South East Asia 2025 – Dr Jam Travels

I wanted to visit countries in Southeast Asia that I had missed so far. Vietnam, Philippines, Myanmar, and two small ones, Brunei and East Timor. It was complicated to do it all together. After quite a bit of planning, I thought I was prepared. To achieve that, I needed 20 flights, which included visiting Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Vienna again. I realized everything except East Timor.

This trip included visiting big cities, charming towns, salt pans, rice fields, caves, peaks, snorkeling, meeting friends, eating different foods from larve to ćevapi, crossing distances with boats, funicular, metro, plane, …

Below you will find a link to a detailed daily diary, summarized info on transport, accommodation, budget, …

Daily review

Transport

As always, transport was a big part of my trips. My ratio of 1/3 of the time spent in transport was exceeded, but this included overnight sleeper trains and buses. In air was around 60 hours and extra 36 hours on airport (togethet 4 days). Another 36 hours on railway tracks. On the road I was around 120 hours. And around 16 hours on water. I was almost half of trip on some kind of transport or waiting for my next move.

Flight

This time, I had 20 flights planned and realized 18 of them. First leg Vienna-Istanbul-Singapore and last Ho Chi Minh-Istanbul-Vienna were with Turkish Airlines for 760€. In my opinion, this is the best airline including service, network, and price. I used a lot of times AirAsia (Singapore-Denpasar for 69€, Denpasar-Kuala Lumpur-Bandar Seri Begawan 142€, Bohol-Manila for 97€, Bangkok-Yangon for 77€, Bangkok-Ho Chi Min for 109€, Hanoi-Ho Chi Min 63€), the biggest low-budget airline in Asia, with competitive prices, no leg space. Citilink should be used to Timor Leste, the most expensive (411€ return ticket for 2 2-hour flight), missed it. Royal Brunei Airlines had good service, an older airplane (Bandar Seri Begawan-Manila for 148€). Cebu Pacific Air (Manila-Puerto Princesa for 63€, Puerto Princesa-Cebu for 20€, Manila-Bangkok 80€), good price, ok leg space. Philippine Airlines (Laoag-Manila for 26€), a cheap price. Myanmar Airlines (Yangon-Bangkok for 68€), cheap price, ok service. VietJet low-budget airline (Hue-Hanoi for 41€).

Together it was 2175€. I regret missing Timor Leste, hard to get there, expensive, but I overslept. In general, flights from/to Europe and Timor Leste accounted for more than half of the budget for flights. For Europe flights, I needed to fly at a specific time, so it was a bit more expensive, so I added Friday and reduced the price a bit. For Timor Leste there is no choice, one plane per day from Bali and one from Darwin, Australia. The rest of the 14 flights were less than 1000€, 70€ on average (min 20€, max 150€). I could save some money here if I weren’t specific about the days/hours I needed a specific flight.

As for airports, Changi in Singapore is the best, and Istanbul follows it. As for other big ones in Manila, Bangkok both, Kuala Lumpur, Yangon, Ho Chi Minh, and Hanoi didn’t impress me. Of the small ones, I liked most the one in Brunei and Hue. Vienna, I probably used most of the time. Laoag, Cebu, and Bohol are not worth mentioning.

Train and metro

The first two trains were in Vienna, to Mitte station for 2.4€ and to the airport, CAT was fast, 15€, bought online. In Singapore, I used a metro to the city, 2.5€ paid by card. In Kuala Lumpur KLIA (20€ return ticket) and metro (just a few cents?). Train in Myanmar I missed. In Vietnam, I did 3 rides, bought a ticket on the spot as an online agency was expensive, 2x sleeper (160k VND or 5,2€), 1x seat. In Vienna, on the return train from the airport to the city (4.6€) and from city to the bus station (2.4€). Sum is 100€.

