Backpacking, Budget & Independent Travel Information for Southeast Asia

Sip milky iced tea while listening to melodic jazz from a street café. Haggle over homemade batik at a Malay fabric shop. Just a few reasons, says travel journalist Leigh-Anne Hunter, to ditch the beach for a day and wander through Phuket’s fascinating, but little-seen Old Quarter…

A lesson in chopstick history and etiquette for all fumbling foreigners. From Confucius to Bill Bryson, we explore the oldest, longest and unluckiest pair of chopsticks! If you’re concerned that you might starve rather than master the skill of the chopsticks, don’t fear, we’re here to help with all the chopstick dos and don’ts!

You always hear about the trekking, the night markets, the cooking courses and the street stalls of Chiang Mai, but take a second look and you’ll see so much more in this northern Thai town. Want to get away from the crowd at the Sunday Walking Street or blaring reggae and hip hop beats of Babylon Bar? Guest writer, Alana Morgan, takes a very different look at one of Thailand’s most popular cities…

If you’ve been to prison abroad, chances are you don’t consider that experience the highlight of your trip. However, a short stint in Cebu’s Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center has emerged as the exception to the rule thanks to the dancing inmates of CPDRC…

Planning a backpacking trip around South East Asia but worried about cockroach-infested hostels, rickety bamboo huts and crowded, noisy dorm rooms? Never fear! Times have certainly changed in South East Asia… and there are a variety of excellent accommodation options to suit every taste and budget! Every year, HostelBookers showcases the top hostels available, as judged by their customer ratings and feedback, and we have the results right here! Make sure you stay in one of these hostels during your trip…

You’ve crashed in dorm rooms all over Europe, sampled Couchsurfing in America and splashed out on a few boutique flashpacker hotels in Asia – so what next? If you fancy lingering a while longer in a particular city, or just want to experiment with a different type of accommodation experience – then you may like to check out a website we came across recently…

With Lonely Planet being sold by the BBC this week for a shocking £55 million loss, does this put the future of guidebooks into question? This happens in the same week that we hear Frommers guidebooks, born in 1957 with the groundbreaking ‘Europe on 5 dollars a day’, announce the decision that they will publish no more titles. So what do you think? What is the future of Lonely Planet and the travel guidebook in general? Is there still a place for the guidebook when you are planning your trip?

“Amongst mountains has always been a special place for me. When things seem confused or out of order, a walk in the mountains has always helped me to calm down and realise the insignificance of my man-made problems. Looking up at the high peaks piercing the clouds, their sheer beauty and grandeur makes me feel like a small part of an awesome natural order that is slowly unfolding out of my control.” When S.E.A Backpacker’s Editor, Nikki Scott, embarked on her first ever backpacking trip, her love of misty mountain tops led her to the magical Himalaya of Nepal and the highest peaks in the world…

Let’s face it – everyone loves a good festival. Live music, culture, yummy food stalls, blazing hot weather (unless we’re talking Glastonbury, of course… but hey, we’re in South East Asia!). Karen Farini, Deputy Editor of S.E.A Backpacker find out all about the tantalizing BaliSpirit Festival…

Last month, in an exciting partnership with our friends at Skyscanner, S.E.A Backpacker Magazine offered YOU the chance to win a flight to South East Asia for the trip of a lifetime! The prize was worth a whopping £1500 GBP or $2,400 USD! All you had to do was answer the question “Which Type of Traveller Are You?” in 50 words or less for the chance of winning. After receiving over 500 amazing entries, we reveal the WINNER…