Tag - Manila

Southeast Asia Itinerary “Beaches” – Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, & Philippines

Beaches, Terraces, Towers, and Deserted Islands

Five Weeks (January 26th – February 26, 2012)

From Bangkok, we began our Southeast Asia itinerary by making a beeline for the islands in the Gulf of Thailand, spending time on the dive crazy Ko Tao and hippie Ko Pha Ngan.  Next we made our way across the peninsula to Krabi and the beachy hotspot of Ko Phi Phi, on Thailand’s Andaman coast.

We then caught a cheap flight from Phuket to sophisticated Singapore and rented a car in Johor Bahru to explore mainland Malaysia. After 40+ years of Jennilou’s father being away home, we began our journey in Senai with a visit to his birthplace and his mothers and grandmothers grave stones. After Jennilou met her uncles, aunts, and cousins for the first time in Kelapa Sawit, we made our way to the future growth center of Kuantan for the evening. In the morning, we continued north to Terengganu to visit Jennilou’s aging and oldest aunt as she was unable to make the trip to Kelapa Sawit. Next, we headed to Malaysia’s multi-ethnic capital Kuala Lumpur before finishing our trip in the “historic state” of Malacca.

Back in Singapore we fueled up at our favorite hawker Food Stalls and headed to Puerto Princesa (Philippines), for a week long sailing trip with Tao from El Nido to Coron.

Using Manila we organized a trek to the Banaue Rice Terraces of North Luzon before ending our trip basking on Boracay’s party beaches.

Southeast Asia Itinerary Budget = $3,100 / Person (Traveling with Six People)