Taxi(Grab)/Car/motorbike

Sister drove me to/from home from/to the station in Ljubljana. Bali, 2x motorbike ride (3$ and free), car with driver for 6 hours to Ubud and back to the airport for 30$ (toll 50000 IDR or 2.7€). Brunei driver from the hotel, 2x 7€ and 1x free. Philippines, Grab in Manila (200 and 280 php or 3.2 and 4.5€), Vigan tricycle to beach and back 400php or 6.4€, Laoag tricycle to airport was 200php or 3.2€. Driver in Cebu for 13 hours driving around the island (6000 php or 95€) and Bohol (50$). Taxi and Grab 2x in Yangon. 3x free and 1x for a 4€ motorbike in Inle. 2x (15k in 20k) tuktuk in Bagan. 2x Grab in Bangkok (275 THB 7,4€ and 610 THB 16,4€). 3 Grab in Ho Chi Minh (74k VND or 2,5€, 85k VND or 2,9€, 60k VND or 2€). Taxi in Nha Trang to salt pans, 1.3m VND or 44€. Grab in Nha Trang, 29k VND or 1€. 2x Grab in Danang 313k VND 10.6€ and 361k VND or 12.2€. Taxi in Hoi An, 400k VND or 13,6€. Grab in Hue took me to the airport, 208k VND or 7€. In Hanoi, I used a motorbike from the bus station to the hotel, 100k VND or 3.4€, and Grab from the city to the airport, 245k VND or 8,3€.

This was most convenient mean of transportation. Usualy it was door to door. Alternative for taxi and Uber here was Grab. Also motorbike is more agile and used in many variations (tricycle, tuktuk, …). It is also most expensive option but with my bussy schedule this was only option to visit all places I planned. Sum is 370€

Bus/Van

Flixbus Ljubljana-Vienna (30€) and back (26€). In Singapore, a ride to the airport costs 1€. The Manila-Vigan bus was 20€, an extra ticket to the rice fields I didn’t use, 15€. Bus Vigan to Laoag 3€. 3x in Myanmar, Yangon-Inle lake 71.000MMK or 30€, Inle lake-Bagan 50,000MMK or 21€ and Bagan-Yangon 40.000MMK in 17€. 4 times in Vietnam, bus from airport to Ho Chi Minh, 5.000VND or 0.2€. A night bus Hanoi-Sapa 310.000VND or 10.5€ and back from Sapa to Hanoi, 400.000VND or 13,6€.

This option is usually chepest. I used it on longer distances. Tried public transport in cities as well. Sum is 187€.

Boat

Brunei around Kampong Ayer house on stilts, 12 BRD or 8.2€. Tour Palawan to and inside the cave. Cebu snorkeling. Ferry Cebu-Bohol 13€. Inle lake tour. Mekong delta tour with 2 boats, Halong bay tour, with 2 boats.

I was on 10 different boats, most of them were part of one of tours. Sum is 21€.

Walking

270 km in 24 days, 11km/day average, min 2km, max 28km. I expected more walking on this trip, but between 9h and 16h most of the places were too hot (35+ Celsius) to walk, and the humidity was really high (85+%), so it felt like it was 45 degrees. Also shoes got in bad shape, and the flops got slippery from sweat.

Accommodation

Out of 24 nights, I slept in room 14 times and 10 times on some kind of transport. First night I was on the Flixbus from Ljubljana, not much sleep. 2nd night it was on a flight from Istanbul to Singapore, not much sleep as well. 3rd and 4th nights in Bali-Kuta at hostel Nuka Beach Inn for 7€, too much sleep – good price performance with rats and cockroaches. 5th night at apartment at KL Sentral-River city, 21€, 4-star, nice view, new equipment, rooftop pool, deposit, hard to find. 6th night in Brunei, Jubilee 2-star hotel, 31 €, in general, chepast at the location, but expensive, nice personnel. 7th bus Manila-Vigan, not sleeper bus, no sleep.

