2024 Another Year Of Backpacking Travels
2024, where to even begin.
2024 was another year of full-time travel, living out of our trusty Salkan backpacks and adventuring our way across Asia. Over the past year, we have slept in 68 different beds, taken 413 different modes of transport (including a ride on a reed woven coracle!) and slurped up on far too many bowls of noodles to keep count of. We’ve ticked off bucket-list musts, explored lots of new places and revisited some of our favourite spots in Asia.
The year started back at home in Wales, celebrating the new year with our beautiful little niece, brother and sister in law. We spent the evening munching on tacos, playing board games and watching London’s new year fireworks on the TV at midnight. It was the perfect chilled out evening we needed to begin another year of travels.
January continued and we had a couple more weeks in the UK spending some quality time with family and friends before heading back to the airport to catch our flight back out to Asia.
Ellie patiently waiting for departure. Not captured John wondering if there’s time for an airport beer!
It was a strange feeling departing for the ‘2nd time’. Instead of not knowing what to expect, there was a feeling of excitement and an urge to get back to what we know. We have lived the nomad lifestyle for so long now, it feels so normal for us to pack up from somewhere and make a new base elsewhere. As we headed to Heathrow airport, all the fear, anxiety and feeling of the unknown we felt when we first departed in July 2022 was gone. Of-course there was the usual anxiety we always feel when travelling, but the fear of the unknown had gone. As we passed through security, found our gate and waited to board our plane, we felt like children at Christmas again. We couldn’t wait to get back out into the world and just explore!
Our first stop on this leg of the adventure was India. We had spent 4 amazing months exploring the north of the country in 2023 but this time round it was time to head south. We would be starting our Indian jaunt in the country's busy capital of Delhi, before heading east to Varanasi and then south to the coastal states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
During our stay in Delhi, we decided to stay in the true heart of the city in the popular backpacking district of Paharganj. As soon as we arrived, we took the metro straight from the airport into the centre of the city. Our metro ride was relatively calm, but as soon as we left the station we were thrown into the middle of the chaotic streets we know and love - we were back.
We had only a short walk from the metro to our hostel but it was the perfect Indian welcome. As we trudged through the busy streets, in every direction came a never ending stream of people, rickshaws, cows and street carts all flowing past us. Nothing can quite prepare you for the streets of India - there are no rules, nothing makes sense and it’s just utter chaos, but amongst this mayhem, there’s something addictive, something joyous.
We had arrived in Delhi the day before their Independence Day celebrations and under the thick January fog, every street, street corner, shop and restaurant was decorated with flags, bunting and balloons all in the green, white and orange colours of the Indian flag.
The fog from the first day soon lifted and we were greeted by bright blue sky and sunshine - Delhi is always full of surprises!
We had only a few days in the capital and we spent it exploring the incredible Jantar Mantar - Delhi’s ancient astronomical observatory, the Agrasen Ki Baoli - Delhi’s ancient stepwell and the Lodhi Gardens - Delhi’s green oasis. After Delhi we took an overnight train to one of the world’s oldest cities - Varanasi.
Varanasi really is like no other place on earth. As one of the world’s oldest and continuously inhabited cities, it’s full of history everywhere you look. The crumbling, historic streets are a riot of colour, noise and chaos. It’s a city full of religion, life and death.
We would spend our days in the city just walking along the riverbanks of the holy River Ganges passing by the riverside ghats, ancient temples and men swimming in the holy water of the river. In the evening we sat with hundreds of others and watched as Hindu devotees paid homage to the Goddess of Ganga with oil-lamps, chanting and the blowing of conch shells. On our final afternoon we hired a boat driver who rowed us up and down the river. We pulled up close into some of the most famous ghats and watched as death was celebrated out in the open for everyone to see. When we say there really is nowhere on earth like Varanasi, we really mean it.
After 4 days in Varanasi, we embarked on the longest train journey we’ve ever taken - a gruelling 34 hour ride south to Tamil Nadu’s capital of Chennai. Our journey would criss-cross us from the historic streets of Varanasi, across vast, dusty plains, before arriving at the tropical coastline of southern India.
To be honest, the journey sounded a lot worse than it actually was. We’ve been on the road for so long now and have taken countless 24 hour plus journeys so a long journey just doesn’t faze us at all. In fact any journey less than 4 hours is more of an inconvenience for us. We’d much rather have a long journey where we can settle in, put on our headphones and watch the world go by.
