PS. I’ve always thought about hosting a group trip to Nepal, to show off those beautiful mountains. Reply to this email if you’d be interested! 😊 

My top places to visit in SE Asia

Wow, how will I ever choose…

Let me share some of my top experiences and I hope it inspires you to go and explore for yourself.

And if you have any questions, message me on Instagram and I’d love to chat about SE Asia.

In no order…

• Exploring all the hidden gems around Nusa Penida, Indonesia - it’s now become so much busier, but it was quite unknown in 2018, and I LOVED it

• Trekking to Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal - it took 6 days up (via Poon Hill) and 2 days down

• Watching sunrise overlooking Mount Bromo in East Java, Indonesia

• Exploring the town of Hoi An, Vietnam

• Seeing orangutans in the wild in Sumatra, Indonesia

• Boat trip out to the most pristine islands in the middle of the ocean, Malaysian Borneo

• Jeep safari to see wild elephants, Sri Lanka

• Seeing Sigiriya Rock for sunrise from Pirudangala Rock, Sri Lanka

• Driving the Ha Giang Loop, Vietnam

• Hanging out of the train from Colombo to Ella, Sri Lanka

• Driving a motorbike for two months through Vietnam and Cambodia

• Drinking the best coffee in the world in Chiang Mai, Thailand

• Seeing several incredible waterfalls in Cebu, The Philippines

• 3-day / 2-night boat trip around the Komodo Islands, Indonesia

• Seeing Tumpak Sewu waterfall in East Java, Indonesia

And of course, all the small moments of meeting people around the world and making new friends.

This one’s been sentimental…

It was lovely to think back on some of my favourite memories around SE Asia, an area of the world that I hold very close to my heart! 🤍 

So thank you for voting to hear my stories.

Some bits you may be interested in

1:1 coaching call to start your own online business - book HERE.

Become a TEFL teacher and earn money by teaching online / abroad: all courses on tefl.ie are 16% cheaper with code EV16.

Best travel insurance (you can start it at any point of your trip, even if you have left your country of origin) - SafetyWing.

Want to share this newsletter with a friend? Follow this link and copy it to them.

You can buy me a coffee if you enjoy or find any of my content useful. 🫶🏼

Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading, subscribing and following, and feel free to reply to this email with any questions, suggestions or feedback.

Ev x