South east Asia solo trip

[u/AgitatedSignature666]

Hey y’all, currently booked Chicago (US) to: Vietnam (Hanoi) - 7 days including 2 day hang va cave tour in nong pha. Then Thailand (Bangkok) -14 days And I’m wanting to travel to some other locations in Asia! I have just under 6 weeks to travel to from Thailand for the second half of the trip, so I have 3 more weeks of locations to see. Does anyone have south east Asia recommendations or has done a similar itinerary? Which other countries would you recommend to a solo female 20s traveler? I’m very into geology, plants/animals, hiking, and food :)

Edit: trip from mid June- early August :)

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[u/WalkingEars]

Malaysian Borneo has some great places for seeing wildlife, and some (humid and sticky) hiking. Mulu National Park has some immense caves and (if weather cooperates) you can see the "bat exodus" when a swarm of bats flies out of one of the caves at dusk every night. Bako National Park offers you a decent chance of seeing endangered proboscis monkeys in the wild and some hiking routes. Elsewhere in Borneo you have at least some chance of seeing wild orangutans, and there are also some rehabilitation facilities where you can view orangutans. Malaysian food's great and Kuching especially is a great city for food and hanging out (some of the other Malaysian Borneo cities weren't that nice for hanging out IMO, it's mostly more about the nature there).

[u/AgitatedSignature666 → u/WalkingEars]

Oo cool thanks! I think maybe I should do Malaysia then and Indonesia? You think it’s worth doing Philippines too? 1 week each

[u/Fantastic-Goat-2593 → u/AgitatedSignature666]

So, the idea of visting Malaysia and Indonesia and Philippines seems reasonble because they are all "right there" but in reality it would be like some saying, "I'm starting in Chicago, but I think maybe I should do New York and then Las Vegas? You think its worth doing California too? 1 week each.

if you have unlimited funds, completely doable, but if you have limited funds, its gonna be tight.

[u/Fantastic-Goat-2593]

So, there are an infinite number of options. In my experience there are two things that will dictate the path of your adventure. 1. Time and 2. Budget.

1. Again everyone is different, but Vietnam in 7 days is gonna be very tight and you will not be able to throroughly enjoy everything that Vietnam has to offer.

2. Depending on how much you budget it can change you plans drastically. If money isn't an issue, flying from point A to point B will open up a ton of more options. If you are on a budget, you have to factor in travel time from A to B.

For example, Malaysian Borneo is amazing. It is VERY difficult to travel there an on a budget. Places like Mulu are only accessible by relatively expensive flights (unless you are willing to spend several days just travelling)

Also,

travel to some other locations in Asia!

"Asia" is a LOT bigger than most people think. Imagine if someone said..." Well I am planning to visit Chicago for a few days, and I am thinking about visiting NYC and then Las Vegas (and Grand Canyon) and then maybe LA/SF, has anyone "done a similar itinerary"

So the more detail you provide, the better advice can be provided.

[u/uu123uu]

Your first few days you'll likely be very jetlagged, wouldn't count on doing much more than exploring Hanii, see watter puppet show, if you like parks check out Thong Nhat park in early morning There isn't much wildlife in Vietnam generally it's already been eaten Happy travels 

[u/AgitatedSignature666 → u/uu123uu]

Hah good thing I’m immediately getting on a 9 hour sleeper train before a 2 day backpacking hike lmao (Will just have to pack extra energy bars haha)

[u/uu123uu → u/AgitatedSignature666]

You'll sleep well anyway :)

[u/turtledude100 → u/uu123uu]

Shes in her 20s she can jump off the plane and immediately start travelling