3 Best Kept Travel Secrets
1: Camping on Bamboo Island, Thailand.
This little beauty is my favourite place in the world… That I’ve been. It’s a small island about 45 minutes away from Koh Phi Phi by long tail boat. The beaches are whiter than white and the only things on the island are a ranger hut and a small fishing community. The tourist boats stop coming after 3pm and for a small fee your allowed to camp (twice we camped over and twice we had the whole Island to ourselves). Watch our Travel Video – Bamboo Island Camping.
3 reasons to camp on Bamboo Island:
- It is a paradise Island with nobody else there.
- The coral reef just off shore is some of the best snorkelling I’ve ever done.
- It’s right under the nose of the tourist trail but still most people opt for camping on MaYa Bay (THE Beach from the movie “The Beach”)
2: Motorcycles on Highway 1, Laos.
Again it’s another one that most tourists in Laos will pass along but almost none will stop. For me the part of the road between Vang Vieng and Luang Probang is just breathtaking, I’ve heard it gets better the further north you go but if you rent a motorbike and ride it yourself you will see just what I’m talking about – doing this made me re-evaluate the way I travel and made me wonder what I had missed while on tourist buses thundering through the heart of a place. Watch our Travel Video – The Long Way Laos.
3 reasons to ride Highway 1:
- The scenery is epic and the road passes through some beautiful villages.
- A night in Phou Khoun will open your eyes to what real Laos village is like before the tourists arrive.
- Cresting the mountain and looking down to Luang Probang sat on the mighty Mekong is something you’ll never forget.
3: Thong Reng Beach, Koh Phangan, Thailand.
And finally, yet another place that is within spitting distance of the backpacker trail. It’s so close to Haad Rin you can almost see the lights but that’s what makes it such a quiet place. Just around the headland no more than 10 minutes by long tail boat this small cove has it all – cheap beach huts, great food and the feeling of being deserted on a paradise island. Thong Reng beach is one of the few places that as I’ve arrived I’ve thought
“I could live there forever.” Watch our Travel Video – Koh Phangan.
3 reasons to find your way to Thong Reng:
- It’s too close not to go and Koh Phangan has so much more than just the party.
- It’s home to a beautiful resort called Treehouse, with huts right on the sand.
- When you get there you will want to throw your passport into the sea and never leave.
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I'll definitely try some of that stuff, now that I'm in south-east-asia…
btw: I'd really like to meet up with you guys some time. just shoot me a comment if you're interested…
My recent post Another Day in Paradise
I'll definitely try some of that stuff, now that I'm in south-east-asia…
btw: I'd really like to meet up with you guys some time. just shoot me a comment if you're interested…
My recent post Another Day in Paradise
Thanks for sharing your 3 best kept secrets! Gorgeous photography on your blog, love it!
My recent post A Caribbean Spring Break
Thanks Sonya! Appreciate that, Talking about gorgeous photography… I love your post about Chiang Mai… Wish I was still there…
Good stuff! I'll have to check them out when I get over there.
Seriously if you don't do any of the others… Ride the road in Laos… It's stunning!!!!
I remember reading about 1 and 2 during your travels! Excellent choices. Thanks for the invite to participate. We have one up already. Did it in November. It is such a fab idea and yes, we are interested in your photo idea as well!
My recent post Remebering the Tsunami, Sri Lanka
It's always good to hear from you two… I haven't seen yours but I will pop over now and check them out…
Have fun
Three excellent secrets … thanks for sharing! I will most definitely add biking on Highway 1 to my list of ‘must dos.’ I’m in New Zealand now and would love to do a cycle trip but it’s just cost prohibitive in a country like this … I’ll wait for Laos!
.-= Matt´s last blog ..A Day Trip on New Zealand’s West Coast (Photo Essay) =-.
some great tips! like most others (lowers head shamefully) i did #2 route by bus and i cannot get that insanely breathtaking image out of my mind. i can only imagine what it was like on a bike. so were those your motorbikes? or did you rent them? if its worth it i may go back and do it your way.
JR @ The Drifters Blog
Yeah man it was THE BEST thing I’ve ever done, not a day goes past that I don’t think about it! Going back in 5 weeks though to do it again, bigger and better!
No we rented the bikes in Vang Vieng for $25 a day and did the whole journey (Vang Vieng to Luang Probang) on 2 tanks of fuel – $14
You have to go back!!!
Great list! When I was at Than Sadet, the beach next door to Thong Reng, for the first time on a quick few hours visit, I kept repeating to myself: “I’ll be back!” (Going back in December!)
Sweet! I bet you can’t wait!!!! I do love Koh Phangan, it still has some quiet paradises left!
Counting days! (I do go to Istanbul, Sri Lanka, Phuket, Phi Phi, and Krabi prior to Phangan though, but I’m not complaining!)
Nice! Are you going any further than Thailand? Just checked out your blog and I see your going with a 40l backpack… Great choice! I’d love to pack that small, last time I used a 60l and I’m seriously considering down sizing for the extra freedom!
I notice also your keeping a diary of expenses…
Don’t suppose you’d be interested in doing a guest post or two for daily expenses in Istanbul and Sri Lanka on my other site http://beforeyoubackpack.com ???
Aaron, I’d love to. I’ll be posting budget reports with breakdowns for each country on my blog anyways, so adapting it for your site would be quite easy!
After Thailand I’m planning to go to Laos, Vietnam and maybe Cambodia.
Great stuff!!! That’s awesome! Yeah just a summary really with links back to your site for the full article, here’s one I made earlier – http://beforeyoubackpack.com/daily-cambodia-budget/
Hopefully not much work for you if your already doing one.
I have ones from Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam But not Laos yet… Oh we’ll be in Cambodia in Oct, probably be there for a while too!
Superb… Well, it was bloody good to meet you and roll on Oct, Nov – Dec…. If there’s anything I can do just holla
Cheers
Hi, that’s secrets really good and motorcycles on high it’s very interesting things……
Well, it’s no longer secret because you just told the world about it. Now, everyone is planning to check out that wonderful place. Thailand should get ready for large number of tourists. There are many beautiful places waiting to be discovered. Thanks for sharing this with us.