After some consideration between Trincomalee and Kandy we decided we were after something a little different after all our recent beach time so started to figure out the best way to get to Kandy. Knowing that 9 hours on a bus sounded hellish (the Sri Lankan buses are fine they’re just cramped for long journeys) we instead decided to hop on a train to Kurunegala (Rs290/$2.45 AUD/1.80 USD - 6hrs 3rd Class) and then catch a bus the rest of the way to Kandy (Rs78/$0.65 AUD/0.50 USD - 1hr). This takes almost as long as the bus but is a much nicer experience. At Kurunegala all you have to do is walk from the train station up to the main road, cross to the other side and flag down any bus with Kandy written on the front. It really is that easy. Once we arrived in Kandy, Dani set off to find us somewhere to stay while I waited with the bags and after 45 minutes she was back glowing with excitement. She had managed to negotiate us a beautiful room at Lime Grove Inn for Rs2000 a night ($17 AUD/12.60 USD), which was Rs1000 less than the initial price she had been quoted. Sri Lanka is a minefield of negotiations but its possible on pretty much anything, from food to accommodation, gifts and sometimes even local transport (not trains). Our plan for Kandy was a simple one. We wanted to learn how to cook some of the delicious food that we had been living on over the last few weeks and the only way to do that was to sign up for a cooking class. We had been tempted to try a new shared economy website With Locals and with €30 credit to spend on your first trip this seemed perfect. We signed up for a class to learn how to make 5 dishes. Dahl, yellow rice, devilled potato, egg curry and eggplant salad and we were served traditional buffalo curd with treacle to finish. This was really not the hands on class we were hoping for and was more of a demonstration but we did learn a lot about the cooking of Sri Lankan food and actually the surprising amount of flavour that can be imparted within a short timeframe. In Kandy we decided to avoid visiting the Buddha’s Tooth temple as although I understand the huge significance to Buddhists the $15 USD ($20.25 AUD) entrance fee seemed unreasonably high. It does however look like a beautiful temple to visit so if you don’t mind the steep fees it might be worth the visit. After the cooking class, a few trips to the markets and some lovely walks around the lake it was time to take the train to Nanuoya to return to Nuwara Eliya. This really is a stunning train ride but there is certainly no reason to take the fancy 1st class observation train. For Rs80 ($0.65 AUD/0.50 USD) you can get perfectly adequate 3rd class ticket which gives you the exact same view (but without the aircon or a cushion in your seat). On arrival at Nanuoya we ignored the calls of the taxi drivers and walked the 200m up the hill to the main road. There, waiting just to the right was a bus to Nuwara Eliya. It cost Rs28pp ($0.25 AUD/0.15 USD) and took about 30mins to reach the centre of town. We had booked our room in advance so headed off out of town in search of it but in hindsight this was totally unnecessary as just behind Victoria Park were a number of guesthouses that looked great and reasonably priced. The number 1 thing to do in this pretty colonial town is to visit tea plantations. We decided on 2 while we were there. The first one, Pedro’s is close enough that we decided to walk there and the other Bluefields is a 45minute bus ride on the Kandy Road (this should cost you Rs60/$0.50 AUD/0.35 USD on any Kandy/Colombo bound bus but they will try and charge much more - I was quoted 220Rs one way by one driver!!). Pedro’s Tea Estate is also close to Lover’s Leap waterfall which is an easy, 30 minute, signposted walk from the factory. Pedro’s cost Rs250 ($2.10 AUD/1.55USD) for a quick tour of the factory and a cup of tea over looking the plantation. At Bluefields an almost identical tour is free. As Dani believes that tea is more essential than oxygen we were pretty happy to do both tours but it probably isn’t necessary for the non tea drinkers/enthusiasts out there. From here it was time to head somewhere new again. So, back to the train station by bus we went and then on to Haputale by train (Rs40/$0.35 AUD/0.25 USD 3rd Class) which was actually even prettier than the last train journey. It’s only a 2 hour ride so we were there by early afternoon ready to find somewhere to stay. This was where we seriously lucked out and met Ali. Haputale turned out to be our favourite destination in Sri Lanka and Ali probably had a lot to do with this. Dani and I don’t always shy away from touts at train and bus stations as we have found some of our best deals on accommodation have come from them, it’s just a bit of a case of knowing who you can trust. Ali was someone we definitely felt we could trust. After listening to the pitches from a few other guesthouse proprietors we decided to followed this strange man with his bright orange beard down to what looked like the most out of our price range hotel we’d seen. Knowing that if we were too enthusiastic we may loose all bargaining power we had to seriously contain ourselves when he offered us a beautiful ensuite double room with the most glorious view out over the hills and tea plantations for only Rs2000/night ($16.90 AUD/12.55 USD). Sri Lak View turned out to be one of the Lonely Planet picks and it does offer some seriously good value. The only downside is the mosque perched behind the hotels annexed wing that will wake you up briefly at 4am with its call to prayer. This being said if you get one of the rooms close to reception you can’t hear it (we had to move rooms during our stay so experienced both). Haputale offers a lot in terms of a travel location. It still isn’t on the main tourist trail so prices are fairly reasonable and locals are less likely to take you for a ride. It’s in a pretty location and there is a lot that’s accessible from there. We had chosen it to go to Lipton’s Seat. Not really wanting to get up at the crack of dawn we decided to risk not having the view at the summit. We discovered there is a bus you can take from Haputale all the way up to near the ticketing booth for Lipton Seat (Rs60/$0.50 AUD/0.35 USD) cutting out the need for a pricey tuktuk. It drops you off 2km from Lipton Seat meaning you have a smaller walk than the hike from the tea factory but a nice enough one to make it worthwhile. When we reached the top there was no view to be had at all but the ascent through the plantations had been stunning so we were not bothered at all! We both agree that if we’d just taken a tuktuk from Haputale to the top (1500Rs wait and return) the whole thing would have felt a bit pointless but because we walked it was actually one of our highlights of the whole country. Knowing that we had almost 2 hours before the bus back to Haputale was due we decided to walk as far as we could back towards the factory. We took another path back from the summit that took us through the plantation village which was really quite beautiful and then along the main road back to the factory. We made it back before the shuttle bus arrived so we were able to take one of the normal buses back to Haputale (Rs33/$0.25 AUD/0.20 USD). From Haputale you can also access trips to Horton Plains as well, so it makes a great alternative base to Ella if you want to avoid the tourist trail a bit! We had stopped in Ella for a soda when we were on our safari tour and we already knew we weren’t going to like it. I’m really sorry if you’re reading this and Ella was your favourite in Sri Lanka but to us it represented everything that is wrong with a place once it’s “discovered” by people. Food costs 3 times what it should and is dulled down for the tourist palate, accommodation is the same, the hustles become more evident and the calls for taxis, tours and souvenirs become more aggressive. The only reason we were coming to Ella was to attempt another cooking class. We were lucky again when we got off the train (Rs25/$0.20 AUD/0.15 USD) and jumped in the back of a touts tuktuk, this time to be taken to his sister’s guesthouse. Walkers Nest was good value at Rs1750 ($14.80 AUD/11 USD - down from Rs2000) for a double room with private bathroom and was set in a nice location close to the station. The cooking class while more hands on than Kandy still left a lot to be desired but wasn’t expensive at Rs2000 ($16.90 AUD/12.55 USD). We noticed about 5 different signs for cooking classes here so I’d shop around and potentially avoid Ella Rocks, which was the one we had chosen. Our month in Sri Lanka was coming to an end and we had decided to round it off with a trip to Galle. From Ella we had 2 choices...we could either catch the overnight sleeper train to Colombo and then another train to Galle or we could catch a bus from Ella directly to Galle during the day. The funny thing was we actually chose the train but tickets in sleeper class were all sold out. This left us with the