Returning from a month-long trip to Pakistan, young travel videographer Le Tu shares his exciting journey with Travellive readers. Based on his personal experiences, Tu sends readers some new destinations in Southeast Asia that he believes will be very attractive in the summer of 2019.
Philippines: Splash around on paradise island
The Philippines is an extremely large island nation in the region, surrounded on all sides by dense sea and islands. Concentrating on more than 7,000 large and small islands, the Palawan and Cebu archipelagos of this country are the two places that have made the strongest impression on Le Tu because of their beautiful islands, many rich activities, culture as well as diverse local cuisine. You should visit these two archipelagos in May and June because this season there is no rain and the sea is calm, the sky is blue, suitable for adventurous trips in harmony with nature.
Blue Lagoon
In particular, you cannot miss El Nido or Coron if you have set foot in Palawan because they are great destinations for diving, hiking, kayaking, snorkeling... Tours in El Nido and Coron are quite developed, so Tu bought a day tour for convenient exploration. Day tours here often combine many destinations such as Tour A and Tour C in El Nido, or Ultimate tour in Coron. Tu has experienced the lagoons and beautiful beaches here. Each tour comes with a hearty lunch.
Coron town
In addition, the city of Moalboal in Cebu is an interesting place to experience services such as swimming with sardines, jumping over waterfalls or diving with whale sharks... According to Tu, you should buy a Canyoneering tour (an activity of trekking through the forest and jumping over waterfalls) to explore Kasawan Falls for about 1,600 pesos, including pick-up and drop-off services from the hotel, a guide and protective gear. If you want to go by yourself, you can rent a motorbike from Moalboal (about 500 pesos) to go to Kasawan Falls in the north. The entrance fee to Kasawan Falls is 45 pesos, renting protective gear is about 200 pesos and you should go early in the morning to avoid the crowded crowd later.
For Oslob, to dive with whale sharks, Tu must arrive the previous afternoon, rent a hotel near the Oslob Whaleshark Watching Center to dive early the next morning. Ideally, dive with whale sharks between 6 and 10 am.
More information
- Move:
From Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, there are many direct flights to Manila, then continue connecting flights to El Nido or Coron. The most economical option is to use Cebu Pacific Airline from Manila to Puerto Princesas, then take a van from the airport to El Nido (about 6 hours) and from El Nido take a fast boat (about 3 hours) to Coron.
From Manila to Cebu City, you can also book a flight, then take a bus to Moalboal and a bus from Moaboal to Oslob and back to Cebu.
- Note:
Summer is peak season so you need to book your flights and boat tickets to El Nido and Coron early to avoid sold out tickets.
The Philippines uses pesos, with the current exchange rate: 1 peso = 437 dong
Filipinos usually eat a lot of meat and few vegetables, so if you have difficulty with local food, you can choose European or South American style restaurants - which are concentrated in tourist centers.
In big cities like Cebu or Manila, you should download the Grab app in advance to book a car more easily. Manila has serious traffic jams during rush hour, so if you have a flight between 4 and 8 pm, you should go to the airport early.
On islands like Palawan or Cebu, there are no taxis, Grab services or local buses. People usually travel by Tricycle (a type of motorbike with an additional compartment for sitting on the side), the price is about 10 pesos/trip; if going further, you should bargain the price before going.
The wifi network in the Philippines is very bad, so using 4G packages from Globe and Smart will have a more stable and better network.
Indonesia: Volcanoes and Land of Dragons
When mentioning Indonesia, people easily imagine the beautiful island of Bali. However, according to Le Tu's travel experience, there are also other islands with equally interesting activities, landscapes and cultures. In particular, East Java located at the end of the large central island of Jakarta and Flores with the Komodo island group to the south - home to the very large and fierce Komodo dragon.
Komodo
From April to September is the dry season in Indonesia, the climate is extremely pleasant, suitable for traveling. There are many suitable tourist activities during this time such as climbing volcanoes, visiting waterfalls, watching the sunrise or strolling in local markets...
To experience East Java, you must depart from Surabaya with a pre-booked tour to Bromo and Ijen for about 3 days and 2 nights. If you are on your own, you can take a bus from Surabaya to Probollingo, then take a bus from here to Cemoro Lawang village located at the foot of the Bromo volcano range. Here, Tu treks Bromo volcano early in the morning to fully enjoy the majestic scenery from dawn. Returning to Probollingo, you can choose to take a van or bus to Banyuwangi city - about 40 km from Ijen volcano and book a tour at any hotel (about 300,000 - 400,000 IDR) to experience Jien. This tour usually includes pick-up, breakfast and overnight at the hotel. According to Tu, you should also take the time to visit the rainbow village of Malang or majestic waterfalls like Madakaripura Waterfall.
Ijen Volcano
From Labuan Bajo, you can book a 2-day, 1-night tour to the Komodo dragon island complex and other islands (including meals and entrance tickets to Padar, Komodo and Rince islands) for about 1,000,000 IDR/person. According to Tu's experience, you should go in a group of about 7 people so you can rent a private boat and plan your own exploration of other islands. In addition, you will easily have the opportunity to see the Komodo dragon - a famous reptile that is nearly 3m long here and should not miss the wonderful sunrise moment on Padar or Pink Island.
Komodo Dragon
More information
- Move:
From Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, you should book a flight with Air Asia with a transit in Kuala Lumpur and then to Surabaya - the second largest city in Indonesia. If your destination is the land of Komodo dragons, you can fly from Bali or Surabaya to Labuan Bajo, Flores.
- Note:
Indonesian food has a unique and spicy taste. Try some famous dishes such as Nasi Goreng (a type of fried rice), grilled chicken with satay, Bakso (a soup with chicken or beef meatballs, the broth is a bit salty, quite easy to eat), or Babi Guling (traditional roasted pig's feet marinated with many herbs, a bit salty, very delicious)...
The currency of Indonesia is the Indonesian Rupee, with the current exchange rate of 1 IDR = 1.65 VND.
Renting a motorbike to travel around the islands of Indonesia is quite cheap, only about 70,000-100,000 IDR/day
In big cities like Bali and Surabaya, two domestic ride-hailing apps Grab and Gojek are quite popular, but Flores or the mountainous areas of Bromo/Ijen do not have that service, so the main way to get around is to rent a motorbike or take the bus.
You should buy a simcard from Telkomsel - the largest network operator in Indonesia, works well in both Flores or East Java.
AUTHOR PROFILE:
- Full name: Le Ngoc Tu
- Year of birth: 1991
- Graduated: Master of International Business Administration from Coventry University, UK
- Worked in customer care in IT, Microsoft partner
- Visited: India, Nepal, Pakistan and many other countries in Southeast Asia
Plans for 2019: Complete a trip to explore the countries on the ancient Silk Road, mainly Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Xinjiang - China, and Kazakhstan
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