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57 Reasons to Travel Southeast Asia (In Photos)

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57 Reasons to Travel Southeast Asia (In Photos)

It’s easy to spend several months traveling the circuit of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia and only scratch the surface. Many big cities are home to busy roads packed motorbikes and street food vendors but also offer quiet temples and places for peaceful reflection. Leave the busy urban areas behind and discover national parks, trekking through jungles and more off the beaten path adventures. Nearly everywhere I saw smiling faces, especially in smaller towns. If you needed any more reasons to travel Southeast Asia, here are my 57 favorite photos, broken down by country.

Enjoy!

 

Thailand

Travel Southeast Asia
The Grand Palace in Bangkok.

 

Travel Southeast Asia
Lots of gold in the Grand Palace.

 

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Golden Buddhas at Wat Pho in Bangkok.

 

Read More: Top 10 Street Foods in Bangkok

 

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Flying to the islands in southern Thailand. Though I preferred buses whenever possible, it’s fairly cheap to travel Southeast Asia by flying.

 

Travel Southeast Asia
Exploring the coast of Koh Tao in southeastern Thailand.

 

Travel Southeast Asia
Mung beans, also known as stink beans, are one of the most delicious dishes found in the south of Thailand.

 

Travel Southeast Asia
Conquering my fear of learning to scuba dive in the open ocean. This is me with my dive buddy, Virginia.

 

Travel Southeast Asia
A WW2 wreck dive, one of our final dives before being awarded our advanced diver certification.

 

Travel Southeast Asia
Near Chiang Mai, in the north of Thailand, heading to an elephant preserve in a tuk tuk.

 

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Meeting a family of elephants for the first time!

 

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We watched the elephants take a mud bath and then washed them off in the nearby stream.

 

Travel Southeast Asia
Meeting Chiang Mai’s Cowgirl, famous for her stewed pork, which was incredible.

 

Read More: The Best of Chiang Mai Street Food & Markets

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Crispy pla, a fish dish, covered with a sauce made of ginger and basil. This was my favorite version at a restaurant called Lemongrass in Chiang Mai.

 

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Celebrating Songkran, Thai New Year, with a traditional water gun fight during one of my last days in Thailand.

 

Laos

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Sun sets over the Luang Prabang as the night markets below this temple begin for the night.

 

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One of the many local temples.

 

Travel Southeast Asia
Local farmers and shopkeepers traveling by boat at sunrise in Luang Prabang.

 

Read More: 12 Reasons to Travel to Laos

 

Travel Southeast Asia
Fresh produce, meat and street food were found everywhere in open air markets throughout Luang Prabang.

 

Travel Southeast Asia
Pork spring rolls in Luang Prabang. The super thin rice paper wrap made them even more crispy and delicious.

 

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Watching the sunset from the highest point in Luang Prabang.

 

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Monks praying in a local temple

 

Travel Southeast Asia
Having way too much fun on a day of tubing down the river in Vang Vieng and enjoying local beers at one of the bars along the way.

 

Travel Southeast Asia
The Buddha Park outside of Vientiane had statues representing a number of religions and figures.

 

Travel Southeast Asia
A young girl’s mother asked if we would take a photo with her daughter and we agreed. She wore my hat. My friend James is on the right. We met back in Copenhagen and met up several times, ultimately traveling 11 countries together.

 

Vietnam

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Hoan Kiem Lake in the center of Hanoi has a beautiful light display at night.

 

Travel Southeast Asia
Enjoying one of our first street food meals in Hanoi.

 

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Streets and sidewalks become massive clusters of street food diners at night.

 

Read More: 30 Best Vietnam Street Foods & Local Dishes

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Hanoi has an impressive and affordable nightlife scene.

 

Travel Southeast Asia
A 3-day, 2-night cruise through Ha Long Bay was only $120.

 

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The view from one of the bungalows on the cruise’s private island. There were only about a dozen of us staying there.

 

Travel Southeast Asia
Riding bicycles along the river of Phong Nha after an overnight bus ride south from Hanoi.

 

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After a full day of motorbiking around Phong Nha we enjoyed pork slow-cooked in bamboo shoots an other delicious foods at family-owned Moi Moi.

 

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Touring the massive Paradise Cave outside of Phong Nha.

 

Travel Southeast Asia
After taking a zipline to the entrance of Dark Cave and walking through it, we swam and then kayaked back to the end point.

 

Travel Southeast Asia
Motorbiking along the coast of Hoi An. Some people travel Southeast Asia countries such as Vietname from one end to the other on a motorbike.

 

Travel Southeast Asia
After riding through misty mountain tops, we came upon this view of the coastline outside of Hoi An.

 

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Riding a farmer’s buffalo on the way to the beach in Hoi An.

 

 

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Rappelling down waterfalls outside of Da Lat. (Photo courtesy of Viet Challenge Tours)

 

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Canyoning and cliff jumping outside of Da Lat. (Photo courtesy of Viet Challenge Tours)

 

Cambodia

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Marugame Udon in Phnom Penh made the best food I tasted in Cambodia. The soups at katsu dishes were packed with flavor and we never spent more than $5 on a meal.

 

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Sunset on the way to the islands.

 

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Koh Rong Samloem, an island off the southern coast of Cambodia.

 

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Scuba diving just off the island. Can you spot the hidden seahorse?

 

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Firedancers on the beaches of Sihanoukville

 

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Just before sunrise at Angkor Wat in Siem Reap.

 

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Monks park their motorbikes and head into Angkor Wat.

 

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A swamp just outside of one of Siem Reap’s many temples.

 

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There are so many temples in Siem Reap in addition to Angkor Wat.

 

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Travel Southeast Asia

 

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Huge trees overgrow many of the ancient temples.

 

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Travel Southeast Asia

 

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Ancient elephant carvings adorned many of the temples.

 

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One final sunset at Angkor Wat before leaving Cambodia.

 

Reasons to Travel Southeast Asia Recap

Whether it’s temples, islands, nightlife, food, or solitude, Southeast Asia offers a broad range of activities and environments that everyone can enjoy. The prices, especially outside of larger cities and touristy areas, are quite affordable. It’s easy to see why so many backpackers and ex-pats flock to this region of the world. Though I spent 4 months there this time around, I would like to go again and visit more of the smaller cities, further removed from typical travel routes. We’ll see what the future holds.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about the photos and anything I missed. Join the discussion below and leave your thoughts.

 

Một hai ba, yo! (1, 2, 3, go! or Cheers! in Vietnamese)

– Cam

 

What’s your favorite spot in Southeast Asia? Please comment below!

 

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1 Comment

  1. Agness of Fit Travelling Reply
    May 12, 2017 at 4:59 am

    I couldn’t agree more with you, Cam! I see eye to eye with you regarding the travel to Southeast Asia!

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