only other option of the bus. In fairness, despite my misgivings about this option, it turned out to be much easier than anticipated. There are 5 direct buses (7.10, 9.35, 11.30, 12.10 and 21.40) that go a day to Galle, taking between 6-7 hours and costing Rs400 ($3.40 AUD/2.50 USD). To catch the bus you go to the bus stop (it’s fairly obvious) just beyond the Ella-Passara Road (outside the Ella Gap Hotel). From here you can also catch the bus to Matara, Trincomalee, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and to Monaragala or Siyambalanduwa Junctions to carry on to Arugam Bay. If you are heading to Arugam Bay from here it is worth while banding together with other travelers and bargaining for a taxi for the journey. With some good negotiating you can pay Rs8000 ($67.65 AUD/50.25 USD) for 6 people which although more expensive than the bus seemed worth the money to forgo the 2-3 buses and a tuktuk it would take otherwise. Having left on the 9.35 we arrived into Galle a little before 4. The immense heat was immediately evident as we stepped off the bus and our initial attempt at finding accommodation in the Old Fort quickly showed us this was not where we were going to find reasonably priced lodgings. For a reduced rate of 2000Rs/night we were offered a glorified bedsit room complete with broken window, dirty bathroom and a single poorly functioning fan, not a great start! A little tired and grouchy now we headed out of the fort and into Galle proper where we were lucky enough to stumble across Home Living Unit. This was a full apartment complete with living room, bathroom and kitchenette and Dani managed to negotiate it down to Rs2000/night ($17 AUD/12.60 USD). All sense of dread about making mistakes heading to Galle lifted as we walked up the stairs to settle in. Galle fort is nice to wander around and has some great architecture but I would definitely recommend staying outside of the fort walls as it is not far to walk and you get significantly better value for money. It also comes with loads more local places to eat and they aren’t hiking up their prices because of the tourist dollars. We really enjoyed our last few days chilling out in Galle, wandering around and filling up on delicious Sri Lankan food while we still could. Our time in Sri Lanka was almost over but one thing was for certain…we would be coming back. Our final leg was taking us back to Colombo on the train (Rs100/$0.85/0.60 USD 3rd class train ticket) for our final night. We had chosen to stay quite close to the bus station (near Colombo Fort Train Station) at City Hotel (the owner gave us local rates which are Rs3000/$25.35 AUD/18.85 USD) so that we could catch the bus to the airport in the morning. We had read some seriously conflicting messages about this bus and I was filled with anxiety as we arrived at the bus station mid morning on departure day. It turned out I needn’t have worried. The information counter directed us to the bus, which is an airconditioned private bus that has 187 on the front and states that it uses the highway route. This bus, contrary to reports does go from the actual bus station, doesn’t stop a 100 times along the way and does drop you off at departures all for only Rs150pp ($1.25 AUD/0.95 USD). We absolutely adored our time in Sri Lanka. Both of us are aware it’s taking off as a backpacker destination but are astounded that it’s taken this long. It really does have it all. You can visit it all year round due to its unique weather pattern of having two seperate monsoon seasons on opposite sides of the country. It has beaches, wildlife, tea plantations, surfing, hiking, culture and cuisine. There really is something for everyone here and best of all it is amazingly cheap. I would recommend travelling there before everyone finds out how incredible this place really is. LGBT: Sri Lanka was a hard one for us. There was never any time we felt unsafe or unwelcome but at no point did we ever feel that we should share our true relationship. Homosexuality is still illegal in Sri Lanka (no one has been prosecuted for over 60 years) and never was an assumption made about our relationship being anything other than friends (except when people mistook Dani for my son... not as funny as it seems). The hardest time we had was on our 6 day safari where we felt uncomfortable coming out to our driver who would then make up his own story as t o why we were traveling together and I got to say it got hard not to scream... "She's my wife!!!". It feels as though Sri Lanka is definitely a don't ask, don't tell kind of place and due to the illegal nature and general non acceptance it's probably safer to stay quiet. Budget Time $$$Budgeting in Sri Lanka was an absolute dream, in fact, for the most part, spending money in Sri Lanka is the difficult part. We went in with a very reasonable sounding $25USD ($33AUD)pp/day. This would have brought it in at slightly under out general South East Asian target of $35AUDpp/day. As you can see below we came way under this! However, it is worth noting that they sum we spent overall did not include entrance to any of the majorly expensive national sights (Sigiria, Horton Plains etc) nor did it include safari park entrances, both of which are major attractions in Sri Lanka and can really eat into a budget. These were all included in our very indulgent safari trip. However, I have costed that up for you in the safari break down so you can have a better idea of what that would cost in addition to basic expenses on the ground.
Entertainment expenses are more than likely going to be the biggest part of a standard backpacker budget in Sri Lanka. The entrance fees for certain attractions are inexplicably high so if you want to keep your costs down then you need to really think about which ones you want to do and what you consider to be good value for money. In other words, do your research before you come. Transport in Sri Lanka is unbelievably cheap. Local transport on trains and buses will literally not even be noticed in a budget and if you want to go first class or hire a driver or take a long distance taxi these are all affordable options on a backpackers budget! Accommodation costs, like everything else is always up for negotiation, the longer you can guarantee to stay somewhere the more likely you are to get a discount. Again, don’t always accept the first offer and have an idea of what a reasonable amount should be or what you are willing to pay per night or for your total stay. Tips for Sri Lanka in terms of budgeting are fairly simple. Haggling everywhere, for nearly everything is essential! That’s just the way the culture works. Prices of accommodation, day trips, souvenirs, food…are all up for negotiation! If you don’t haggle, you will be likely to pay too much. If you think the cost of something is unreasonable then just walk away and look elsewhere for the same product/service. Locals will almost always try to get a bit more out of you than something is worth. The trick is to find a middle ground that you both agree on, it might not be the exact value but if you think what you are paying is reasonable then everyone’s happy. 99% of the time they are willing to play the game with you and they are willing and happy to be reasonable. If they aren’t then someone else will be! Before considering paying for ANYTHING make sure you have an idea of what it should cost and/or what you are willing to pay. Sometimes the difference in your own money may be negligible but there is no reason you should be expected to pay four times the price for a short local bus journey than a Sri Lankan would. This policy goes for eating in local restaurants too. If there isn’t a menu with prices on it (which is rare – and if there is one you may find it has inflated tourist rates on it anway!) always ask how much something costs before you order it and total the cost of things up in your head as you go. In spite of following this method throughout our time in Sri Lanka I had to question the bills we were given after meals almost daily! Like I said before, this is rarely done out of malice and more out of a sneaky little hope that they can make a little extra out of the foreigner, but in local places for local products/services this wasn’t something we were willing to put up with. If we had agreed a price before hand, that was what we were going to pay. Overall, Sri Lanka is cheap, amazingly cheap, unbelievably cheap. Backpackers can live there best life for almost nothing. Luxury is also attainable for much less than you would pay almost anywhere else in the world. Yes, some things like major attractions can quickly push up daily expenses, but savings on food, accommodation and transport can easily cover this! What it actually cost: $760.35AUD for 22 day (doesn't include our 6 days on safari) Accomodation: $334.48 Food: $127.11 Drinks: $89.19 Entertainment: $85.43 Souvenirs: $66.76 Transport: $45.84 Miscellaneous: $10.31 Bribes: $1.24 This works out at $17.28 per person per day.
