THAILAND

Moving further north from Vietnam you will find a popular holiday destination known as Thailand. Thailand has been a popular meeting point for young and old travelers from all over the world because of its cheap living, many islands with crystal blue water and white sandy beaches.

Start your trip in the capital Bangkok where the atmosphere is totally different to the islands. While walking through the City, you see how most of the local population lives and how similar it is to the townships of South Africa. However, amongst all this poverty lives a thriving city, filled with smiling faces and honest people.

The temples that are on the river show you some of the most attractive architecture the world has to offer. Taking a boat trip around the rivers of Bangkok offers you a unique view of the city, visiting the floating market, seeing the monitor lizards swimming in the river thinking they are crocodiles and most of all just embracing the beauty that surrounds you.

When you visit Bangkok there are a few things that you have to experience yourself. Go to the main temple to see the Jade Buddha which is the largest solid piece of Jade stone known to man which has been carved into the shape the Buddha. I must recommend the tigers of the Buddhist Temple. The Buddhist monks live amongst the tigers as we do with our dogs and cats. It will change your entire view of these animals. The animals are very tame and there is a completely harmonious relationship between the monks and the big cats.   

Moving away from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok to the more tropical paradise setting is the best part of Thailand. Before visiting the smaller more intimate islands, make sure to stop at Phuket for a few nights. Phuket is a thriving town with one of the biggest party scenes in the whole of Thailand, with one entire street that makes Long Street in Cape Town seem like some small time alley way. The entire street is dedicated to the enjoyment of the foreigners. You can get lost there for hours on end. With every step there will be someone offering you either a suit, tattoo, cheap clothes, drinks specials or even the unwanted attention from some Lady Boys, depending on the time you are there.

While walking down the street make sure to know where your destination is otherwise, you may end up somewhere that is to disturbing for your eyes to handle. I am talking about lady boy alley, and if you are not concentrating it could be your worst nightmare. While in Phuket there will be something offered to you constantly called a “ping pong show”, if you have a strong stomach the maybe go for it but if not then make sure to never enter the room unless you want you mind to be scarred for life.  I will however leave the rest to your imagination but you have been warned! Once out of the highly populated area’s you will truly discover the beauty of Thailand.

From Chailong harbor in Phuket it is a 50 minute ferry trip to the beautiful and festive Island of Phi Phi. With the constant flow of tourists Phi Phi is a thriving islands with dive schools all over and hundreds of beach bars spread out over the beaches.

There are two separate beaches on Koh Phi Phi, there is Koh Phi Phi Don, which is a more built up area, and then there is Koh Phi Phi Leh where they filmed the movie “The Beach”. Maya Beach/Bay is a very popular tourist destination for tourists so they can go home and gloat about standing on the actual beach where the film took place. You can’t stay here for long but there is an option for a small amount of people to camp over for the night which will cost you about 2300 Baht.

However, if you are looking for something more than beautiful beaches then there are two specific Islands just for you.  Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. Koh Phangan is where the full moon and black moon parties are held every month. People from all over the world convene on a small island once or twice a month to enjoy one of the most surreal trance/beach parties the world has to offer.

Then there is Koh Tao with its two separate islands joined by a small walkway of sand that breaks the water’s surface, during low tide and that along with its beautiful beach bars and bungalows you may never want to leave. As the sun begins the set, the beach lights up with activity as tourists flood the beach bars and the locals provide the entertainment with their fire shows. Some of you may have seen Poi or fire dancing before but here in Thailand they show you how this unique tribal styled dance should be done.

Thailand is a very different country and a somewhere that you could never compare to any other country around the world. There are more and more people going there every year and I would recommend that you should become one of them before the country changes into something different. 

VIETNAM

Vietnam is a beautiful country filled with history, culture and a country still recovering from the Vietnam War. Even though the war ended in 1975, the country is scattered with the ruins of the fallen. Some of the buildings are still rubble and the thousands of live mines that litter the shoreline are still a threat to the country.

The capital Saigon is a thriving 3^rd world city with millions of occupants and just not enough room to hold them all. With its super high humidity and along with the congestion of the city Saigon is not an ideal place to stay in for too long unless you enjoy the feeling of claustrophobia.

The true beauty of Vietnam lies along the coastline and the small surrounding islands. One of these many places is the town of Nha Trang. Nha Trang is a small fishing village with amazing locals, beautiful beaches and a festive nightlife.

Vietnam is possibly the cheapest place to visit in the world, a beer will cost you R5 and a hotel room could cost you R1000 for an entire month. The food is also something to be excited about, its cheap unique and will rival some of the best restaurants in the streets of Paris.