8th airports/aiplane in Laoag-Manila-Puerto princesa, no sleep. 9th night was at 2-star BMAX pod in Cebu, kings-size bed, clean, not cheap, 22€, deposit, a few hours sleep. 10th night was at 3-star Le pensione de San Jose in Bohol, not best but cheap, 12€. 11th night was at Tuscany land resort in Bangkok, 3-star, close to airport, in containers, 21€. 12th night at Holly Hotel Myanmar, 3-stars, 32€, just rested a bit, shower, beer and noodles, breakfast not eaten. 13th night at Inle lake I was in Gypsy Inn, 1-star, 12€, good. 14th night in Bagana at Bagan nova hotel, 2-stars, good, cockroach, good breakfast, key broken, 20€. 15th night on bus Bagan-Yangoon.

16th night in Bangkok at Evergreen Laurel hotel, 5-stars, welcome drink, ok room, 50€. 17th night in Ho Chi Min at Saigon Europe hotel, 3-star, central location, couldn’t find first choice, 13€. 18th night on sleeper train Ho Chi Minh-Na Trang, the bunk bed wasn’t too soft. 19th night on train Na Trang-Danang, not a sleeper. 20th night in Hoi An at Tranqul Lucky Leaf Villa, 4-star, good breakfast, outside center, 14€. 21st night on bus Hanoi-Sapa, changed in between. 22nd night on the bus Sapa-Hanoi. 23rd night in Hanoi at Classyc hotel, 5-star, great service, good breakfast, welcome drink, rooftop pool, cocktail in a bar, gift at checkout. 24th night on airplane, Ho Chi Min-Istanbul. 25th night I was at home in my bed.

The total cost was 321€ in a wide variety of places I tried to get some sleep. On average, I slept around 4 hours, not enough. That resulted in a missed flight.

Food and drinks

I had a few homemade sandwiches to begin with. On Turkish flights, I got 3 meals included one way. Ćevapi in Singapore were almost 50€ with drinks.

A meal with a drink in Bali was once 12€ and other time 13€. The chips at the airport in Denpasar were 50000 IDR or 2.7€. The Burger King menu at Kuala Lumpur airport was 6€. Meals and snacks at the night market in Brunei were 16BRD or 11€.

In Manila, a Pinoy balut was 15 PHP or 0.25€, and a meal (beef with rice and ice tea) at Hawker Chan was 280 PHP or 4.5€. Enpanada and Okeya in Vigan for 140 php or 2.2€, Mc in Laoag for 120 php or 2€. Korean meal in Puerto Princesa, 150 PHP or 2.4€. Selfservice lunch on tour om Palawan. Fried rice for breakfast in Oslob, 150 php or 2.4€, free lunch with locals, Cebu port hotdog and fries, 300 php or 4.8€. Bohol shop 5€. Bohol meal. Manila, a meal in the lounge for free.

Yangoon noodles, 2,5k MMK or 1€. Bus stop 2x. Inle to Bagan meal at the bus stop, chicken, 18k MMK or 7,6€. Breakfast in Bagan was included, and later some chips at the station. Puri in Yangon. Pad Thai (40thb or 1€ at Khaosan road) and Tom Yum (airport, 290THB or 12,7€) in Bangkok.

Saigon Pho Bo and wings 225k VND or 7,6€, sandwich 1€, lunch on tour, fruit, candy. Nha Trang chicken, corn dog, and durian 120kVND or 4€. Hoi An pho, rice, breakfast. Danang larve. Hue beef, jellyfish(not good), beer, 175k VND or 6€. Sapa sandwich and spring rolls, 150k VND or 5,1€. Hanoi hotdog, meal, Pho Bo soup 120k VND or 4€, Burger King. Flying back 3 meals. In Vienna, Wiener schnitzel with tea for 35€. Sum is 220€

