Oh The Places You'll Go: Traveling Southeast Asia

During a semester abroad you don't realize how fast time is moving until it's too late. We were determined to take full advantage of our five months in Thailand, hoping to see and experience as much of Southeast Asia as possible. As always, there was too much to do and too little time. I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to spend time in Krabi (Thailand), Siem Reap (Cambodia), Bagan (Myanmar), and several cities in Vietnam.

There are many places that we didn’t have time to visit and as a result, a few students decided to extend their time in Asia to travel more after our program ended. If there is one thing I regret about my semester abroad, it was booking a plane ticket home. I had booked a round-trip airfare instead of a one-way, not anticipating I would be able to be away from my family for longer than five months.

One warning that must be made about Asia: the second you go there, you will never be the same.

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA
We spent one of our long weekends traveling to Siem Reap to visit the famous Angkor Wat—the largest religious monument in the world and the location Angelina Jolie's movie Tomb Raider was filmed. We woke up early to catch the sunrise outside of the main temple and spent the rest of the day riding around in a Tuk-Tuk to explore.

 
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BAGAN & YANGON, MYANMAR (BURMA)
If you can only cross off one destination from your bucket list for the rest of your life, let it be Bagan. The ancient Burmese city is home to over 4,000 pagodas. Since Burma has just recently opened its doors to the world of tourism, everything we encountered was genuine and true to the Burmese culture. We spent the weekend riding our bikes through dirt paths and climbing pagodas to watch the hot air balloons rise with the sun. We also traveled to Yangon, the capital, to visit the beautiful Shwedagon Pagoda.

 
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VIETNAM
We spent our two-week spring break traveling Vietnam. We spent time in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Sapa, Cat Ba Island, and Ha Long Bay. The traffic in Ho Chi Minh City is a little intimidating, to say the least–it’s like a real-life game of Frogger. The locals we encountered were nothing less than welcoming, laughing as we attached ourselves to their group to cross the street. Spending time in the War Remnants Museum, we learned about history from a different perspective and our experience there was nothing shy of emotional.

 
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KRABI, THAILAND
Picturesque white sand beaches, limestone cliffs towering over the shimmering ocean, all different beautiful shades of blue. Krabi was filled with landscapes you only dream about—scenes from a movie you thought had to be photoshopped. We kicked off our first day with a boat tour of four islands, snorkeling over shipwrecks and coral reefs. The next day we covered up our sun-burned bodies and tried our hand at rock climbing the limestone cliffs and kayaking through caves. We stumbled upon quiet, hidden beaches where the only noise was the ocean rattling the sea shells like a wind chime.

 
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CHIANG MAI, THAILAND
Last but not least: Chiang Mai, Thailand. The place I will call home for years after returning to the U.S. Southeast Asia is filled with magnificent countries to visit, but don't forget about Chiang Mai. Take full advantage of the Sunday Night Walking Street, the kindness of the locals, the different temples, the 7/11 toasties, and everything in between.

 
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Our time living in Southeast Asia was far too short but we made the most of it. We left with an infinite amount of memories, new friends, and no real regrets. Do your research on the different places you'd like to visit before your time in Thailand and then get out there and make it happen.

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