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The road less travelled…more like the road not travelled at all! So, we had made the decision to come to Timor Leste in the full knowledge that this was certainly an off the beaten track destination. South East Asia’s newest country and still one of the youngest in the world having only gained official independence in 2002. We came knowing that this was not going to be the easy and efficient travel we had become so accustomed to in eastern Asia and nor was it going to be the almost down-trodden path of the banana pancake trail throughout the rest of South East Asia, however, I don’t think either of us were prepared for quite how unprepared Timor Leste felt for visitors who were not members of the peace corps, or international aid agencies! The first thing worth noting is that the Timorese people are some of the smiliest and friendliest we have encountered anywhere in the world. Walking down the street you are frequently met with waves of stern and serious looking faces that almost instantly break into beaming grins as soon as eye contact is made. This warmth unfortunately lulls you into a bit of a false sense of security however, when you ask for assistance with pretty much any basic requirement of a visitor to an area and the response is almost always blank and helpless shrug! Upon arriving in Dili and having done all of the research it was physically possible to do (given the almost total absence of information regarding Timorese travel) we set about making our plans for our two week stay on the ground as we figured this would be easier and likely more efficient…how wrong we were! What actually transpired was us spending the better part of 5hrs walking 14km all around Dili trying to find information about…well anything really! We wanted to know where we could buy ferry tickets to go to Atauro, how we could get to Cristo Rei, if it was possible to get a bus to Mt Ramelau and if so where the bus station was…or in fact if there was a bus station at all. We had read that there were bars and dive shops all along Avenida de Portugal where one could find other travellers and all the information one needed about exploring the country. Turns out, not so much. What was actually there was one dive shop with an adjoining bar that was empty and the Hotel Esplanada, which housed the Timor Adventures tour office which was unmanned and shut. There were a few other travellers in there but it certainly didn’t feel like the information sharing hub we were hoping for. Upon returning to our guesthouse, tired, sweaty and with more questions than we had initially left with we were delighted and elated to discover that our hostel owner was in fact a pretty good source of information about what to do in Timor and how to do it. In order to save you time and stress we have decided to provide a little list of the things that we learnt in Dili in terms of the kind of information tourists might need when landing in this lovely but very alien land. Arriving at the ‘airport’:
Accommodation: There aren’t a huge amount of options available in Dili and even fewer on the budget side of things. We stayed at Casa Minha which is an incredibly basic but very functional backpacker place conveniently located about 10mins walk away from the port, right between the city and the seafront (just next to the New Zealand embassy). The family who run it are absolutely lovely, the owner speaks very good (nearly perfect English) and like I said can provide you with very comprehensive information about travel around Dili and Timor Leste in general. We paid $20USD for a double room with aircon and shared bathroom and shower. Like I said, this is the epitome of basic but considering the prices of other places in Dili it’s very good value and in a good location. Tickets to Artauro: Things regarding travel to this nearby island appear to be changing at a rate of knots, but this is where things stand now (May 2018). The public ferry goes twice a week from Dili port. One company goes on a Saturday morning (Nakroma) and another goes on a Thursday morning (Laju Laju), both leaving at 8am. The Saturday ferry costs $4pp and the Thursday ferry costs $5pp. There is also a ferry run by a company called Dragon Star that goes everyday except Wednesday, is slightly faster and costs $13pp (see picture for timetable and details). Gone are the days of only being able to travel between Dili and Artauro once a week or having to catch the hotel transfers at a cost of $35-45pp.Buying ferry tickets: From what we gathered it is only possible to buy your tickets for the public ferries the day before (and possibly on the day as well – although I’m not sure I’d risk this). The process of doing this is a bit unorthodox, but it works. You go to the port (we went at around 8.30am on Friday for the Saturday ferry) and wait by the gate with locals and potentially some other travellers – we met three foreign students, all of whom were on internships. At the gate the process is to wait until an official from behind the gate acknowledges you, when they do you are to hand over some form of ID (driver’s licence, proof of age card…I’d avoid giving them your passport, although they did all seem incredibly trustworthy) and the cost of the fare. Our experience showed us that exact money meant the whole process happens a lot faster. The official will then take the ID and money away and will return within about 5-10mins with your ticket with your name on it and any change you are due. Every ticket needs it’s own accompanying ID so you can’t just go and buy 10 tickets for a group of you without these. We had heard that foreigners are allowed to enter the port around the back and buy tickets in a more conventional way, although it was unclear to us how this would have been possible and also didn’t exactly seem fair when this is the process that locals have to go through. Like I said, it is pretty unconventional but it is definitely legitimate and it works. Getting to Cristo Rei: From central Dili this is surprisingly easy. The microlet number 12 goes all the way there and it’s actually the end of the line so there’s no need to figure out where to get off. The 12 can be picked up along the main road that runs along the waterfront and you simply flag it down to stop it. For ease of landmark definition we noticed that the route goes past Burger King on the corner of Rua de Be-mori and Rua 30 de Augusto (see picture), this is next door to Cheers Bar which you will see marked out on almost every Dili map you can pick up around the city. Because the 12 just does a continuous loop from the city to Cristo Rei this would be a good location to pick up and drop off from if you’re heading to Cristo Rei. The journey takes about 20mins and costs 0.25c (as do all microlet journeys anywhere in Dili). Getting around Dili: If you have an interest in visiting some of the towns/cities around Dili like Dare, Liquica and Emera these are all very well connected by micros and buses. Lots of buses (e.g. for Liquica or Emera) leave from the Tasi Tolu bus terminal, which is at the end of the number 10 micro line (about 20-25mins outside of Dili centre). Micros anywhere in Dili cost 0.25c per journey and the mid distance buses cost from 0.50c to $2. It seemed a bit daunting taking transport out of Dili to more remote areas at transport seemed so sporadic and disorganised, but everywhere we ventured there was always an option for getting back…even if it looked like it might just be jumping in the back of a truck. The locals are so friendly they would always find a way to help get you where you needed to be! Food: There are an abundance of supermarkets in Dili and a reasonable amount of nice looking tourist orientated restaurants. Most of these restaurants can be found along the Avenida de Portugal and dotted around the centre. These all looked like they had a good variety of food and the average cost of a dish in these places was $7-10. We were very lucky to find a little local place called Restaurante Tavirense on Rua 30 de Augusto (about 5mins walk from aforementioned Burger King, going towards the centre). This place opens at 9am until the evening and serves food canteen-style where you are given a portion of rice and then choose from a range of meat, fish and vegetable additions. We ate here multiple times and the cost of our plates ranged from $2-3.25pp. Money: There are tonnes of ATM’s all around Dili although a lot of them do not accept foreign cards. If you have a Visa card then you need to look out for any machines with the logo ‘Loos 24’. These ATMs accept foreign cards and do not charge a fee. If you do not have a Visa card then your only other option to get money out of an ATM will be the ANZ machines, which unfortunately charge a crippling $7USD fee!! If you arrive with cash, either AUD, IDR…and potentially other currencies too, there are plenty of legitimate money changers on the street corner of Rua du Palacio du Governo (see picture bellow). LGBT: Timor is a developing nation only 16 year in to developing it's identity as an idependent country. As a conservative Catholic(ish) nation it's LGBT rights are a little lacking but on the ground we found people warm and welcoming with very little judgement. Considering their recent history of being invaded by Indonesia which is considerably more conservative they are doing well. Homosexuality is legal and in 2015 they held their first pride march with and among the participants of the pride march were LGBT citizens, nuns, religious ministers, indigenous leaders, students, and government officials. For a little nation still finding their way they are the leaders of Human Rights protections in Southeast Asia including LGBT rights. Budget Time $$$So here's what it really cost:
