Asian awards 2013

We spent a whole year in Asia, mostly south east but also Indonesia and the Philippines. So we thought after the South American awards last year we should also give awards for the things we liked the most in Asia.

We started in Hong Kong which we count as a country here. Then we went through China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and finally, Brunei Darussalam.

best food award

This was quite a debate. Thai food just won, Vietnamese getting a very close second place. It's fresh, tasty, healthy, often cheap and almost impossible to cook bad. If you can handle the spices, that is.

most exotic culture award







Definitely China. Basically no English anywhere. Cantonese (or Mandarin, sounds the same to us) is extremely hard to pronounce and let's not even start about the writing... The people are as different to us as it gets. But it is safe for tourists, and magically, things always work out somehow in the end.

best diving awards

Indonesia is a diver's dream. There's everything from the smallest to the biggest. Everything! And often it's very affordable.

best accomodation award

Often it's not dirt cheap but the quality was always good. Even the cheapest rooms have flat TV and hot water. Consistency won for Vietnam. It's always good.

best historical site award

Angkor Wat and the surrounding ruins in Cambodia. It's such a big area, you can spend weeks here if you're into this sort of thing. The work and money that went into the restauration is incredible. Also incredible is the bribes you need to pay to become a guide at this UNESCO world heritage site...

most relaxed award

In Laos you can just be, without being shouted at or without any big rip-offs. Outside Luang Prabang or Vang Vieng, that is. Sit down, grab a Beer Lao and just stare at all the green around you.

best airport award

Singapore's airport is just worldclass! You could be happy to spend a few days just exploring the parks, restaurants and cinemas here. Or you might never want to leave.

most adventurous travelling award

You get nowhere easily in the Philippines. 5 hours on the roof of a jeepney because there's no more space inside or being soaked in seawater for 9 hours on a bangka, every trip is exhausting. But more often than not, it is worth all the hassle.

friendliest people award

Cambodians love to joke, always smile and are extremly friendly. Never ever did we get a bad tempered answer just because we didn't feel like buying something. We always felt welcome in Cambodia. And all this after the hardship they had to go through in the past years, it's very moving. Just thinking of Cambodia and its people still brings a smile on our face.












best people watching award

Life happens on the street in Vietnam. We spent hours and hours drinking coffee and watching the life go by. And just to see for the first time children crossing the streets in Vietnamese traffic is stunning.

best beds award

There are some terrible beds out there, believe me. Cambodia though had some of the best and also best priced beds we've come across.

easiest travelling award

In Thailand you can get a ticket to anywhere and everywhere. Choose any agancy, tell them where you're heading and you get there. If it takes 3 buses and 3 boats through 3 countries you'll get it, on one ticket. Makes you lazy.











best big city award

We normally don't feel comfortable in big cities but Hong Kong was different. We spent a week here without getting bored! (For us, that IS long in a city!) It's easy to get around and very safe. It's chaotic in a nice way. Old and new often only one street apart. Good shopping too. Beaches, viewpoints, markets. What else do you need?













cheapest diving award

On Ko Tao we dived for 17€ per person. In Indonesia we paid at least 20. So, 17 wins.















least dangerous traffic award

Brunei Darussalam has clearly the most polite drivers. They stop even when you are not planning to cross the road. You could walk around blindfolded and not get a scratch. And that is worth an award in Asia.













best coffee award

Vietnam's very strong and very sweet coffee is just the best. Enjoy it hot or cold. After about three of them you can't sleep for two days. And still you want more of it.














most breathtaking landscape award

The views you get around Yangshuo and Xingping are the best we've ever seen. The river that runs through hundreds of high peaks is lined with bamboo and water buffalos. If you climb up a hill, you'll be alone. It's truly breathtaking.












most budget friendly award

Apart from Luang Prabang, Laos is very reasonable priced. A motorbike for 4€ a day and a whole ensuite bungalow for 3€ a night you get in busy places. Now imagine how little you pay far off the tourist trail.













best capital award

Hanoi is so busy and often hot that you forget everything else and just concentrate on the streets ahead of you. It's beautifully chaotic, but also colourful and full of flowers and trees. Amazing food everywhere, coffee shops and stylish boutiques, Hanoi is our all time favourite.












best national park award

The Komodo national park in Indonesia is stunning over and under water. For the small amount you pay they seem to do really well. The guides are friendly and full of information and are your only insurance when you encounter the dragons. Also the amount of fish around Komodo is incredible. Everything from sharks to manta rays frequent the reefs here. Also recommended: watching the sunset from the deck of a boat after a great day of diving.

pity award

 Malaysia was several times so close to win but there was always something wrong. It's hard understand what Malaysia is, or wants to be. It's a big collection of good and not so good. But they have orangutans and that's great. It's still worth a short visit.