Coke in Singapore for 2.5€. Juice and water in Manila, 180 PHP or 3€. On the way from Inle Lake, 2k MMK or 0,8€ for Coke. Bagan, water and chips, 5k MMK or 2,1€. Nha Trang, water 5k VND or 0,2€, water 20k VND or 0,7€. Hoi An, water 20k VND or 0,7€. Hue 10k VND or 0,3€ Pepsi and coffee at Highlands 55k VND or 1,9€. Hanoi, juice for 55k VND or 1,9€ and water for 15k VND or 0,5€. Sum is 15€

Beer at Vienna airport was 5€. Free beer on a Turkish flight. A cocktail in Singapore was 33€. Beer in Bali I paid from 2 to 5€, cigarettes 3€, and a round for the table was 20€. Beer and cigarettes in KL 6€. Beer in Manila from 2 to 5€. Daquiri cocktail in Vigan 180php or 3€. Water and cigarettes 240php or 4€. Beer in Laoag is 80 PHP or 1.3€. Beer in Palawan 103php or 1.6€. Beer in Bohol. Beer in Yangon, 3500 kyat or 1,5€. Beer in Inle. Beer on the way to Bagan, 2.5k MMK or 1,1€. Beer in Bangkok 40-60 THB or 1-1,5€. Beer and Pepsi 90k VND or 3€, Cu Chi tunnels. Mekong deltam beer 30k VND or 1€. Beer in Nha Trang from 0,5 to 2,5€. Beer in Hoi An. Beer and spirits in Da Nang for free. Beer in Sapa, from 0,1€ for 1 dl on. Beer 50k VND or 1,7€ and 55k VND or 1,9€and a cocktail 29k (voucher 20k) in Hanoi. Sum is 150€

Sights

In Southeast Asia, you can find many places worth visiting, like cities, beaches, nature, … Below you will find things I saw in individual countries in alphabetical order

Brunei

In Brunei I was in capital city Bandar Seri Begawan. Main points of interest are in city center (Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, frame, square Taman Haji Sir Muda Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien). Across river is settlement with stilt houses Kampong Ayer. To cross with boat you pay 1BBD. I took a tour with boat 12 BRD or 8.2€, got some info about settlement, people, sultan. Took a short walk before returning back. I also visited night market, tried some local food. Sultan palace (Istana Nurul Iman, biggest in the world) I could just see from far. Once in a year Sultan accept guests? A bit out of center is biggest Jame’ Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque. I also walked from airport to hotel i ncenter, passed stadium, some parks and goverment buildings.

Indonesia

I was in Indonesia on long trip over decade ago. This time I was just on Bali. It got really crowded, we needed 2 hours for 35km by car!? In Kuta I went to beach, dirty with one big statue. In Ubud I visited Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, 100,000 IDR or 5.5€, opening hours, 9:00AM – 6:00PM. Again crowded. Bali has many nice places but with crowds and traffic it is not worth all the troubles.

Malaysia

On same trip to Indonesia I was visiting Malaysia. One day in Kuala Lumpur I used to walk around city early in the morning. I started from KL Sentral, passed main church, mosque, main square, Chinatown, tower and finished at Petronas towers.

Myanmar

Yangon, a few pagodas. 10 and 15k MMK

Inle lake, 65k MMK or 27.3€

Bagan 35$

Philippines

Manila: Rizal Square, Intermuros, fort 1.2€, Chinatown, market, Makati, P Burgos street

Palawan cave 2700php or 43€, 600php or 9.5€ zip line 600m long above sea

Cebu Oslob (whalesharks 1000php or 15.8€) and Moalboal (sardin run 1000php or 15.8€), waterfalls (Mantayupan, 50php or 0.8€)

Bohol: Chocolate hills (100php or 1.6€), tarsier smallest primate (150php or 2.4€)

Singapore

Marina Bay, Botanical Garden,

Thailand

This time, I just went to Kao San Road to have a few drinks with a friend. On my previous visits, I visited temples on both sides of the river Chao Phraya

Vietnam

CuChi tunnels. Mekong Delta, on Klook I paid 38 €, shoot AK47 10 rounds, 650k VND or 22€

Nha Trang beach and salt pans outside

Hoi An night market and promenade by the river

Marble moutaine two temples, one was in a cave, 20k VND or 0,7€. Second was uphill, 40k VND or 1,3€.