$1,089.07 AUD for 13 days Accomodation: $679.42 Food: $141.55 Transport: $86.59 Miscellaneous: $79.93 Entertainment; $39.97 Drinks: $36.30 Souvenirs: $25.31 This means an average daily budget of $41.88 AUD per person, per day. We bid farewell to Guam and our new friends with heavy hearts only to discover our plane was delayed...yet again! This meant we really weren’t going to be arriving into Manila till really late. After what transpired to only be an hour long delay and an uneventful flight we ended up in an inexplicably long customs queue on the other side...this wasn’t starting very well. On advice the advice of Jose we had already downloaded the Grab app (Asian ‘Uber’) so as soon as we were through we jumped in a car and could finally head to our hotel for some much needed sleep (P305/$7.80 AUD/5.70 USD). Worth noting if you don’t have the app already or you can’t connect to the airport WiFi there is a Grab stand where a guy with multiple mobile phones will book one for you...just follow the Grab signs close to the taxi stand outside the airport. Manila is a strange mix of extremely modern and very poor. Driving along the highway it’s all flashing lights, fancy hotels and large shopping malls but as soon as you start winding through the back streets the poverty is starkly apparent. We had booked a hotel near the port as we had an early morning ferry to catch but we may as well have stayed at the port for the night with the amount of sleep we managed to get. I have never heard so many different sounds through one wall...including all night construction, prayer groups, cats, dogs, roosters and bad karaoke!! As soon as one noise would stop another would start and by the time we had to be up we’d managed about 20mins sleep between us. Walking to the port took us through what would normally be a no go area of town in other cities. Makeshift slum houses made from corrugated iron wound through street after street but one thing that is striking about the Philippines is how friendly everyone is and not once as we walked through this part of town did we feel threatened or unsafe. Hot and sweaty, we arrived at the port about half an hour later, ready for our long journey to Coron. We were taking the 15hour 2Go ferry (P) but had read on our tickets that we needed to be there 4hours before our departure time. Although I wouldn’t push it too late this was definitely excessive and you could easily arrive 2hours beforehand with no problems as all beds in all classes are assigned beforehand. The only thing being they do change the departure times with very little notice so be warned it is best to check your departure time on the day if you don’t want to arrive so early. The cheapest tickets (P1550/39.30 AUD/29 USD per person) give you a bunk on the deck and a basic meal, tourist class is inside with aircon. When we booked tickets in advance there was very little difference in price. If this is the case go for tourist class as it gets very hot on deck. If not, you’re in for a long but not too unpleasant night. We managed to befriend 2 other couples (both British) along the way who helped while away the hours. The ferry was actually early arriving into Coron and suddenly and quite unexpectedly we found ourselves out on the street and piling into a trike at 4am heading into Coron Town (P50/$1.25 AUD/0.95 USD but it should only be P20/0.50 AUD/0.35 USD). Having spent the last 3 months in Eastern Asia where booking in advance is essential we were excited about being a little more flexible again. Now, having extensively traveled through both Southeast Asia and Central and South America we have our system down and not once has it failed us! Leave one with the bags and the other goes to check out what is available. Dani headed off in to the dark while I hung out with Sophie and Josh who we had met on the boat. About 50 minutes later she appeared again with a face like thunder. 15 guesthouses she had been to and not one had any room. Very dejected and slightly concerned, we decided to take a risk at head with Sophie and Josh to their guesthouse Maritonies which was quite far out in the hopes that even though they had no rooms online they may have some space. We could have kissed the woman when upon enquiringly desperately, she smiled apologetically and said “we only have fan rooms, is that ok?”(P800/$20.55 AUD/15 USD). After discussions with not only Sophie and Josh but other travellers in the guesthouse it transpired that Southeast Asian travel has changed. People no longer show up and search for a room on the ground, they book in advance online. This apparently means all the good, cheap places are booked by the time you get somewhere which spurs more people to book ahead meaning more guesthouses are getting online and so the disappointing cycle continues! I’m not sure what this means for the carefree traveller but I think it’s sad because the whole nature of backpacking is the beauty and freedom of waking up one morning and deciding to go to another town, city or even country on a whim and if you’re booked in for the next 3 nights maybe you won’t follow your new friend to the next place etc. Having at least found somewhere decent to stay it was time to find some food. There’s not a lot going on when it comes to Filipino food but we found some cheap meals in the market on the way to the port (there are two markets in this area and you actually want to head to the souvenir market not the local fruit and vege market). Our next task for the day was to book a tour to see what Coron is really famous for, it’s surrounding islands and marine life. Dani managed to negotiate a trip for (P1200/$30.80 AUD/22.50 USD) which included snorkel gear and lunch but be careful as a lot of companies try to charge extra for the gear but don’t tell you this when you book. We chose this package because it took us to all the major highlights The next day the 4 of us set off for our excursion and it was this trip that really showed us we were back in Southeast Asia. We had gotten used to the organisation of Japan and Korea and it was a bit of a harsh reality check when we were suddenly jumping from boat to boat to get to ours at the end of the line as well as having a tour guide who showed almost no interest in guiding us what so ever. In hindsight it was exactly what it said on the tin...transport to Siete Pecados, Kayangan lake, Beach 91, Skeleton Wreck, Malwawey Coral Garden, CYC Beach, and Twin Lagoon, safety equipment (actually more than a lot of countries) and a good lunch. While the spots you get to visit on this trip are incredibly beautiful, the sheer number of boats and tourists in each location makes it almost impossible to appreciate this. There appears to be no limit on the number of people allowed in each place at one time and all the companies seem to follow exactly the same itinerary so there isn’t even a steady flow of people in and out. This made it hard to really enjoy the trip as we spent most of our time battling with other tourists or boats to get to where we wanted to be or see what we had set out to see. That being said it’s not an unpleasant trip, just uncomfortably busy. Coron Town itself leaves a lot to be desired. It’s dirty and dusty as well as personality-less. The town almost entirely caters to tourists and most of it is overpriced and underwhelming. Due to this we felt it would be better to head to El Nido earlier than we had initially planned. After 3 nights we headed back to the port for the fast ferry to take us to El Nido. Having booked online (P1848/$47.50 AUD/34.60 USD and playing totally into the new culture here) we needed to swap our reservation documents for tickets at the office approximately 50m from the port back towards Coron Town on the right hand side. You only need to be there an hour beforehand but also make sure you check that the boat is leaving at the scheduled time on the day as this changed. Pre booking online does cost a tiny bit more than the set rate you are offered in the travel agencies throughout Coron Town but they can only be purchased a day in advance and if the once daily boat you want to catch gets booked up then you’re stuck there for another day. The journey has a reputation for being pretty rough at times but we were lucky and it was smooth sailing the whole way (good news for me who gets sea sick). From the moment we sailed into the entrance of El Nido harbour it was clear we had made the right decision moving on. Although it has the same ‘cater only to tourist vibe’ it is a much prettier place. It’s a sheltered harbour surrounded by soaring cast cliffs and scattered with coconut palms. Everything is walking distance from the port so we ignored the calls from trike drivers, bid farewell to Sophie and Josh who were staying outside of El Nido and headed off to find the guesthouse (that yes we had booked online). The place we had chosen was the cheapest place ($15.70 AUD/11.60 USD) left and had some fairly hit and miss reviews. We found while it was nowhere near luxurious it was definitely a lot better than most of the reviews made it out to be. Again (like in Japan) we had found that booking online via Klook (we’ve found this a great booking website for Asia) was cheaper for the standard trips in El Nido. We had booked on to tour D ($25.80 AUD/$19 USD) which we knew was not the “must visit” spots but having seen how crowded everything had been in Coron we felt it might be better to go to some lesser visited sights. We had this tour booked for our first full day and waited eagerly downstairs a good 30 minutes prior to our pickup time...and we waited and we waited. Finally after calling numerous times we were whisked down to the port not really knowing what was going on. Once there it was explained to us that our guesthouse had our names wrong and had told the tour company that we weren’t staying there. Due to this we had missed our chance to go on a trip but that they actually