Travelling by train in India is always a fun experience. You never know what to expect, what you’re going to see, who you’ll be sharing your space with or even when you'll arrive - so far, no Indian train we've taken has ever run on time!
After pushing our way through a scrum of people all fighting their way onto the general class carriages, we found our beds and settled in for the long journey. Our travel companions adopted us and made sure we were well fed throughout our ride and even arranged breakfast to be delivered to our carriage from a family member somewhere in the middle of India! If there’s one thing that we’ve noticed about India is that everyone is extremely generous, and you’ll never need to worry about having no food on any journey as you’ll always be offered something to eat.
The next 34 hours were spent catching up on work, reading and being lulled into a peaceful slumber from the gentle rocking motion of the train until we eventually pulled into Chennai station. Stepping out of our carriage onto the busy platform we were blown away by the heat. We had been warned by everyone in the north that the south was extremely hot, but nothing could have prepared us for the dry heat that rolled over us. We had boarded the train in temperatures just over 10 degrees in Varanasi and had arrived at 37 plus degrees in Chennai. It was an extreme temperature change!
The city of Chennai was a stark contrast to the hectic, narrow streets of Varanasi. The city was made up of wide boulevards lined with trees, colourful temples and huge parks - Chennai felt like a world away from the north of India. We spent a couple of days exploring Tamil Nadu’s capital city, taking in the colonial fort, the views out to sea from the top of the striped red and white lighthouse and enjoying the peace and tranquillity of the Karaneeswarar Kovil Hindu temple.
Chennai is a coastal city, and after watching one of our favourite food YouTubers eat a huge feast of fried fish and curry, we knew we had to follow suit. Tracking down the beachfront restaurant, we headed in for what may be the best meal we ate in the whole of our time in India. A large banana leaf was laid out in front of us, and on top of rice, prawns in a spicy sambal, dahl, vegetables and egg. On the side we had the piste de la resistance, a whole fried fish! It was a delicious fishy feast, and a meal we’ll always remember, all for the princely sum of £5 for the both of us!
From Chennai we took a day trip to the small coastal town of Mahabalipuram to see its ancient cave temples carved into the rockface. After, we hopped onto a bus and travelled with the locals down the coast to the colourful town of Pondicherry.
Previously owned by the French, the city of Pondicherry is full of colonial architecture. It’s a beautiful mix of the Mediterranean meets the Indian subcontinent. The streets are painted in bright colours and there are pretty flowers everywhere. We spent our days just wandering around the historic Old Quarter, visiting the temples and churches and relaxing in the cute cafes. If you’re after a good croissant in India, Pondicherry has you covered!
From Pondicherry we headed into Kerala, stopping briefly in the Keralan capital of Trivandrum to see the golden roof of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple before heading to the red cliffs of Varkala. In Varkala we stayed at one of our favourite hostels of this trip and spent our days swimming in the sea and watching some incredible sunsets from the top of the cliffs.
The sunsets from the cliffs of Varkala are magical!
After some rest and relaxation on the beach, we headed down the coast to visit Kerala’s famous backwaters at Alleppey. We didn’t know what to expect from the town of Alleppey but it quickly became one of our favourite stops in India. The town has plenty of great restaurants to eat in, a beach facing the sunset and plenty of things to do. Our favourite day was spent exploring the canals. These waterways are beautiful and are vital in connecting up the smaller villages. We spent an afternoon basking in the Indian sun whilst being driven around the lotus filled canals. It was so peaceful.
After Alleppey, we headed north to the small beachside town of Mararikulam. Our guesthouse in Alleppey had recommended we visit the beach here and his recommendation was spot on. We arrived at a nearly deserted beach that stretched out for miles - it was the perfect beachside escape from the busy cities of India’s south. After Mararikulam we moved on to the historic port city of Kochi before catching an overnight local bus to the tea plantations of Wayanad.
Wayanad is located high up in the hills of Kerala and as we decamped, bleary eyed from our overnight bus we immediately felt the chill in the air. Hungry and in desperate need of caffeine, we found a stall selling warm chai and samosas. It never ceases to amaze us on all our travels that wherever we are and at whatever time of night we arrive, there will always be somewhere to get a hot meal - the UK has a lot of catching up to do! After chowing down our portable breakfast, we hailed a rickshaw and pointed to the clouds above. It was time to head up to the mountains!
