My First Backpacking Experience Through Southeast Asia

I think moving abroad has changed me a lot as a person. I've forced myself to go beyond my comfort zone. Like to infinity and way beyond that shit. On this journey, I have met so many inspiring human beings. I have seen so much incredible shit. Like for real. Absolutely life changing. Hit "read more" to read about my first but definitely not last solo backpacking trip.

First stop: Taipei (pronounced tie-pay). Taiwan is bubble tea central! There was a bubble tea shop on every corner and I loved it. There was freaky looking food, bad smelling food, good smelling food, so much food! The food was delicious and I experienced this place through my stomach for sure. There were night markets and just people everywhere. I had some peanut butter shaved ice, a delicacy here. ;) I was able to go to a Chinese opera where all the actors were males dressed up like females. I knew some were men but if someone didn't tell me then I would have never known all of them were men! It was cool because we got to see them get ready and take pictures with them before the show. The girl who worked at my hostel, here name is Rice. I'm not kidding, that's what she asked people to call her. But Rice was fantastic. She is Taiwanese and can speak English well. She took a group of us to one of her favorite spots nearby and it was helpful having her to navigate the busses for us. I had some cool hostel roommates for this leg and we had a great time clubbing downtown! The clubs here are cool, you pay like a $20 cover fee but you get unlimited drinks. Yes that's right. The line for these free drinks is hella long though but still. I had a great time in Taipei and I knew that this was the beginning of a very fun and exciting journey. 

Also did you know the Taiwanese speak Chinese? 

Next stop: Bangkok. Bustling, rambunctious, Bangkok. I met a friend here who I just so happened to go to Elementary school with. Who said people from Lynn don't amount to anything? Look at us being global! We drank beer while little fish ate the dead skin off our feet. What a reunion, lol. Bangkok was loud. But nice. And I lost my cellphone here. While sober. But the girl at my hostel was so helpful and tried her best to report it missing. Apparently Bangkok doesn't have a lost and found system - it's more like a finders keepers method. It sucks to suck but I tried to not let it ruin the rest of my trip and went out that night with the locals working at my hostel and had a grand time. If I didn't lose my phone I wouldn't have met them and I'm convinced that things happen for a reason and everything will eventually work out. 

Pedicures in Bangkok were $6! And the lady used a blow dryer to dry my toes. It was definitely an experience. I met these two Italian boys at my hostel. They were currently living and working in Australia and were on vacation. We went out, played some pool, then danced the night away. Sooo fun! And the pad Thai was everything I could have hoped for and I bought it once a day from the lady on the street for $2! The shopping here was also amazing. So many cheap things! I wanted to buy them all but I had no room in my suitcase. (My suitcase which eventually broke and they had to call my name on the loud speaker at the airport and wrap it in plastic like the old Asian ladies do. Typical Jerrica life shit.)

Next stop: Vietnam. I started my journey to Vietnam in Hanoi which is the northern part of the country. I really enjoyed the vibe that Hanoi had. It was very laid back and chill. I was sitting by the lake and these two girls who were in University studying English came up and asked if they could practice speaking. I was alone so it was nice to have a conversation. They asked me some questions and we took a selfie at the end. They were adorable. I did all the touristy things like visit Halong Bay and what not. I went on this one adventure on a boat and the lady rowed the boat with her feet the entire time. She was hilarious. She stopped and bought herself from fish from some guy on a boat. What a sight to see, man.

There was a night where I sat down with these local guys and ate snails with them. That was interesting. I can't remember if the snails were good or not but I kept digging in so they must have been alright. We used a specific tool to get the snail out of the shell.

I spent my birthday here doing a pub crawl with this "party hostel" which was wild and crazy and belonged in some kind of a movie. I woke up with a broken toe (at least I thought it was broken, it probably wasn't). And that's all I have to say about that. I met some really cool people and they made me a card. It made me really happy especially since I had no cellphone and wasn't in contact with anyone from the States.

So coffee in Vietnam is to die for. They use condensed milk. The only thing is that they never give you enough coffee. I'm going to occasionally put some condensed milk in my coffee to reminisce and to make my taste buds happy. That's if and when someone will mail me some because Korea doesn't have that. (Opsoyo - this is me practicing my Korean). 

I went from Hanoi to Da Nang and in Da Nang, I walked five miles to the beach and then it started to rain. And I swear to you my life is like some kind of movie. I met some cool people here and we found out together that Da Nang has Desperados, which is this tequila flavored beer that you can only get in Europe (and apparently Da Nang) and it is the greatest thing known to man. And I'm not kidding. We did a street food tour and ate the best pho in town! So many cool ass backpackers out here, man.

From Da Nang I went south to Ho Chi Minh, which before I arrived, everyone told me horror stories of them getting robbed here. This made me a little nervous since I already lost my cellphone and really couldn't afford to be robbed. Luckily that did not happen! 