weren’t running tour D due to lack of demand at the time and offered us places on want of there other trips for the next day instead. It made sense to choose the most expensive tour so we decided on tour A. After reading reviews it turns out they never seem to run tour D so it’s a great way of saving money on doing the more expensive tour by booking D through Klook and then choosing tour A! This actually turned out to be a really good day despite 10 minutes in, it pouring with such heavy rain that you couldn’t see more than 3 or 4 meters in front of the boat. It was quite scary being on a fairly rickety boat with bamboo stabilisers being lashed with rain but none of the crew seemed in the slightest bits phased by it and within 20 minutes it was blue skies and sunshine again. The crowds actually felt a lot less offensive on this trip and the snorkelling was a lot better than it had been in Coron. It’s not quite the stunning coral reef it’s made out to be (everything is damaged or dying) but the fish are really beautiful. El Nido is quite a nice place to chill out and relax. We didn’t feel any pressure to go on any other trips or explore the surrounding area so we spent our spare days just walking out along the beach and having a few San Miguel’s at sunset along the waterfront. After 4 relaxing nights it was time to head to our last stop in the Philippines, Puerto Princesa. We had booked one of the minivans in town (P500/$12.65 AUD/9.35 USD) and understood that we needed to make our own way to the bus station (which is definitely walkable from town) to start our journey. Our problems began when we arrived to be told our minivan wouldn’t be going, but that it was ok because they would happily buy us a ticket for the bus instead. Now, the fact that the bus is cheaper, slower and arrives 7km out of town meaning we would need transport on the other side, meant we really weren’t happy with accepting this offer of a bus ticket in exchange without a refund of the difference (P120/$3.05 AUD/2.25 USD). After about a 20minute stand off (and almost missing the only bus) the man grabbed our tickets and sped off on a motorcycle muttering something about a refund. Pretty sure we’d lost our money and resigning ourselves to having to pay for the bus as well, the man arrived back at the station with a full refund just as the bus choked into life ready to leave. What we learned from this was that an earlier minivan is a better choice and you would be best getting to the bus station and getting on the next one that is leaving rather than prebooking a specific minivan through a specific company. We saw 4 other sets of tourists in the same boat as us and only us and one other couple got on the bus so hopefully the others found alternative solution. The bus is painfully slow but it gets you from A to B. We were told that the road quality was terrible but from our experience it’s now well constructed the whole way. It’s the constant stopping that makes this bus so slow. When we arrived into Puerto Princesa we found ourselves a trike (P120/$3.05 AUD/2.25 USD) and set off for our guesthouse Fanta Lodge. Now, this place is functional enough and walking distance from the airport but the basic rooms ($8.15/6 USD) are literally concrete cells under tin roofs and are roasting hot. The nicer rooms with private bathroom and aircon were well worth the sneaky upgrade for our second and final night ($12 AUD/8.85 USD). Puerto is a town really only good for transiting through. We were flying back to Manila from there and we hadn’t wanted to spend 3 days in transit (El Nido - Puerto - Manila - Bali - Timor-Leste) so had opted for a rest day in Puerto. We did our best to explore what it has on offer but that isn’t a lot so I wouldn’t recommend spending any more time here than necessary. On our final day in the Philippines we walked to the airport and checked in for our flight. Surprise surprise we were delayed again but luckily we had plenty of time between our 2 flights for the day. We were also flying into the right terminal in Manila so wouldn’t even have to change. Our flight landed an hour after it was scheduled to meaning we now only had 5 hours to kill at Manila airport before boarding our flight to Bali. It turns out that there is a pretty decent food selection for reasonable prices here but we ate back at our newly discovered favourite Chow King. The time passed surprisingly quickly and soon we were on our 2 leg of 3. Because you can only fly to Timor from Bali, Singapore and Darwin we would be spending the night by Bali airport before getting on our final leg. We actually were really stoked by our airport accommodation Chillin Kuta Homestay which had only cost $17AUD (12.55 USD). It had comfortable beds, good WiFi and a decent ensuit bathroom. Best of all it is only a 3 minute walk from the airport (you can see the airport from the balcony). Definitely a great deal if you happen to have an early flight. It was time for our next adventure in Timor-Leste which would be the last country in Southeast Asia for us to visit. Overall, we had enjoyed our time in the Philippines but both left wishing we had explored it when we were on our big Southeast Asia trip in 2013. Back then the Banana Pancake trail hadn’t hit the Philippines and it was still a little undiscovered. That being said the people are wonderfully friendly and very chatty and I bet there are still some wonderful undiscovered gems but Palawan certainly isn’t that. LGBT: The Philippines is a conservative Catholic country but overall we found them to be pretty accepting. There was a lot of misgendering of Dani which got frustrating at times but it was never with malicious intent. The Philippines has also been ranked as one of the most gay friendly nations in Asia. The marriage equality debate is currently being argued in the Supreme Court and they have a female openly trans politician serving in congress who was elected in 2016. Budget Time $$$The Philippines was an interesting location in terms of setting a budget. Prior to going I had looked at a couple of backpacking blogs which stated that if one was to island hop around the area then a much more generous budget than the average South East Asian norm would be needed. Seeing as we were going to be in The Philippines for less than two weeks we decided to punt for a higher daily budget than our standard $35AUDpp/day. Knowing that we didn’t need anything too extravagant once we were on the ground in terms of accommodation and food we agreed on $45AUDpp/day, which gave us flexibility in terms of how we would get around but didn’t push us out of a backpacker’s spending power. As has become a bit of a trend for us, we came in under this. In fact, as you can see below we only very very slightly came outside of our standard South East Asia zone.
Unsurprisingly our greatest expense was transport and accounted for nearly 50% of our total spend – something which has never been the case before. All of the blogs out there are absolutely right; ferries/flights between the islands in The Philippines are not cheap. As we have said in the main blog, booking in advance stands to save you a really decent amount of money! Obviously the name of the game when visiting the islands is to go out and explore and that means organised trips. What we noticed about these trips on both Coron and El Nido is that the prices within the budget range are pretty much standardised and what you get for your money is all much of a muchness. They go to the same places and pretty much include the same things – boat, ‘guide’, lunch (watch out for snorkel and mask hire extras). You don’t need to do much shopping around or haggling if you’re just going to follow suit and do the standard day trips. All of these trips are reasonably priced and can easily be fitted into a basic backpacker budget. Food throughout the country was inexpensive but also generally pretty uninspiring. We paid $3-5AUDpp/meal at local places and this got us satisfactory portions of rice/noodles with meat, fish or eggs and veggies. Budget accommodation throughout the country was fine. It was in Coron that we discovered that pre-booking is almost a necessity in parts of SE Asia now which I find incredibly disappointing, but fortunately this does not appear to have affected the price too much, as long as you get your booking done in time to catch the budget options. We paid an average of about $15AUD/room/night and this got us comfortable and satisfactory rooms every time. They didn’t always have en suite bathrooms, or aircon, but they were always acceptable for the price. The jump to get all the real comforts in the Philippines is pretty significant, so on a budget you really can’t expect it all. Overall the Philippines was not as expensive as we had been lead to believe it would be on the basis that we did island hop and we weren’t there for very long so we crammed a lot into a short time. You definitely don’t get as much bang for your buck as you do in certain other SE Asian countries, but it is absolutely doable on a reasonable backpackers budget! What we actually spent: $781.82 AUD in 11 days Transport: $358.09 AUD Accomodation: $147.14 Entertainment: $123.67 Food: $97.17 Drinks: $42.29 Souvenirs: $7.30 Miscellaneous: $6.17 This works out at $35.53 AUD per person per day. Touching down on the tarmac and careering side to side as the wind and plane struggled against each other. We were in South Korea, which had been on Dani’s list since she had begun teaching 8 years ago. Our first stop was a town an hour south of Seoul called Dongtan where we were staying with our friends Ana and Hambit. We had met Ana on our last big backpacking adventure while in Laos and we were really excited to be able to see her again as well as have a really local introduction to South Korea. We spent three days with them and were absolutely spoiled