Bundled in with our backpacks on our laps, our tiny rickshaw spluttered its way, switchbacking its way up the mountainside. As we climbed higher and higher the town we had hailed the rickshaw from disappeared into the valley below and all we could see in front of us was undulating hills full of tea plantations as far as the eye could see. We continued climbing and as we reached the cloud layer, the thick morning mist was punctuated by near vertical golden sunrays. Even before we had seen our accommodation we knew we were in a special place.
Our hostel, Zostel Wayanad, was possibly the most unique accommodation we have stayed in on our adventure so far. An old hospital used to treat the plantation workers has now been converted into a beautiful hostel with private rooms, dorms, an on-site restaurant and even a swimming pool. We spent nearly a week relaxing in the hostel grounds, walking down through the tea plantations to the local town, exploring waterfalls and watching some incredible sunrises and sunsets.
From Wayanad we headed to Ooty, another hillside retreat where we indulged in some of the best butter chicken we’ve ever eaten. We left the hills and headed south to the cities of Mysore and Bengaluru. In Mysore we explored the historic Mysore Palace and slurped down on endless cups of the super cheap, super caffeinated Mysore filter coffee. Bengalaluru felt like a completely different city to every other Indian city we have visited so far. This super modern metropolis was full of sleek restaurants, bars and cafes. We had a couple of days enjoying the city's botanical garden, parks and museums before catching a train onto our final major stop of this Indian trip - the ancient ruins of Hampi!
The landscape of Hampi was unlike anything we’ve ever seen before!
Hampi has been on our list for years. Known as the “city of ruins” and full of laidback backpacker charm, it was somewhere we couldn’t wait to visit. We spent nearly a week in this dusty, ancient town exploring the many stone ruins, chilling out in our hostel's common room and climbing up rocky mountain sides to watch the sunset over the ruin strewn desert plains. Even with our week-long stay in Hampi we only managed to touch the surface of its buried ruins and cannot wait to head back there to explore even more.
From Hampi we headed to Mumbai, our final stop on this Indian adventure. We didn’t have long in the city so we only managed to tick off the city's main attractions, but we know it's a city we’ll be returning back to in the future. After two amazing months in the country, leaving India was a weird one - it was a case of we couldn’t wait to leave, but also were really sad to be going. When you’re travelling India, the chaos can be a little overwhelming, and there will be days where it all gets a little too much, yet when you leave, there’s something that makes you want to return. India is like some kind of addiction - we’ll definitely be back!
Our flight to Vietnam arrived early in the morning and the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi greeted us with a thick layer of fog and drizzle. The weather was a welcome respite from the 40 degree dry heat we had experienced in the south of India! As we got closer to the city, the roads became busier and more clogged with scooters - we knew we were back in Nam! As soon as we got to the Old Quarter, we headed straight for a bowl of pho and a strong cup of Vietnamese coffee.
We ended up staying in Hanoi for nearly a month, splitting our time between the historic Old Quarter and Truc Bach Island. We explored nearly every inch of the city, taking an incredible food tour at dawn in the busy Long Bien market, visiting the city's museums and finding tranquility in its peaceful temples all whilst eating some of the best food Hanoi has to offer.
From Hanoi we embarked on what may be some of our favourite 4 days of our lives so far - it was time to tackle Vietnam’s famous Ha Giang Loop. The Ha Giang Loop was 4 days of some of the most incredible landscapes we’ve ever seen, lots of laughs, singing and memories we’ll treasure forever. There’s no better feeling than sitting on the back of a motorbike whilst switch-backing down a near vertical road.
The loop took us across vast valley plains, down steep mountain roads, through tiny villages and past roaring rivers. Each evening, our group would bed down in a local homestay, eat a huge feast, drink beer, take shots of ‘Happy Water’ and sing karaoke until the early morning. We absolutely loved the Ha Giang Loop so much, we cannot wait to do it all over again - next time we will drive ourselves! If you're planning a trip to Vietnam whatever you do, don't skip the Ha Giang Loop.
