Best of Asia- stuff Lonely Planet doesn't tell you.

When deciding on what my final travel post should consist of, I thought it would be appropriate to do a "Best and Worst" compilation. However, in efforts not to offend anyone out there, I decided it was more globally friendly and conscious of me to just include the best of the best.If you want to know the worst of the worst, email me.

Friendliest people as a whole: Indonesia. A Hindu and Muslim country that has much misconception around it, its people were still the nicest and most welcoming, especially on Java. It didn't hurt they thought we weren't just tourists, we were special visitors to be revered. Everywhere else, most locals look at foreigners either with disdain or as though we have dollar signs over our heads.

Best beaches:  Hoi An, Vietnam & Karon beach, Phuket, Thailand. Most of the Thai islands also compete as they have some of the most beautiful turquoise water- just like in the movies. Also, the Vietnam beaches we went to reminded us a lot of Southern California's best shores.

Beach front, Hoi An, Vietnam

Best food: Thailand (Curries! Stir fries! Spring rolls!) Seriously, as soon as we left Thailand we realized how much we had been taking Thai cuisine for granted. I think we assumed the Massaman Curry, Cashew Nut Chicken, deep fried spring rolls with no weird ingredients in them (cough cough, Vietnam & Cambodia), and Thai style pancakes would be everywhere else on the Asian map. They weren't.

Most precious children: Vietnam. I was this close to stealing 2 babies from a guesthouse in Hue. One's name was Potato. Plus, if the parents have any sense of style, they dress their kids to the nines, therefore making them even more precious.

Best shopping: Bangkok, hands down. I wish I could go back for one more day of pure, unadulterated shopping bliss. I know it's cliche, but the knockoff bags, trendy clothes, and cheap knick knacks made this place heaven. MBK- by far the largest shopping center I've ever encountered- took up a full day of our time.

Best beer:  Tiger & Beer Lao. Sidenote: Cheapest beer was 7 glasses for $1 in Hoi An, Vietnam. Since wine is hard to come by over here, and super expensive, I had to acquire a taste for beer I had never developed until this trip.

Guesthouse with the best bang for our buck: Chiang Mai, Thailand @ the Little Bird Guesthouse. I think we paid $3 each for a double room, in the best location. Plus, since most of the place had dorm beds, it was easy to make friends and mingle downstairs. The staff there was so helpful too.

A Little Bird Guesthouse

Best room:  Pineapple Guesthouse, Phuket. Stayed here at the beginning of our Thailand travels. It was cheap, had maid service, a fridge, cable TV, fresh towels, hot water, and free wi- fi. After Indo, this place was a godsend. 

Best locals to hangout with: Our gang in Pangandaran, Indonesia. We miss you Hilman, Araf, and everyone else at the Mini Tiga Homestay!

Best site to see: Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia. So cliche, but so true. Also, the Big Buddha in Phuket, Thailand. The many simple wonders of Asia also have a top spot: cows on the side of the road, watching herds of water buffalo out of the bus window, 3 year old children carrying their baby sisters and brothers...the list goes on.

A normal occurence

Best sunset: 4000 Islands, Laos. Did you catch our 10 pictures of it on Facebook? Also, Kuta Beach, Bali, Indonesia. The sunsets everyone raves about really are that beautiful. The sun looks gigantic, orange, and blazing all the way down to the horizon.

Best day trip: Pai, 5 hours north of Chiang Mai by motorbike. The most beautiful, winding roads leading up to a small hippie town. The stats leading up the mountain? 162km (about 100 miles), and over 700 curves. We had a great group, which made the journey even better.

Best bike ride on an island: 4000 islands on my birthday. Meandering through dirt roads on our way to see dolphins, we saw about 10 cows, 6 goats, 4 pigs, 11 chickens, and 100 dogs. When we finally reached our destination, there were no dolphins. So we got a coke and rode back.

Best drink: Pink Gay @ Lao Lao Gardens, Luang Prabang, Laos. 2 for approx. $1. They were so yummy. I think those two drinks alone got me ready for a night of dancing at the local club. We only left when they stopped playing dance music and put on the Laos tunes.

Best nightlife: Koh Phi Phi, Thailand. Beachfront bars with fire shows? Check. Bars with live Thai boxing? Check. $3 buckets (see Thai-light Reel post)? Check. With enough energy, travelers, and bars on this little island to last a lifetime, this is hands down the winner of Asia.

One of the many outdoor beach bars on Koh Phi Phi

Best birthday breakfast we didn't eat: French Toast in a bag. Ross being the loving boyfriend he is thought he would "surprise me" with breakfast in bed on my 24th birthday morning. Unfortunately, on an island with approximately 10 standing structures this proved difficult. The bakery had no baked goods (he was thinking a cinnamon roll) until "later" and the restaurants had no take away boxes. So, he returned with french toast. In a plastic bag. 

Best meal had on a beach: Pangandaran, Indo on the "White Sandy Beach". The local guys cooked up fresh fish on the fire, while we chilled on the sand and watched the sunset. We ate the fish & sticky rice with our hands and loved every minute of it. They brought a case of Bintang, a few towels, and an iPad. When it started pouring down rain an hour later in true Indo fashion, we all scurried under the trees for cover and hiked in the dark through a monkey infested forest back to civilization. 

Well, that about brings me to the end of our journey here. It has been filled with so many exciting, happy, and beautiful moments...& we've also had our fair share of unluckiness and horror stories. The past 4 months have flown by in a heartbeat and have made us contemplate so many aspects of life. I think the main thing we are taking away from this trip is: we can't wait to do it again.

Any suggestions for the next journey anyone?

Thanks to everyone who has been reading and following my blog from the beginning! Knowing people actually read it made it way more fun to write. :)

See you all soon! 

xoxo,

Linds