Keen to start travelling the world? Here’s why Southeast Asia Should be your first stop
At the beginning of 2023, I packed up all of my worldly possessions into boxes and moved them into a storage unit as I set off to travel the world.
The idea to become a digital nomad came to me when I was sitting in my flat one Tuesday afternoon. It was just after noon, I’d finished my work for the day (The joys of being a freelancer!) and I sat down at my dining room table to work on my puzzle.
After fitting a few pieces in, I thought, “I’m in one of the most beautiful cities in the world – one that’s on plenty of travellers’ bucket lists – and here I am, on a beautiful afternoon, doing a puzzle.”
The reality was that I’d seen what Cape Town had to offer. I’d lived in the city for just about 33 years, excluding the five years when I studied in Stellenbosch. And the four months I worked on the ski slopes in Vale, Colorado, in 2014.
I was bored and wasn’t taking advantage of my amazing home city because of it.
I was also intimidated by the idea of letting my security blanket (read: my apartment with panoramic city views and all of the trinkets I’d collected over the years) go and heading out into the big wide world. Especially seeing as I’d be on my own.
But, after some quick Googling to find the cheapest flights I could out of Cape Town, I had suddenly booked a ticket to Thailand and the plan was afoot. I spent three months in Southeast Asia and I couldn’t recommend it more.
A tuk tuk driver smokes a cigarette alongside his vehicle. Photo by Jocelyn Wong on Unsplash.
It’s no secret that Southeast Asia is a favourite destination for backpackers. Especially solo female backpackers. That makes it the perfect place to kick off a world tour – or just dip your toes into travelling – even if you don’t have too much travel experience.
I’m not usually a fan of popular travel destinations. I prefer to skip the tourist traps and head to places that are a little more off the beaten path. Maybe that’s because I’m from a continent that’s more sparsely populated than most. Maybe that’s because I hate to be part of a crowd.
That said, the Southeast Asian countries I visited (Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore) captured my imagination and I’m planning another trip to the region when it gets too cold in South Africa.
Here’s why.
Budget friendly
In total, I spent around R90,000 over the three months I was travelling down the Malay Peninsula.
That covered everything. Flights (between Cape Town and Bangkok), accommodation (a mix of hostels, hotels, and guesthouses), food (plenty of street food with a smattering of fine dining), entertainment (full day scuba trips, Supertree Grove light shows and shopping), regional travel (on planes, buses, ferries, and trains), toiletries, and everything else I needed to survive.
Modern light sculptures stick out of lush greenery in Supertree Grove. Photo by Victor on Unsplash.
This could, of course, be cheaper if your itinerary included only continental countries (e.g. Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos), but my real mission on this trip was to get to Singapore, so I went with the more expensive route.
All in all, though, R90,000 is pretty reasonable for just under 90 days of fun in the sun.
Diverse cultures
Admittedly, towards the end of my trip, my motto became: “Seen one temple, seen ’em all.” But that’s mostly because I’m more interested in the cultures that drive the construction of these shrines than I am in the buildings themselves.
The majority of Thai people practise Buddhism, so there are plenty of ornate temples to visit and admire. (I was even lucky enough to free some captured fish into the Chao Phraya River with some monks on my first day in Bangkok.)
Big Buddha Temple, Koh Samui. Photo by Kit Suman on Unsplash.
Malaysia, on the other hand, is two-thirds Muslim. Which means there are more than enough mosques to see (and hear) while exploring the country’s numerous cities. Some will even give you traditional garb to don when you visit.
Things are different still in Singapore. Far more secular than its peninsula neighbours, there’s an eclectic mix of religions and cultures that come together in the city state to create a truly cosmopolitan atmosphere.
Delicious food
This kind of goes without saying, so I’ll be brief.
Whether you’re into fine-dining or more of a budget babe, there will be something for you to eat and enjoy on the Malay Peninsula: Pad Thai, laab, satay, nasi lamak, laksa, roti, mango sticky rice, the list goes on and on.
A woman in a straw hat cooking various types of seafood on grills. Photo by Lisheng Chang on Unsplash.
My dining highlights came from street food in Thailand, bakeries in Malaysia, and hawker stall food halls in Singapore.
Easy travel
First and foremost, only having a South African passport, visa-free and visa-on-arrival destinations are generally top of my list. Not only does it keep the overall cost of your trip down to not have to pay to enter a country, it also reduces the admin.
Out of the 11 countries in Southeast Asia, South Africans need a pre-arranged visa only if they plan on travelling to Vietnam for more than 14 days. Most of the time, you’ll be given a visa on arrival (you generally don’t even need proof of an onward journey) at no charge.
Open passport showing various entry and exit stamps. Photo by ConvertKit (Soon to be KIt) on Unsplash.
That, in combination with the fact that buses, ferries and trains (country dependent) are all pretty reliable and cheap, means that you can get around easily and travel wherever the mood takes you without much worry.
The same goes for accommodation. There are a lot of places to stay pretty much everywhere. All of which means that if you arrive somewhere and hate it, you can quickly change your plans to something more suitable.
Best of all, there are loads of other people in these countries who are travelling alone. Which means that it’s usually easy to make friends and find people to share experiences with when things get a little lonely.
Two travellers navigate a Southeast Asian road on a scooter. Photo by Jordan Opel on Unsplash.
Natural beauty
This one kind of goes without saying, but another really great benefit of being able to get around easily – and cheaply – is that accessing Southeast Asia’s many stunning landscapes (just like the ones that you see on Instagram) doesn’t take too much time or effort.
In less than a day, you can go from white-sand beaches and snorkelling with sea turtles and nudibranchs to trekking through lush green jungle to spot proboscis monkeys and orangutangs. (Ok, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but you could definitely do these two very disparate activities in two days.)
A proboscis monkey in a tree. Photo by Joshua Stitt on Unsplash.
All in all, Southeast Asia is a treat for anyone who wants some travel training wheels when they’re just starting out travelling alone. If you’re thinking of hitting the road for the long term, I’d suggest trying a few of these countries first to get yourself into the spirit of wandering.