From Ha Giang we took a local bus to Cao Bang. As with a lot of our bus journeys things didn’t all go to plan with our bus breaking down twice but after switching buses, some hammering at the engine and some makeshift engineering from the driver we were on our way. We arrived in Cao Bang in the early evening, and headed straight out to the city for some Bia Hoi - possibly Vietnam’s greatest invention.
Compared to the throngs of tourists we had seen on the Ha Giang Loop, Cao Bang felt far away from Vietnam’s well trodden tourist trail. To get around and see the sights we arranged two easy riders to take us about. On our first day, we drove north stopping for some roadside noodles with local farmers and headed to the border with China to see the Ban Gioc Falls. The next day, we headed deeper into the province, stopping at the turquoise Lenin stream before heading to the amazing Angel Eye Mountain. Cao Bang was a complete surprise and we cannot wait to head back there to explore more of the region.
After Cao Bang we headed south to Vietnam’s “inland Halong Bay”, Ninh Binh. We spent a couple of days cycling and scootering around the flat plains. The landscape literally does look like Halong Bay with huge green karsts towering above the flat rice paddy fields. In Ninh Binh we took two boat trips with each boat rowed not by hand but by foot! A highlight of Ninh Binh was climbing the incredible ‘Lying Dragon’ mountain. We thought the climb up wouldn’t be too hard, but boy were we wrong. The hot and humid heat and extremely steep steps led to a super hard climb up. At the top we were sweating so much. The ‘lying dragon’ part of the mountain is literally a huge stone dragon statue that snakes its way through the jagged peaks at the top - the view from which is breathtaking. For miles and miles a huge rug of green paddy fields patchwork the valley floor whilst all around the humongous mountain karsts cast shadows down. The view definitely makes up for the hard climb up.
A very sweaty Jellie selfie in Ninh Binh!
From Ninh Binh we travelled to Phong Nha - the adventure capital of Vietnam. This small riverside town has plenty to do and was one of our favourite spots we visited in Vietnam. We spent our days exploring by scooter, driving through the Vietnamese jungle to huge caves that gave the Mines of Moria a run for their money. We drove up to vast viewpoints, walked through a botanical garden, swam in waterfalls and watched the sunset over the Con River. We were visiting during the town's rice harvest and all the main roads were littered with huge tarpaulins of drying rice, meaning that every drive we took became a mini slalom course!
It was also in Phong Nha where we spent the best £3 yet - we had a few hours with the very ticklish ducks at the ‘Duck Stop’ - whoever came up with this idea is a genius!
Possibly our funniest afternoon on our travels yet - lets just say ducks are very ticklish!
From Phong Nha we headed south to the imperial capital of Hue, exploring the city's ancient citadels as well as taking a DMZ tour to see some of the battlegrounds and key points of the Vietnam / American War. One of our favourite things we did in Hue was visiting Hue’s abandoned water park. We love a good ruin and after seeing images of this decaying waterpark on Instagram for years we knew we had to go. We parked our scooter and rounded a forested corner to come face to face with the crumbling remains of a huge dragon sitting in the middle of a lake. As we delved deeper into the abandoned waterpark, we found hidden amongst the overgrown foliage the remains of the old water slides, swimming pools and changing rooms. If you’re into ruins, the abandoned water park is a must!
From Hue we headed down to Da Nang and Hoi An. We had our very own Top Gear moment driving the Hai Van Pass and stopping for a huge seafood feast of clams and prawns. We spent our days swimming at the beach, exploring the local markets and watching Hoi An light up in the evening with colourful lanterns.
From Hoi An we headed to Dalat. Sitting high in the Vietnamese mountains, the climate in Dalat is a lot cooler than the rest of Vietnam. As you approach the city, the hillsides are covered in orchards, greenhouses and gardens growing fruit, vegetables and herbs for the whole of Vietnam. The city sits around a huge lake and we spent our days in the city walking around the lake, getting lost in the cities ‘Crazy House and Crazy Bar’, taking a roller-coaster ride through the pine forests and scootering around the valleys to find the huge, thundering ‘Elephant Falls’.
After Dalat we headed to our final stop in Vietnam, the bustling metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City. Our final week revolved around slurping up bowls of pho and bun rieu, drinking Vietnamese coffee morning, noon and night and even trying some Michelin recommended xoi (Vietnamese sticky rice). We absolutely love Ho Chi Minh city and if you’re a foodie, it’s an absolute must on any trip to Vietnam!