Holiday's over

We left Ko Tao in the afternoon, 24 hours of travelling ahead of us. Our goal was to get to Ko Chang as soon as possible to be able to meet Anni's friend, Onni, who was somewhere on an island close to Ko Chang. The ferry to Chumphon took about 4 hours and there we jumped into an overnight bus to Bangkok. The overnight bus took 2 hours less than expected. We were woken up at three in the morning and we got dropped off somewhere that was not Khao San Road, like promised. Our next bus was supposed to leave from there, and we did not know where we were. It's not easy to stop and think when you just woke up in the middle of the night. We saw some people walking away and some jumping into taxis and tuk-tuks. We asked a taxi driver how far are we from Khao San Road, and he answered that it was far, and told us he would drive us there for 400 baht. We told him we would pay him 200 baht, and he nodded and wanted to carry our backpacks into the taxi. Wait, what? Our previous experience in Bangkok had proven that the taxi drivers barely let you haggle. They either give you a price and you take it, or you spend half an hour looking for a driver that is actually willing to use the meter, and still you get ripped off by driving in circles. If something seems too good to be true, it usually is. So we were saved by Anni's Nokia and its GPS and maps. She checked her phone and we realised we should be quite close to our destination. So we started walking. On the way we asked 7/11 cashiers, who confirmed that Khao San was about two minute walk away.

Last time we were in Khao San Road it was absolutely horrible. Khao San is THE backpacker hell in Bangkok with all the bars, touts, tailor shops, "cheap" clothes and souvenirs, two McDonalds's and guesthouses all somehow made to fit on this small street. By day, it was chaotic and busy. By night, it was bloody hilarious. We had plenty of time for people watching and indeed it kept us amused for five hours that we had to wait until our next bus at 8:00. The drunken people were fun to watch, and it was for sure safer waiting there than somewhere on an empty street. And you could get coffee and food at any time. Great!

Another bus and world's slowest boat ride later we arrived on Koh Chang to find out that Onni had already left. We had been planning to keep going to Koh Wai, a smaller island with excellent snorkeling and nice beaches. We were however too tired from traveling and we didn't think there were any more boats going to Ko Wai on the same day, so we decided to stay on Koh Chang for three nights and relax, swim and plan. Our next border crossing was only a few days away after all. Anni spent an hour or so looking for a cheap place while Ben was keeping an eye on the backpacks, but they were booked out for the next four days, so we ended up paying 700 baht (double the price we try to pay) for a room per night. Our room had hot water though, a nice change after a few months of cold showers! Most of our time we ended up spending in Hippo Cafe, a nice place with good food and fast wifi. In three days we got a pretty good idea on where to go and what to do next.

We did not expect Koh Chang to be amazing, we hadn't even planned to stay there. And because of that, we actually did not really know what to expect. It proved to be not bad but ridiculously overpriced. Most of all it seemed to be a playground for middle-aged sex tourists. It was sad to see in many ways. Sometimes we couldn't decide if we should feel more sorry for the girls or for the old, desperate men playing happy family with their barely 18 year old girlfriends. Sure, there were real couples too. But mostly it didn't look like that. We'd love to know how many of those men getting drunk from early morning, spending their time in girl bars were married men on a "business trip". Or actually, never mind. I guess it's not our place to judge. But sometimes you just can't help wondering why.

Other than that, Koh Chang was okay. Beach was okay, island itself was okay, weather was okay. For some reason it was especially popular with Russian tourists, almost every sign was written in Russian, English and Thai. Ko Chang left us with the impression that there is not really anything to complain about but nothing special to come back for.

After resting for a few days we felt good about getting out of Thailand. Thailand was a much needed holiday from travelling. For a while it was fantastic to be in a country where travelling is as easy as it gets. But after a while it becomes a bit boring when everything is done for you. Traveling without thinking and fighting a little to get what you want is fun and relaxing, but never as rewarding. It was also sad to see South Thailand's backpacker scene slowly disappearing and turning into overpriced resorts for rich tourists and the old budget places putting up their prices without doing anything to improve the quality. And who can blame them? There are more and more people coming for short holidays, willing to pay. Why not? Easy money. I'd do the same.

 

Thailand was good, but it was definitely time to move on and get back to travel mode. So we packed our bags again and left towards Cambodia.