Ho Chi Minh was definitely a larger city and there was a lot more commotion going on here. It also had a Starbucks. The amount of mopeds were out of this world and there were no traffic laws. Red lights were basically a suggestion and it was a free for all when you crossed the street. Jay walking was the method of choice and there were even crosswalks that led you to a flower patch instead of the other side of the road.  I loved the atmosphere here too even though it was much different from Hanoi. I think I liked Vietnam in general - from the super nice people to the eating outside on these small stools to the 50 cent sandwiches. I loved it all. I went to the war museum and the amount of information and pictures shown was amazing. I honestly think that this museum has topped the Anne Frank house on my list of favorite museums. I later had a Vietnamese tour guide who claimed to be in the war (an American General he says) and that the museum was full of shit and it was all propaganda but who really knows. There was this one picture that really stayed in my mind. It was these four American soldiers and they each had a decapitated head from a Vietnamese soldier and they were all smiling. It was creepy. 

I also got the chance to go to the Cu Chi Tunnels which is where the Viet Cong hid out during the war. This particular area could never be completely captured because of it's intricate tunnel system where they even lived under the ground. I was able to crawl through a portion of the tunnel and it was pretty intense. They only allowed you to walk through about .3 kilometers which was more than enough because it was so tight and my claustrophobia was really kicking in that moment. It was an experience, nonetheless. 

Next stop: Singapore. I hadn't originally planned to come to Singapore but I would have had a 12 hour layover here and I figured I should just spend a day or two and not waste 12 hours of my life doing nothing in an airport. Although, their airport has a sauna and a movie theater and is the greatest airport I've ever been to and I probably could have easily spent 12 hours here had I known how cool the airport was. Whatevs. I couchsurfed to save money. Couch surfing is this community where people offer their couches to travelers for free. It sounds like it could be super sketchy but profiles are made and reviews are left and you can pick and choose who you'd like to stay with and they can pick and choose if they want you, personally, to stay with them. I stayed with a girl named Freda. She was awesome and really helpful. I went out with her and her friends and it was just like as if I was with my own friends in Korea. We had a blast and karaoke-d until 6AM. She took me to all the good spots for food too. Singapore is outrageously expensive but so clean and so beautiful. The weekend was a sufficient amount of time for a budget traveler like myself.

English is Singapore's first language but Malay is their native language but not everyone speaks it. Singapore is composed of Indians, Malaysians, Chinese, and then native Singaporeans. I stumbled upon a wedding and cool traditional ceremony.

Next stop: Krabi and the Phi Phi islands: Koh Phi Phi was honestly one of the most breathtaking places I've ever been. The beach was so beautiful! My hostel was right on the beach. I signed up for a booze cruise which allowed me to island hop. We went to a beach filled with monkeys and if you got too close, they would try to steal your belongings. They apparently love alcohol as much as people in their 20's. I also had the opportunity to go to Maya Bay which is where they filmed the movie The Beach starring Leonardo DiCaprio. IT WAS AMAZING. I ventured out into the jungle and was just in awe by the beauty around me. Apparently I was so caught up, I missed my boat!!! So now I'm stuck on this little island with a new friend and we're trying to ask random people with a boat to take us to our boat! We were about to swim. I didn't freak out because if I were to be stranded anywhere, I'm glad it could be on a beach. We made it back though and everything worked out like it eventually tends to do.

I had so much fun. Probably too much fun. I ended up losing my voice and had this really awful cough. I had two nights in Krabi and I literally could do nothing but cough all day. I took medicine and went to the Pharmacy and they were not helpful. It was miserable.

Next stop: Malaysia. I still had my cough arriving to Malaysia. I was supposed to couch surf here too but I couldn't bring myself to keep another person up all night while I'm in this coughing rage. So I booked a hotel (thank goodness for credit cards, right?). I was only here two nights. Now, I let this illness get the best of me in Krabi and I wasn't going to let that happen here too. I trekked my ass out of bed and did the main tourist attraction which was the Batu Caves. You had to climb a massive amount of stairs while dodging monkeys in every direction to get to the top and into the cave. Worth it. Totally worth it. Coming down I was completely petrified of the monkeys. I saw them steal this woman's cookies. I just thought they were going to try and take a bite out of me and my coughdrops! Like, no thanks Mr. Monkey. Not today.

Malaysia is home to the best food on the planet, I presume. THE BEST!!!!!! AND SO CHEAP. YES ALL THESE CAPITALS ARE COMPLETELY NECESSARY. The donuts, the pastries, the cheesecake, the noodles, the chicken. I loved it all. And their supermarket had this food section that I pretended was Whole Foods. I got an entire bowl of chicken salad for $1! and Sushi was $4!!!! Freakin' marvelous.

Random: During my trip I was asked if I was Hawaiin, African American (what?!), and Malaysian. I love when people guess my nationality. I always get the wildest shit, man.

I learned so much from this trip. I learned that in order to go backpacking, you need a backpack and not a suitcase. I met people who are spending two years traveling. I found out that not as many Americans as I thought are backpacking Southeast Asia. I learned that I am brave but could definitely be bolder. These people during this journey have been so inspiring. I've caught the travel bug and my life will never be the same.

"Travel is the only thing you can buy that can make you richer."