During the day in Nha Trang you will never get bored, with all the cocktails you want at a beach bar called Sailing Club that at night transforms to a festive night club. When partying becomes too much to handle then take a trip along the largest cableway system over the water in the world to a magical water park and resort called Vin Pearl.

Make sure to visit this beautiful place but if you go there during the monsoon season make sure to bring your water wings because you will be swimming down the streets rather than walking. Even though it is raining and the sun is far away it is still to warm for long pants and shirts. However, during the summer months it is hot, hot, hot the beaches are crowded with tourists and the town is humming with activity.

The nightlife around Nha Trang is a buzz of excitement with every bar competing with the other to draw in the passing tourists. From the If Not Why Not Bar and their low prices on buckets to Guava and their free pool, no matter where you go there are always cheap deals and handfuls of tourists making the most of it.

However, make sure not to get completely engulfed by the atmosphere of Nha Trang and be sure to make your way up north to Ha Noi and Hoi An. It will take you just over 10 hours on a night train to get to Ha Noi and it is recommended. The Islands just of the coast of Ha Noi are some of the greatest marvels of Mother Nature. While on your boat trip around the islands stopping and swimming in different destinations make sure to enjoy a beer at one of the bars while watching the sunset on the beautiful horizon.

Vietnam may not be your first choice for a holiday destination but I can assure you that it will be the greatest decision you have ever made. Enjoy the full beauty of this amazing country before it becomes too commercialised.

Leave Europe behind and experience Asia 

SINGAPORE

The next stop on our journey is the modern and culturally rich environment and city Singapore. Singapore is a completely new city, with its skyscrapers towering over the city, modern technology and innovative ideas. Singapore is the only place in the world that has managed to change the harbour from salt to fresh water, no one knows why the engineers did it, but they did.

   

Singapore is filled with many marvels of modern day architecture with some of the most mind melting and eccentric buildings in the world. With every turn of your head you will see huge buildings attempting to touch the underbelly of the sky, it makes Dubai look inadequate. The one true marvel of architecture here in Singapore is the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Casino. Its not only one of the most unique buildings I have ever laid eyes on but it is also the second most expensive casino and hotel in the world. Stretching over three 55-story hotels is the one hectare sky terrace placed on the rooves holding everything together. When it is a nice day, make a plan to enjoy a cocktail and a swim on the roof of the sky bar.

However, this is not the only marvel to Singaporean modern architecture. Along with the Marina Bay Sands, there is the Singapore Opera House, the museum, the Ion and almost every other skyscraper on the island. The Ion is any shopper’s paradise, situated on the main road known as Orchard Road where people with the money congregate.  It stretches four floors underground and then four floors up, with the entire front of the building layered with flat screen advertising boards, you expect something spectacular, and it is. Within the mall, you will find every conceivable is shop and a food court that accommodates everyone’s taste buds.

However, the food court of the ION is not the only place you should visit for some good food. There is a fast food restaurant in Singapore that makes the most delicious burgers that my taste buds have ever had the pleasure of enjoying. This magical land is known as Wendy’s. To my knowledge there are only two places where you can enjoy Wendy’s, Canada or Singapore and from personal experience, I would prefer to go to Singapore than Canada.

Singapore Zoo offers you something truly unique and a once in a lifetime opportunity to see nature at night. Singapore Zoo offers tours that take place at night. The carts take you all around the zoo showing you the behavior of wild animals at night, also allowing you to walk around on your own.

This is not the only unique experience that Singapore has to offer, depending on when you are visiting you may be lucky enough to watch the Singapore Grand Prix. The Grand Prix takes place through the streets of Singapore over a weekend period. There are only two places in the world that offers a Grand Prix through the streets of the city, Singapore and Monte Carlo.      

When the sun is out the City becomes a hub of excitement and in a city with so much culture there is nothing better to do than to wander through the streets. China Town is where you will find the older more traditional Singaporean buildings and extraordinary China Town and food markets. Walk into the underground food market and witness something truly unique. Turtles, eels, catfish, frogs, lizards and the worst of all shark fins scattered all over the market with the locals frothing at the mouth to get their hands upon this acquired cuisine. The smells in the air that surrounds the market is enough to make most people feel a slight sense of nausea.  

The East Coast Walkway is one destination that everyone must visit at least once while you are there. During the day its always nice to walk down the beach splashing in the water but at night then you can truly experience what its really about. Looking out over the ocean you will see a floating city, a series of ships stretching as far as the eye can see. Singapore has the second busiest harbour in the world and is constantly visited by incoming and outgoing ships 24 hours a day 7 days a week. 

Singapore offers something for every visitor. It is a clean, rule-ridden (for example chewing gum is banned) city that creates a very good atmosphere, everyone does their part, and it makes a big difference to the country. It is by far one of my top 3 travel destinations to date and will recommend it to anyone.