2013 – A Look Back to Places I Visited

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Today marks the first day of the New Year and I’m quite stoke with all the travel plans I have in place which hopefully will materialize in the coming months. But while planning for the next destinations, I can’t help but look back on what 2013 looks like when it comes to my travels.

2013 is when I fully embraced slow travel and based myself in just two places which were Siem Reap and Bangkok. Since I have a home based where I spent most of my time for a few months, I was able to focus on a lot of online stuff that I do and when I get so tired and bored of maintaining my niche sites and blogs, then I usually pack my bags and visit various places within this region. I’ve never taken a flight and just took the bus since all of the places that I went to are connected by land.

Here are the places that I visited in 2013:

Siem Reap was my home base for the first half of the year and really enjoyed my time there so much. I bought a bike so I could cycle to any part of the town any time of the day. The place where I was staying also have dogs which stayed in my apartment during the entire time that I was there. It was sad to leave them all behind but I’m pretty sure that we’ll see each other again.

Every time I get bored in Siem Reap I go to Phnom Penh. I also bought some stuff that I need in Phnom Penh like my lens and some gadgets since they’re cheaper than the ones in Siem Reap. My trips to Phnom Penh were also a welcome break to indulge in more food choices as there’re more restaurants in Phnom Penh than in Siem Reap.

Battambang is just a couple of hours away from Siem Reap and one of the nicest place to just relax in Cambodia. The pace is so slow and laid back and there’s nothing much to do but relax and visit the sights that this city has to offer.

After Cambodia, the next destination was Phitsanulok to visit a Thai friend whom I met in India. Together with his other friends we drove around Phtsanulok and the nearby towns as well.

Sukothai is one of the places we visited and I think this was my 3rd or 4th time in Sukothai. I love this small town especially the heritage park where you could see the ruins of old Sukothai.

After a week in Phitsanulok, Dan Sai was the next destination. I never knew about this place but I saw a magazine article about the Phitakon Festival and luckily it was held just in time I was around the area. After Dan Sai, my friend and I went to Udon Thani to explore this quaint little city.

After a few weeks in Thailand, Vang Vieng was the next destination. It was my first time in Vang Vieng and I enjoyed it so much. I spent three weeks just lounging around. The hostel that I got was situated near the river and has fast wifi. It was so relaxing. All my next door neighbors were also backpackers and we just spent the night chatting about a variety of stuff. Vang Vieng is so picturesque especially when you venture outside the town proper.

After three weeks of lazily hanging around in Vang Vieng, Vientiane was the next destination. The main reason for this visit to Vientiane was to sort out some visa. One week easily passed by in this lazy town.

After sorting the Thai Visa in Vientiane, my friend and I went back to Bangkok. The time in Bangkok was spent working on new niche sites, reading about new possible ways of earning more online and eating. D@mn, food in Thailand is so amazing I gained more than 10 pounds in my whole stay in Bangkok.

Pai, oh Pai, where do I start. This is one of the most relaxing place I have visited in my life. The serene and calm ambiance and the beautiful nature makes Pai one of the nicest place in Thailand. Pai despite being quite far from a city has the convenience of city living because of the abundance of restaurants catering to local and foreign visitors. The locals are nice, the weather is cool all year round and the environment is clean and beautiful. What more could I ask for.

Chiang Mai is one of my favorite cities in Asia. It has the perks of city living without the hustle and bustle that most big cities have (like the worsening traffic in Bangkok for example). Living in Chiang Mai is affordable. Food is great, most of the people that I’ve met were nice and there so many spots in Chiang Mai where you could get away from the maddening tourists crowd and just enjoy (stay at the riverside).

I visited Chiang Mai 3 or 4 times this year and always enjoy my stay. The last visit was during the YiPeng and Loi Krathong Festival which I think was the highlight of my year. The simultaneous release of lanterns at Mae Jo during the Yipeng was the most surreal, spectacular, goosebumps-inducing experience I have ever had in my life. If you have some time next year then I suggest that you check it out! It’s definitely worth your time.

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