Category: Asia
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Wildlife encounters without the crowds in Southeast Asia
If you follow my blog, you’ll know that I absolutely love Southeast asia, It’s probably my favourite region on the planet. Not only because of the incredible food and rich cultures, but also because of the stunning nature and wildlife experiences. From lush forests to vibrant coral reefs, Southeast Asia boasts an amazing variety of…
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Spotted in Singapore
Our flight back to Europe was from Singapore, as we thought this was a good central location in South East Asia to get back to from anywhere, and we were right, the flight from Bali to Singapore was good value, and gave us 2 nights for some sightseeing in the city. We landed in the…
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Flying visit to Komodo National Park
I have a LOT of pins in my Google maps of places I’d like to visit… And I’ve had a pin in Komodo for as long as I can remember. The Komodo dragons are a fascinating species, endemic to the region, these monsters also have venom and harsh bacteria in their saliva which slowly kill…
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Finding Bali Roadtrip
Both Dave and I have been to Bali before. In my first visit I came full of anticipation after hearing tens of positive opinions of Bali, and how beautiful and spiritual it was. However, I left after about 10 days feeling oversold… I found Bali crowded, touristy, commercial and overrated. I left Bali and went…
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Snorkelling in Permuteran
From Probolinggo in East Java, we got another train to the coastal town of Ketapang. I’d been here before a few years ago when I attempted to climb Ijen. But this time, Dave and I were just foot passengers, so it was a lot easier. We bought our ticket from the Alfamart across the road…
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Ancient Temples in Yogyakarta
We flew from Medan to Jakarta for a flying visit, which consisted of basically eating, walking to a park which was closed, then sleeping in a capsule/pod hotel. In hindsight, we should have flown direct to Yogya, but the price of the flight to Jarkarta was about half, so it was definitely worth the savings.…
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Fascinating Lake Toba
From Berastagi, we continued onward towards Lake Toba. 74,000 years ago, the Toba eruption was one of the biggest volcanic eruptions in the history of the planet (well, in the last 25 million years, as Dave tells me). It was a VEI (Volcanic Explosivity Index) of 8, which is the highest on the scale –…
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Sunrise Hike to Mount Sibayak
After Bukit Lawang we wanted to travel south towards Lake Toba and a brief stop off at the town of Berastagi. Berastagi is saddled between 2 of Sumatra’s active volcanoes, mount Sinabung (on the FCDO red list because of it’s potential for violent, and often deadly, eruptions) and mount Sibayak, which is fairly stable and…
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Birthday Orangutans in Bukit Lawang
Before we even decided to quit our jobs and go backpacking, we’d both spoken about our desires to visit more of Indonesia. We’ve both been here before and loved it. For me, the lush green jungles are just as amazing as the underwater, with so many endemic species on land, and some of the best…
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City Living in KL
On our journey to Indonesia, we decided to make a quick pit stop in KL, mostly because of the convenience and price of the flights – direct flights from Hat Yai were cheap and then onward to Medan also very cheap. I have been to Malaysia before, and for me, it was one of the…
Travel Alchemist 