From Ho Chi Minh we took a quick flight back to Bangkok to spend a fortnight with my Dad. In Bangkok we explored the temples of Wat Pho and Wat Arun, shopped in Chatuchak Market and enjoyed a couple of beers in our favourite bar on the Chao Phraya River. After Bangkok we headed to Kanchanaburi to visit the ‘Bridge of the River Kwai’, walked along the Hellfire Pass and visited the multi-tiered turquoise waters of Erawan Falls. From Kanchanaburi we headed north stopping in the ancient city of Ayutthaya, visited the monkeys of Lopburi and finished the trip in Chiang Mai where we took a really fun Thai cooking class and watched elephants in the jungle with the Chang Chill Ethical Elephant Sanctuary.
Two weeks flew by quickly and just like that it was back to just Jellie exploring Thailand. We said goodbye to my Dad at the airport and headed to the bus station to head further north to the cities of Phrae and Nan.
The city of Phrae was an absolute delight. The town is packed full of beautiful temples, coffee shops and museums. The Saturday Night Market quickly became one of our favourites in the whole of Thailand. A huge market that was full of street food and local arts and crafts.
From Phrae we travelled north to Nan, another laidback town full of temples, night markets and good food. In the town we devoured (twice) possibly our favourite bowl of Tom Yum noodles and had an epic day out on the scooter riding from Nan to Pua, stopping at the famous curves on Road Number 3 and sipping on coffee overlooking vast vistas out over Nan province. We’ve said it before in this article and we’ll say it again, we absolutely love the freedom a bike gives you to explore the world. There’s no better feeling than the open road, the wind in your hair and just picking a direction to travel in. After another incredible month travelling Thailand it was soon time to leave.
The ‘curvy road’ of Nan’s Road Number 3!
From Thailand we crossed the Poipet border and headed to our first stop in Cambodia, Battambang. We were visiting Cambodia at the very start of their wet season and the weather was very hot and humid but that didn’t stop us exploring. We started our Cambodian adventure visiting some ancient Khmer ruins, taking a ride down the infamous ‘Bamboo Railway’ and watching as thousands and thousands of bats left the comfort of their cave at sunset.
Waiting to ride the rails of Battambang’s ‘Bamboo Railway’!
One of our favourite things we did in Battambang was take a Khmer cooking class. Unlike the class we had taken in Chiang Mai, this cooking class was all cooked over charcoal in the traditional Khmer way.
After a few days in Battambang we took a bus and headed to the cultural capital of Cambodia, Siem Reap. On our second day in the city we headed straight to the Angkor Archaeological Park and spent 3 days exploring the huge ruins by scooter. We visited the famous temples of Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm and Bayon as well as exploring lesser known, further afield temples including a hilltop ruin overlooking the biggest lake in Asia, Tonle Sap. As we were travelling in the low season we were extremely lucky to have the majority of the temples all to ourselves, a rarity in Siem Reap! Many travellers only head to the park for one day to tick off Angkor Wat, but if you are heading to Siem Reap, it deserves so much more of your time. In Siem Reap town we enjoyed breakfast with the locals in the central market, drank a few anchor beers on Pub Street and challenged each other to a game of mini golf.
After Siem Reap we took an overnight bus and headed south to the backpacker’s hub of Kampot. We arrived to biblical rain which continued for several days - we were definitely travelling at the start of the rainy season! Luckily we had booked ourselves into the amazing Karma Traders hostel and so waited out the rain with lots of other backpackers in their rooftop bar / cafe playing cards, listening to music and even munching down some very tasty tacos!
The best way to wait out the rain!
Eventually the rain stopped and we took a scooter up to the mountains of Bokor National Park. The National Park is full of old ruins leftover from the colonial French period and when shrouded in mist makes for a very spooky day out. We also had another fun day out on the scooter heading to the coast at Kep. Here we had one of our favourite meals we’ve eaten so far. A huge crab filled feast cooked in front of us in the very busy, very local crab market.
Our final stop in Cambodia was the country's capital - Phnom Penh. We only had a few days here and so we walked along the riverfront (it’s changed an awful lot since our first visit in 2015) and tried to visit as many of its bustling markets as we could fit in. From here, it was time to cross back over the border and head back into Thailand.