throughout! They showed us wonderful hospitality, introducing us to a range of local traditional foods, taking us to a beautiful bamboo grove, Damyang (yes it absolutely rivals the one in Kyoto) and down to Jeonju, the area that gave the world the famous Korean dish, Bibimbap. Because we were driven we can’t give you an idea of how to get to or where to stay in Jeonju but I can say it is definitely worth a visit. It has a large set of hannok houses, which give the town an old world feeling and it is very pretty to wander around. Also, if you have time to really explore, head up the hill that overlooks the city. At the top you will find the most wonderful selection of unusual and eclectic street art, it is certainly an interesting place to see. Probably the best advice we can give you is to go to Jeonju with an empty stomach. The area is known as the kitchen of Korea and food is certainly King here. Everything from street snacks to full sit down restaurant meals can be got there and it is some of the best you’ll find in Korea. After 2 great days with Ana and Hambit we had to bid farewell and head to Seoul. Our main reason for visiting Seoul was to go on the JSA and DMZ tour on the border of North Korea, however, we received and email just before we got there saying that our trip had been cancelled due to preparations for the talks between North and South. Unfortunately for us the email explained that they would not be going to the JSA until May meaning we had no hope of setting foot in North Korea this trip. This was deeply disappointing for Dani, as she had been looking forward to this for ages but there was nothing we could do. While in Seoul we were staying near Seoul station in what we truly hope will be the last dorm we ever stay in (we’re far to old these days for dorms)! Kimchee Station Hostel was only W10,800pp ($13.05 AUD/10.10 USD) for a mixed 6-bed dorm, which is amazing value for Seoul. Unfortunately, we ended up sharing with potentially the least considerate (we’re talking lights on at 3am, eating loudly through the night and rustling plastic bags at every opportunity) loudest snorer we have ever come across. As a basic hostel that is cheap, well located and functional we would say Kimchee is fine but I think there are probably better options out there for only a little more money. Having planned to spend our 7th anniversary together crossing into North Korea we were at a bit of a loss on how to celebrate. We decided a silly day at the Trick Eye museum sounded fun so we headed to Hongdae to check it out. As funny as it was it wasn’t really worth the W15000pp ($18.60 AUD/14 USD), but it was a decent enough way to spend a couple of hours. Hongdae is the trendy youthful area of Seoul and it has some great streets to wander around as well as good shops for souvenirs like fun Korean socks which I developed a bit of a thing for in Eastern Asia and now have an ever expanding collection of. We hear it’s a 24-hour kind of place that has some great nightlife and some good accommodation options so if you’re into nightlife it’s probably a good place to base yourself. Not the anniversary we were hoping for in the end but we decided we’d make up for it in our next destination. Another thing we had planned for Seoul was to visit one of their many palaces. It was going to be interesting comparing the architecture to the Japanese castles we had just come from and we thought the best way to learn about the history was to book onto a guided tour. We booked onto one online but the guide never showed up. Lucky for us Gyeongbokgung Palace (entrance: W3000/$3.64AUD/$2.70USD) also provided a free hour long guided tour around the complex at midday, so we waited the extra 30 minutes, which allowed us to also see the changing of the guards before we started. This was an enjoyable and interesting introduction to Korean architecture and history. At the end of the tour you can walk out the back entrance to the Blue House where the president lives. There are a plethora of palaces you can choose from on your visit to Seoul and they even have the option to buy a multi palace pass costing W10,000 ($12.50AUD/$9USD). This gets you entry to Gyeongbokgung, Deoksugung, Changdeokgung, Huwon Secret Garden, Changgyeonggung and Jongmyo Shrine which would cost W14,000 ($17 AUD/12.60 USD) if bought separately. After our palace tour we decided to explore the city on foot and walk back to our hostel (there are really good subway connections around Seoul if this isn’t your kinda thing). While walking back to the hostel we came across Lotte Mart in Seoul station and discovered a real trick to keeping the budget down in Korea. Supermarket samples! The supermarket handed out so many food samples we didn’t need to eat that evening. Everything from instant noodles to vegetables was available for sampling. Watching the locals dig into multiple samples of everything also meant we felt comfortable grabbing a few slices of pepper or a whole square of chocolate rather than half. Also we noticed that all supermarkets appear to have a food station with tables that you can eat at which offer basic but decent looking meals at very reasonable prices. As per usual we signed up for a city walking tour while in Seoul and with a range of options available we chose the one that took us around the older district of the city. The strange thing we discovered about the free walking tours in Korea is that they do not expect tips. It actually appeared to embarrass our tour guide when we attempted to tip her and although she took it she did say that it really isn’t the norm. This tour took us through the older hannok styled area of the city, which was really pretty in comparison to the modern surroundings. It really wasn’t the most informative tour but it was a nice way to spend the afternoon. As we aren’t really city people we were looking forward to heading out to less busy and hectic parts of the country. Our next destination was Sokcho, on the east coast of the country. We had found out that there was a direct bus to the station we needed from Dong Seoul station that would cost W12,800pp ($15.50 AUD/11.55 USD). To get to the station from Kimchee was really easy as it was on the green line, which goes directly to the bus station. The bus journey was comfortable and easy. Arriving at the bus station we were elated to find that the motel we had booked was actually right next to the bus station. We loved our motel (‘Rocustel’ $41.25 AUD/30.70 USD) but it was here that we discovered that in Korea motels are not simply cheaper hotels like they are in the west…they are actually for couples looking for some…alone time. I’ve got to say if you’re looking for reasonably priced accommodation, that’s of a high standard (for a backpacker) and has good amenities these (love) motels are definitely a great option! Our main objective for stopping in Sokcho was to visit the national park. The number 7 and 7-1 goes all the way from the city to the park entrance for W1,200 ($1.45 AUD/1.05 USD). The national park entrance fee is only W3,500 ($4.20 AUD/3.10 USD) and the park itself has many different trails you can take, most of which split off after the giant Buddha statue. We decided to take the trail up to the poetry inscriptions which is 3.8km. This park is beautiful and we really enjoyed the time we spent there. Sokcho itself has few noteworthy points of interest but we really liked it mainly for the chilled vibe it has. Following Sokcho we were off to Gangnueng, from the bus station on the other side of Sokcho (W6,300/$7.60 AUD/5.65 USD) to go to Unification Park. This meant us checking into another love motel aptly named Sketch ($41.20 AUD/30.65 USD and this one came with a little pouch at check in that included condoms, his and hers toothbrushes, lotions, potions and soap). Gangneung has a wonderful market that we stumbled across, full of weird and wonderful snacks which we loaded up on for dinner on our first night. The next morning we caught the number 113 bus to the park to see the infamous North Korean submarine…I’m not sure what either of us were expecting but this wasn’t really it. It had an old navy ship you could tour (W3000/$3.65 AUD/2.70 USD), the submarine which you could look at and after a walk up the hill you could visit the museum, which was entirely in Korean. This also did have a number of retired military planes you could check out. This place in short was weird, but not a total waste of time if you’re in the area. I feel like if you’re short on time Gangneung could be skipped altogether. From here we were off to Andong so that we could visit the traditional village of Hahoe. From Gangneung there are only a few buses a day direct to Andong (W19,200/$23.50 AUD/17.50 USD) so we’d actually bought our tickets on the day we arrived. This probably wasn’t necessary but it helped us relax. Andong was to be our last motel (‘Queen Motel’ $40.55 AUD/30.20 USD) and we received another great pouch full of goodies from the shy girl who wouldn’t make eye contact with me from behind the desk. I’m going to say Hahoe is another place I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit. Sold as a traditional Korean farming village it really does feel more like a movie set than anything else. There are no people around and it feels slightly voyeuristic wandering around, peeping over fences and in through windows wondering why you’re there and what you’re missing. If you are going though its fairly easy to get there as there is a bus that leaves from opposite the supermarket in Andong and goes all the way to the ticket office for Hahoe (Bus: W1,300/$1.55 AUD/1.15 USD Village: W5,000/$6.05 AUD/4.50 USD). If you’re really looking for traditional head to Jeonju, Geongju or the area in Seoul that has maintained its older houses, in many ways this just felt like a bit of a constructed tourist trap. Andong