Beautiful places to visit in the Philippines

You’re going to love backpacking Southeast Asia!

It’s one of the most captivating and amusing areas of the world.

I’ve been slowly migrating around Southeast Asia now since 2009 and to be honest, I still haven’t been to a fraction of the places I’d like to visit – there’s still so much for me to explore… but, I have been to quite a few places and my aim of this ultimate guide is to offer you some personal travel advice and tips about where to go, what to see and what to eat!

After just over 3 years I have finally been to the 10 countries that make up Southeast Asia (11 if you count East Timor but I haven’t been there).

There are a lot of links throughout this guide, if you see anything that looks interesting just click on the link for more information about it.

For each country I’ll give a little introduction, then go over a few of the cities I’ve visited and enjoyed, and finally briefly mention a few places in that country where I’d like to go… but haven’t yet.

Also, be sure to check out the videos that I’ve embedded into this guide. Alternatively, you can browse my video channel to watch country specific videos.

I hope this will be a great resource on your backpacking Southeast Asia trip of a lifetime! If you have any other advice or questions, please leave a comment at the bottom of this article!

Visting Thailand is almost mandatory when it comes to backpacking through Southeast Asia – just about everyone comes through Thailand at least a few times. Recent statistics have shown that Thailand receives something like 19 million tourists annually (and rising each year).

With a busy airport, it’s easy to catch a flight directly into Bangkok to begin your southeast Asia adventure – that’s what I did in 2009 before visiting other countries in the region.

Bangkok

Spending time in the Big Mango (Bangkok) is a thrilling experience. Here are a few things to check out when you’re in town:

I’ve spent over two years in and out of Bangkok now, it’s a great hub for getting to other destinations around the country and around Asia

If you have some extra time in Bangkok I would highly recommend visiting Amphawa Floating Market which is one of the most popular local floating markets and the Maeklong Train Market (VIDEO Above), a truly fascinating market that takes places directly over the train tracks (and the train still runs).

Chiang Mai

After Bangkok, Chiang Mai is a destination located in northern central Thailand many choose to visit. It’s known for its forest trekking, beautiful mountainous scenery, for all kinds of adventure sports and for the famous Thai elephants.

• Pai: One of the most famous places on the Thailand route of backpacking Southeast Asia is a little country town known as Pai. I haven’t been there, but I’ve heard that it is a highlight of many people’s trip.

Siem Reap – Angkor Wat

The big ticket for travelers visiting Cambodia (or even Southeast Asia altogether) are the famous temples of Angkor Wat – a truly remarkable attraction.

When I visited the temples, I took local transportation from Bangkok and chose to see the temples for just one day (you can also buy a 2 day ticket). It’s not just a single temple, but Angkor Wat is a huge area with many ancient temples and ruins.

As far as the Siem Reap town goes, I wasn’t much of a fan – tons of tourists and lots of Western restaurants. Backpacking Southeast Asia you should definitely see Angkor Wat but don’t spend too much extra time in Siem Reap.