It's always been our dream to live in Bangkok and 2024 finally let that happen - well at least for a couple of months that is! The Thai capital literally feels like home to us, in fact we’re more familiar with it now than Central London. Whenever we arrive in the city, it feels as though we’re back home and back to where we belong. We can't put it into words as to why we’re so at peace in the city, but something just sings to us. We absolutely love the mix of modernity and the old, with concrete flyovers sitting next to wooden stilt houses, the delightful smell of chilli and smoke mixed with petrol and colourful market stalls piled high with goodies next to the neon lights of 7-11. Bangkok has an energy, a spark all of its own. It’s not for everyone, but we love it.
Our view from our apartment - Bangkok we love you 🫶🏼
We spent 2 wonderful months feeling like true Bangkokians living in a high rise apartment overlooking the Chao Phraya River in Bang Pho. We spent our days writing, editing and content creating whilst slurping down bowls of tom yum noodles and drinking Thai style-coffee. For lunch we’d head to the local market and pick up bags of curries of every kind - clams laced with a spicy chilli sauce, creamy green curries with pork and blood cake and omelettes laced with fish sauce and green vegetables alongside deep fried bananas and khanom buang - crispy, sweet Thai style pancakes. It was 2 glorious months of eating, drinking and soaking up the vibes of our favourite city.
As we had 2 months in the capital, we managed to explore new areas, delving deeper and deeper into our favourite city. We visited floating markets well off the normal tourist trail, cycled around the cities ‘Green Lung’ and travelled up and down the length of the Chao Phraya River.
By mid-September it was time for us to move on from Thailand and head back over the border to Laos. We decided to take the new Bangkok to Vientiane trainline. Our first stop in Laos was to be the UNESCO World Heritage City of Luang Prabang. We spent a fortnight exploring the temples, seeing the Kuang Si and Tat Sae Falls and finding a hidden jungle temple.
From Luang Prabang we travelled north to one of our favourite spots, Nong Khiaw. Despite saying we’d only stay a few days, our few days quickly became a fortnight. Whilst there we re-hiked some of our favourite viewpoints, trekked the 100 Waterfalls and took a dip in the swimming hole underneath the waterfalls at Tad Mok. We were visiting Nong Khiaw at the start of the harvest season and the landscape was stunning. All around the town, the paddy fields were vibrant green.
From Nong Khiaw we took the local ferry upstream to Muang Ngoi. This riverside town was exactly what we hoped to find in Laos. A small laidback village, full of riverside charm. We spent our days there hiking the viewpoints, getting lost amongst the paddy fields and watching life on the Nam Ou River from the comfort of our balcony.
After Muang Ngoi we headed back to Nong Khiaw and hopped on a minivan for a bumpy 13 hour bus ride across the dusty and rocky mountain roads to Xam Neua. From Xam Neua we took a local bus to Vieng Xai. The bus was stuffed to the rafters with Laotian families, Vietnamese tourists and crates and crates of market produce as the bus rattled towards the Vietnamese border. We jumped off at the small town of Vieng Xai. This small town in the far north of the country is incredibly important in Laos’ modern history and acted as the headquarters during the Secret War of the Pathet Laos Communist Party - the current ruling party. During our stay in the town we spent an afternoon exploring the caves and learning all about how the party continued ruling from these limestone caves even when the bombs were falling overhead. The next day we walked 25 km to reach a thundering waterfall we had seen marked on Google Maps. As with some of our explorations things didn’t all go to plan - if you want to know more, make sure you read our Vieng Xai article!
After our stay in Vieng Xai we headed south to Phonsavan and Laos’ mysterious ‘Plain of Jars’. These huge stone jars litter the fields around the Xieng Khouang Plateau and have baffled archaeologists and historians for decades. We had a full day exploring the 3 main sites, learning all about the conspiracy theories about how these fields became littered with these ancient remains.
Our trip in Phonsavan quickly came to an end and we headed to the backpacker haven of Vang Vieng. We were unsure about what to expect from Vang Vieng as we’re a little older than when we first visited it back in 2018, but we absolutely loved it. We spent an incredible fortnight climbing its viewpoints, swimming in the Blue Lagoons and having a few cheeky Beer Laos with other backpackers in the late night bars. We even managed to tick a major bucket list experience off the list by taking our first hot air balloon ride at sunset over the jagged karsts and golden paddy fields.