itself is actually a nice town and does hold a more traditional vibe than a lot of other towns in South Korea. We heard they are very conservative here but we found everyone warm and welcoming. They also have a great food street to find a cheap dinner. Our last stop on our South Korean tour was Busan and we had planned a side trip to Gyeongju. Fairly fast to get to from Andong on both bus and train we decided to take the slow cheaper train (W15,000/$18.15 AUD/13.50 USD) there for the more scenic route. This takes you as far as Napo station on the outskirts of Busan and then you need to take the metro from here into the city (W1,400/$1.70 AUD/1.10 USD) and we had chosen to stay by Busan Station. It looked really central when we booked it and it was incredibly good value at $29.60 AUD ($22 USD) for a private room with ensuite at the sister hostel to where we had stayed in Seoul. It turned out that this location is actually “Little Russia” otherwise known as the red light district (I know I’m good at finding us these places to stay), which has a pretty dodgy reputation after dark. Luckily we’re not night owls so this worked out fine. Our only real plan for Busan was Gyeongju and this is just about doable in a day trip from there. However, in hidsight we really liked it in Gyeongju and wished we had stayed and explored it from there rather than on a rushed day trip. To get there you need to catch the metro back to Napo station (W1,400/$1.70 AUD/1.10 USD) and then get a bus to Gyeongju (W4,800/$5.80 AUD/4.30 USD). From there if you are planning on visiting Bulgaksa Temple it’s another bus (W1,700/$2.05 AUD/1.50 USD) and entrance to the temple is a further W5,000 ($6.05 AUD/4.50 USD). Our favourite part of Gyeongju was actually wandering through the park where the tombs of old emperors are found and the old village which is really pretty. It’s a long round trip from Busan (6ish hours all up) so again I would say you’re better off staying there but it’s totally doable if you’re stuck for time as the connections are frequent and easy. We also did another walking tour in Busan run by the lovely Ben. He gave us a great tour around old Busan and it’s version of Hollywood. We had a great time with him and he was able to show us another side to Busan we wouldn’t have got otherwise including the famous Gukje market. Overall I think I speak for both of us when I say I’m glad we’ve been to South Korea but I’m not sure it’s somewhere that needs to be high on anyone’s travel bucketlist. Our favourite part of the trip was spending time with our friends and we were really shown a different side to the country that I’m not sure is possible to get without a lot of time here. We found 2 very distinct sides to this culture that very much seemed to contradict themselves. When with Korean friends we were welcomed and treated so well by not only them, but everyone that they introduced us to. When we were on our own we found that people could often be rude, abrasive and unhelpful. I read something that seemed to resonate with our experiences which was if you have been introduced to someone you become a person and are shown the upmost warmth and respect. If there has been no formal introduction, then you don’t count as a person so you are not awarded the same social courtesies. There are weird and wonderful things to discover here but it’s not an easy place to be and the national treasures seem to miss the mark in comparison to their neighbours. That being said you should definitely go and check it out for yourself because you may just find something we didn’t. LGBT: We didn't face any problems while we were here and didn't even get questioned when checking in to love motels (they even gave us the condoms). This being said there is an extremely present Christian community here that makes you feel as if discression is neccessary. There has never been any legal discrimination against the LGBT community in South Korea but it really is more of a don't ask don't tell culture. Budget Time $$$Korea’s budget was a nice $45AUD ($35USD) per person per day. By the end of our trip we came in nearly $300AUD under budget for the whole 16 days, however, I’m not sure this would have been the case had we not spent 3 nights staying with a friend just outside of Seoul at the start. That being said, I think we would have been pretty much on point with our budget, making Korea a very affordable destination in terms of a backpacker’s range. Unsurprisingly (and as was pretty much the norm for the whole of Eastern Asia), accommodation was our greatest expense in Korea and accounted for almost exactly 30% of our budget, which is what we aim for as a maximum. The cost to quality ratio wasn’t always what we hoped for but we found that ‘motels’ were a great option for budget comfort. Solo travellers will definitely find hostels and dorms a good deal but as a couple we could pay as little as a dollar more than two dorm beds a get a private room. In terms of transport costs, Korea is pretty reasonable. We opted to use the bus to get around the country and on journeys between 3-5hrs long the average cost was around $15AUDpp ($11USD). It’s not the cheapest but it certainly wasn’t anything like the expense of Japan and the buses were always comfortable. Korea does also have it’s own version of the JR pass but it is much more limited in terms of the ground that it covers so for us it wasn’t even worth considering. Inner city transport like buses and metros are also very reasonably priced with journeys averaging no more that $1-2AUD ($0.75-1.50USD). We were pleasantly surprised by how inexpensive activities in Korea were compared to Japan and Taiwan. Entrance to National Parks, museums and other tourist locations of interest rarely surpassed $5AUDpp ($3.50USD). The combination of reasonable transport and entrance costs meant that doing all of the things that interest you in all locations around Korea is absolutely affordable! Food is not the cheapest in Korea, and if you want to eat any fresh fruit or vegetable then you can absolutely forget about any budget! If it’s not yet fermented then you pay a premium for it!! Obviously Korean noodle pots are a bit of a thing in Korea and these are incredibly cheap to pick up from a supermarket ($1AUD/0.75USD average). If you are looking to eat in a restaurant, even the cheapest local places will set you back $10-15AUDpp ($7-11USD). While that’s not astronomically high, on a budget of $45AUD/day that quickly eats into your budget...pardon the pun! Generally Korea’s budget travel accessibility it much greater than it’s popular neighbour Japan. All aspects of travel life (accommodation, transport, food and entertainment) can be found for reasonable rates with limited effort. This makes it a comfortable and relaxing place to enjoy exploring. What it actually cost: $1,250.87 AUD for 17 days Accomodation: $443.81 Food: $375.25 Transport: $246.84 Entertainment: $85.91 Drinks: $73.65 Souvenirs: $13.31 Miscellaneous: 12.10 This works out at $36.79 AUD per person per day. It was another early start in Hiroshima as we pulled into Hiroshima Station at 6am. Knowing it was too early to even store our bags at our guesthouse we looked for the nearest Starbucks to satiate our caffeine cravings. Unfortunately for us the Starbucks wasn’t due to open till 7am (second time in Japan this had been an issue) so it was a whole hour of standing around before we could even find somewhere to sit down. We surfed the net and caffeinated for an hour before setting out on the 3km walk to our guesthouse. For 2 people who have always claimed not to be hikers we were getting pretty good at walking with our packs in ever increasingly large increments. Lucky for us our guesthouse, Casa Viento (¥4170/$50.55 AUD/38.10 USD per night for a studio apartment) were willing to store our bags for the day (we were staying in an apartment so we weren’t sure this would be the case) and at 8.30am they opened the doors with big smiles and let us know that we could check in earlier and they’d put our bags in our room for us as soon as the room was clean and ready. This still left us with quite a few hours so we headed into the centre of Hiroshima to start exploring. We saw the Atomic Bomb Dome from a mile away in such a stark contrast to the modern skyline that surrounded it. Interestingly though, there was a real sense of peace in the air and the dome was framed across the river by branches of cherry blossoms just starting to bloom. Hiroshima is a city I have felt I needed to visit since I read a book called Hiroshima No Pika when I was a kid. It was a children’s picture book about what happened on August 6th 1945 and the story has stuck with me my whole life. Arriving at the Peace Park and seeing the dome it brings a sense of reality to what happened but also the beauty of the memorial and the real sense of forgiveness you get. The Peace Park has a number of things to check out from the incredibly moving museum (I’m not going to lie I shed more than a few tears), the cenotaph dedicated to the victims, the peace bell, the children’s monument where people donate thousands of paper cranes and the hall of remembrance. Despite being knackered we didn’t leave the Peace Park until 3pm after having walked for hours. We probably could have stayed longer but our weary legs wouldn’t carry us and we stumbled back to our apartment. The next morning we decided to head back to the centre of town and because it was a Sunday we thought we’d check out the once weekly samurai show on at Hiroshima Castle. The grounds of Hiroshima Castle are free and on Sundays at 1pm and 3pm there is the most entertaining (in one of those 90’s romcom kind of ways) free performance which is somewhere between samurai/ninjas meets the Backstreet Boys. Totally worth it, if not only to check out the groupies who know all the words and