Ba Na Hills, bridge, cable car views, French village, German brewery Ba Na hills 922k VND or 31,2€

Hue Palace, 200k VND or 7€, colonial buildings

Hanoi: old quarter, HoChiMinh tomb, lake

Sapa rice fields, Fansipan cable car views, the highest peak

Vienna – city center with St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Belvedere Palace, Town hall, Burg, st Karl church, statue for soviet soldiers

Weather

Southeast Asia lies within the tropics, with southern areas close to the equator, and so it’s warm all year round. Average temperatures are around 27°C (80°F).

The climate varies significantly across the region of Southeast Asia. This makes it a year-round travel destination. The best time to visit will really come down to which country you would like to visit and what you want to do.

Generally speaking, the best time to visit most places in Southeast Asia is from November to February when the weather is dry (driest) and warm (on average). Wet-season monsoon rains fall from June to October in most SE Asian countries.

Budget

The biggest part of the budget was transport, and out of it airplane tickets (2175€). With train/metro, road transport, and boats it accumulated to 2850€. Accommodation was fairly cheap (321€). Tours and sights were 400€. Food and drinks were around 400€. Misc costs were. Total 4000€. If I weren’t moving that much, it could be much cheaper, ie, 3 weeks in Vietnam could be just 1200€, find cheap flights and live on a budget.

Currency

In Singapore, for 1€ you get 1,45 dollars. In Indonesia, for 1€ you get 18600 rupiah. In Malaysia, for 1€ you got 4,8 ringgit. In Brunei, for 1€ you get 1,44 dollars. In the Philippines, for 1€ you get 62 pesos. In Thailand, for 1€ you get 37 baht. In Myanmar, for 1€ you get 2350 kyat. In Vietnam, for 1€ you get 29000 dong. Austria has €. For 1€ you get 1,1 $.

I had with me in cash € in $. $ in general is more accepted, and you get a better exchange rate. Also, I had debit and credit cards. I used debit for ATM (usually charged 2.5€ for each draw) and credit for payments of hotel, Grab, … Payment in local currency I used in small shops or restaurants, for souvenirs. It also depended on the country’s development, ie, Grab in Thailand paid automatically by card and with cash in Myanmar.

Misc

Palawan souvenirs 150 PHP or 2.4€. Bohol souvenirs 100 PHP or 1.6€. Inle (shawk 30 k MMK ili 12,6€), jewelry (70 k ili 29,4€), cigars (10 k), Laundry, 2x in Bangkok at laundromat, 120baht each or 3€ and in Hoi An 30k MMK or 1€ for 1 kg at hotel. Candy 4k MMK or 1,7€. 15$ broken key. Mekong delta, souvenir 30k VND or 1€.

Visa/Telecommunication/Vaccination

I needed visa in Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam. For most of the countries you needed customs migration form that you could fill online and save on timee at migration. You will find below more details.

As for telecommunication I used eSIM card most of the time. Yesim was my choice as I got regional eSIM for most of the countries I needed (33€). I bought extra phisical SIM cards for Myanmar and Vietnam (7€).

No necessary vaccination.

Brunei

In Brunei no visa was needed. Online form for migration.

Indonesia

For online visa I paid 29€. I also filled online Custom Declaration (e-CD). Extra charge for Bali (10€) I didn’t pay?

Malaysia

In Malaysia no visa was needed. Online form for migration

Myanmar

For online visa I paid 50$. I had to sent extra reservation for all hotels while staying there. First time I sent just for first night.

Philippines

In Philippines I used app.

Singapore

In Singapore I used online form and app.

Thailand

In Thailand I used online form TDAC

Vietnam

In Vietnam I got online visa for 25$.