From Vang Vieng we headed back into Thailand - it was time for us to explore Isan! We started our adventures in Isan at Nong Khai with its long riverside walk and unique Buddha Park before heading deeper and deeper into the north east of Thailand. In Bueng Kan we visited an incredible hilltop temple made up of 7 layers and spent an afternoon exploring the huge rock formations known as the ‘3 Whales’.
From Bueng Kan we continued to explore Isan visiting the temples of Khon Kaen, taking a very cheap booze cruise along the Mekong River in Nakhon Phanom and scootering around the different provinces. We have always wanted to explore more of Thailand by scooter and this time we did. There’s something so liberating about sitting on a small 125cc scooter and just going wherever the road takes you. On our scooter based exploration days we visited ancient Khmer ruins, beautiful temples, national parks and waterfalls. It really was the best way to explore Isan.
One of our highlights of the region was getting up at the crack of dawn and travelling to the ‘Red Lotus Lake’ near Udon Thani. As the sun rose up it revealed a bright pink blanket covering the whole lake made up of hundreds and thousands of bright pink lotuses. It was magical!
The ‘Red Lotus Lake’ was definitely more pink than red!
From Udon Thani we headed north to the small town of Loei. Loei was a big surprise for us. This small town quickly became one of our favourite cities we’ve visited in the whole of Thailand and one we could easily see ourselves living in. We had a wonderful afternoon climbing the viewpoint that overlooked the city and hills of the province and enjoyed the bustling weekend market.
From Loei we hopped into the back of Songthaew (flatbed truck turned bus) and headed to the quaint riverside town of Chiang Khan. This small town is super popular with Thai tourists but is still relatively unknown to Westerners. We spent 3 days exploring its night market, watching the sun set over the Mekong and getting up at sunrise to drive up to the top of Phu Tok mountain to see the ‘Sea of Fog’ - quite literally a sea of fog! All you could see was the blue mountain peaks rising up out of a thick ocean of clouds. It really did look like the sea.
As the festive period edged closer and closer, we decided we wanted to spend Christmas at the beach- so we planned a fortnight of island hopping between the islands of Koh Chang, Koh Kood and Koh Mak. All three islands were picture perfect - when you think of a tropical island you think of white sands, turquoise waters and palm fringed beaches, the islands of Koh Chang, Kood and Mak had all of this! During our time on the islands we spent our days swimming in some of clearest water we have ever seen, jumping into jungle waterfalls and lounging at sunset with beers on the beach.
On Koh Chang we even managed to see Koh Chang’s famous ghost ship - an abandoned resort that up until a month ago (before a huge fire) you could explore inside!
The fire ridden ruins of Koh Chang’s mysterious ‘ghost ship’!
For our Christmas dinner this year, we swapped the usual roast dinner for a seafood feast full of curried crab, freshly caught scallops, fried rice and morning glory. It was delicous! There’s something special about Christmas on a beach. There’s literally none of the festive pressure to do anything but sit, relax and enjoy your mini slice of paradise.
Christmas Thai island style!
Our island break quickly came to an end and we headed back to the mainland to Bangkok. We had a whistle-stop break in the city to refresh our wardrobes, visit a couple of night markets and explore more of Thonburi on the western side of the river. Our days in Bangkok flew by and before too long it was time to head north, cross back over the border and head back to Laos to begin our 2025 adventures in Pakse in southern Laos. After a very long overnight bus journey and a city devoid of people - everyone seemed to be at a new year party - we picked up a streetside Banh Mi, a couple of Laotian samosas and celebrated the new year in the comfort of our hostel ready to get up in 2025 and start the adventures all over again!
To see a tiny snippet of what we got up to in 2024, check out the video below:
In terms of our travel blog, it’s been an incredible year and we’d just like to say a big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read it. With some turbulent months battling Google updates, the introduction of AI and a whole host of other things not in our control, it’s not been an easy year for blogging. But even with the lows, there have been a lot of highs and our website has grown by more than we could ever have hoped for. It’s been a huge year of growth and we really couldn’t have done it without our readers. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us along the way both on our travel blog and over on our social media channels. We’d like to wish you all a very happy and healthy 2025!
Thanks for reading,
John & Ellie x
#adventuresofjellie
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