actions to the songs. The grounds of this castle are really pretty and would be a nice spot for a picnic. We were also lucky enough to be there just as the cherry blossoms were really starting to bloom and even as two people who aren’t that into flowers, we were starting to understand the giddiness of all the Japanese people around us when walking under all the sakura suddenly bursting into life. It really is a beautiful sight that does feel just a little bit magical. Hiroshima was quickly becoming our favourite city in Japan. It’s strange the feeling of peace you get there. I think Dani and I were kind of expecting a very sad and dark vibe due to the nature of what happened there. We had been to Auschwitz a few years prior and there is a feeling of despair in the air there and we both thought Hiroshima would perpetuate but it was completely different. Contrary to the despair of Auschwitz there was a feeling of hope, peacefulness and tranquillity that abounded throughout the city. Our final full day it was time to check out Miyajima Island, which involved a tram to the ferry and then ferry to the island. Worth noting is that you can get a tram+ferry pass for the day which costs ¥820 ($10 AUD/7.50 USD) and gives you unlimited tram rides as well as a return ticket on the ferry. If you already have a JR pass though there is a train to the ferry terminal and a JR ferry you can catch all included in the price of the pass. There is plenty to do on Miyajima but the major attraction is the Itsukushima Shrine and its Inari gate. You don’t have to enter the shrine to see the gate but it is best to time your visit with the tide being in so that the gate appears to be floating on water (tide times can be got beforehand on the internet to ensure you’re there at the best point). While there, you can also check out the world’s largest rice spoon, which is worth a funny picture. Apart from this Miyajima is just pretty to walk around. It has a traditional setting although all the shops now sell generic souvenirs and there are good snacks to try as well. I’d say you only need to spend half a day on Miyajima unless you’re going to go up the mountain which you can either walk or take the cable car up. The weather the day we went wasn’t great, so we chose to give this a miss. We were sad to be leaving Hiroshima, as despite it being true about there not being a lot to do it had really captured us with its vibe and we could have easily just hung out there for a few more days. At this stage we were leaving Honshu and were going to be entering Kyushu, known for its thermal and volcanic activity. I hadn’t been able to find any information online about buses from Hiroshima to Fukuoka but it turns out it was really easy to get from one to the other. It cost ¥4150 ($50.65 AUD/38.15 USD) to get to Fukuoka’s Hakata Station from Hiroshima and was completely direct. It was here we checked into one of the worst hostels we’ve ever stayed in anywhere in the world. We are fairly tolerant when it comes to basic cheap accommodation (we once had to choose between proper flooring and window with panes of glass in Ecuador and in hindsight flooring should really be more of a priority) but in a country that prides itself on cleanliness, when is it ok to not change sheets between guests and just lint roll them instead..?! I am not kidding and the worst thing is we had already slept in someone/many someone elses skin cells and sweat for a night before we discovered this. Not only this, but some of the people we were sharing the dorm with had some of the worst hygiene habits of almost any people we’d ever encountered! I woke up to find a used sanitary napkin stuck above my head from the girl in the bunk beside me…I wish I was joking about this! We made the decision that we were too old for dorms now and after seeing out the dorm reservation we had made for a few weeks time, from that point on we were paying the extra for privacy and the guarantee of only each others questionable hygiene levels. Fukuoka itself is a strange city. It doesn’t have a lot to offer tourists but it can be used as a good base to see other things around the island. We hadn’t really done our research properly though because we had decided to use it for day trips to Kumamoto and Aso or Kagoshima. However, Kumamoto castle was heavily damaged in an earthquake in 2016 and Aso and Kagoshima were currently erupting in a way that made them a little too dangerous to visit (not if you were in Nicaragua). This meant we had a few days to enjoy the cherry blossoms, eat as much Matsuya as we could handle as we were about to loose it and chill out. We did find one day trip that we think was highly worth it and that was the trip to Yanagawa and Dazaifu that you can get a package for ¥2930 ($35.75 AUD/26.95 USD) which is transport on the train, shuttle to the boat trips and a boat trip around Yanagawa as well as vouchers for discounts on local delicacies. Dazaifu turned out to be our favourite location on this pass and it was only really a side thought to our Yanagawa trip. Dazaifu is a pretty little town with some beautiful temples and shrines to wander around. If you find yourself in Fukuoka needing something to do even if you don’t want to go on the Yanagawa boat trip through the canals I would recommend a trip to Dazaifu which isn’t far on the train. The other thing to do in Fukuoka is the Asahi Beer Factory tour, which like the Kirin Tour we did in Yokohama is free. In this free tour you also get 3 glasses of beer to try and in the spirit of responsible drinking (the tour guide actually said this) you have to down these glasses in 20 minutes. It is a great way to get a little merry while drinking some great beer for free in Japan. Grateful to be leaving behind the awful dorm we jumped on our bus to our last destination in mainland Japan. Nagasaki is a short journey away on the bus (¥4115/$50.20 AUD/37.85 USD return to Fukuoka) and curious about the city that was hit by the second atomic bomb we decided this would be a good stop. Nagasaki is a strange little place. Set in a valley a thin strip of city winds its way through the hills. We had found another AirBnB close to the Nagasaki Peace Park, which is worth checking out. The museum here is also incredibly touching and very well thought out. Other than these things there isn’t really a lot to do so we spent our time eating great food and drinking good Japanese beer (we’d highly recommend Asahi Clear as a cheaper delicious alternative to Asahi Dry). We had a flight to catch from Fukuoka to Okinawa and lucky for us there is actually a bus from Nagasaki to Fukuoka airport. Okinawa is a very different part of Japan. We came in quite late and settled into our Hostel Inn Grace Naha ($44.70 AUD/33.70 USD/¥3685). We had booked 2 nights in the centre of town due to our late arrival and then 5 nights in an AirBnB further out. Deciding to make the most of our one full day in the centre we walked the main strip, which is sadly full of tourist shops each almost identical to the next. In saying that Okinawa doesn’t really feel like Japan. It may be all the Americans, it may be the tropical climate, I’m not really sure what it is but it feels different. It is also the poorest district in Japan and that shows in the level of how run down it is. Again though before booking we hadn’t done enough research into Okinawa and on the ground we were faced with a very expensive decision. The reason one goes to Okinawa is to visit the surrounding islands which really do look like tropical paradise however as the accommodation on those islands had been so expensive we had decided to day trip it instead. The problem came when we were on Okinawa itself and discovered just how expensive the ferries to the islands are. They aren’t really worth it if you’re only doing a day trip, but to stay is so expensive…it was a catch 22 we weren’t really ready for having booked to stay for a week. Having seen just about all Naha had to offer we were starting to wonder if we had made a very expensive mistake by coming here. It turns out that there are places to go they are just not that easy to get to. I think to really experience the best of Okinawa you need to have the money to do it and it really isn’t a backpacker destination. We did find some reasonably priced snorkelling trips to the islands but unfortunately for us they cancelled our trip and it was on our last day there so we can’t tell you if they’re worth it but it is definitely an option. We also took a bus to American Village and Sunset Beach, which is probably the closest pretty beach to Naha itself. American Village is a little strange but it has a cool ferris wheel on the top of the mall that gives you some pretty views and there are some fun shops to wander around.
We also booked to do a cooking class with Taste of Okinawa (price), which was wonderful as we were able to learn a bit about the difference in culture between the mainland and this little group of islands and how that impacted the food. Okinawa has it’s own vibe and is quite different to mainland Japan I’m not sure it’s as Taiwanese as people say it is either. All in all we’re glad we went as it certainly gave us a wider view of the range of things on offer in Japan. It was time to say goodbye to Japan after 6 amazing weeks of wonderful and weird. From snow-capped mountains to tropical islands Japan has it all. I can’t say we loved every minute because traveling Japan on a budget can be hard work but it was always worth it. Japan is a fantastic country full of weird and wonderful surprises, ultra modern cities and ancient temples. Coupled with a wonderful cuisine Japan has it all. Best of all it is accessible on a budget as long as you are willing to work for it. |
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November 2018
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