Twelve months in Asia! Can you believe it?
When we started our journey with the aim of some serious travel in Latin America and Asia, plus developing the Tripmasher app, I always knew we would be basing ourselves in Asia for over a year.
I knew this but never thought it would ACTUALLY happen.
I figured we would give it a go and ultimately cut our time short and take residence back in the urban jungle we call home.
But here we are! 12 months in and loving it. Not without its lessons in humour. Here is where we have travelled in Asia and what we have learnt. Enjoy!
Tripmashers on tour – 12 months around Asia
Backpacking around Asia – Tripmasher’s guide to winning it
1. It’s hot, like damn HOT!
2. The BEER is plentiful, cheap and cold.
3. But WINE…. not so much.
4. You WILL meet loads of new friends and catch up with other travel buddies. Nowhere is really THAT far away.
5. You will TIRE of the same 3 travel questions everyone asks you (and you of them!) How long are you travelling for? Where have you been? Where are you going? But you struggle for new ones. I’m going to trial out – What was your favourite moment yesterday/today?
6. (Pre Turnbull) – You will monitor the AUSSIE-NESS of your accent depending on whether Abbott ate another onion.
6. You will GAIN weight because the food is super tasty.
7. You will also LOSE weight because traveller’s belly is real and far too frequent.
8. You will never master more than 5 words in each LANGUAGE.
9. Overnight Bus/Train/Plane/Boat journeys ALWAYS SUCK, but snack packs and friends make them better.
10. You are not too OLD to dance all night at a trance club.
11. You are not too old to stay up all night having D&Ms along a riverbank.
12. You will get SCAMMED.
13. You will LAUGH more than you cry.
14. Your interaction with LOCALS will break down all your preconceptions of life in that country.
15. You will master the ability to SWEAR in multiple languages.
16. Every night is FRIDAY night.
17. A SPECIAL price, never really is that special.
18. You are COMFORTABLE with a squat toilet.
19. You are old ENOUGH to realise when it’s time to leave a town/country.
20. Plans CHANGE almost as fast as you can make them.
21. If you thought Europe had too many churches just wait til you see how many TEMPLES Asia has!
22. SCOOTERS are so wrong, but so right!
23. Sometimes, a dirty, sweaty TREK is exactly what you need.
24. You have two HAIRSTYLES. Hair tied up, or hair that hasn’t been washed. There is no such thing as a good hair day in humidity.
25. MOTHER NATURE is ridiculous in all her magical ways.
So there you have it, Tripmasher’s goofy guide on backpacking around Asia for twelve months.
If you fancy some serious tips about backpacking around Asia, then check out our posts on Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Myanmar (India will be coming soon).
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