Skyscanner Competition! And the Winner of The Trip of a Lifetime is…

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...

Continue reading...

Party Hotspots: Koh Phangan – Don’t Miss Rhythm & Sands Festival, 24th January

Spending the festive season on Koh Phangan was never going to be your average chill-out affair, but even for party-fiends like us, the mere thought of a massive three-stage rave-up on the January 2nd (yes, the second of January) seemed… well. A bit… much? Could we handle it? Well, just a tiny peek at the lineup of Rhythm and Sands gave us our answer pretty sharpish: Hell, yes – we could. And was it worth it? Travel writer, Karen Farini finds out...

Continue reading...

The Gap Year Fear! Taking the plunge into the unknown. In need of a safety net?

Deep in your heart you know that taking a gap year is the thing you want to do most in the world – yet you can’t quite bring yourself to make the jump. What if you never do? Can you imagine if you’d never had that first driving lesson or very first date? Sometimes, all you need is a gentle push, a helping hand; support; a good safety net, something to set you on the path to an experience of a lifetime…

Continue reading...

Off the Beaten Track: Conquering Vietnam’s Highest Peak, Mount Fansipan!

There are many incredible opportunities for trekking in South East Asia, from Malaysia's mighty Kinabalu to Indonesia's steaming volcanoes. English backpacker, Selena Black climbs to the wild peak of Vietnam's highest mountain, the rugged Mount Fansipan, and lives to tell the tale...

Continue reading...

How To Write About S.E. Asia – Your Definitive Guide To Travel Writing!

So you're backpacking around the world, the sights, sounds and smells filling your senses, wishing you could put it into words... Follow our template to write about your trip like a pro travel writer!

Continue reading...

Top 15 South East Asian Signs!

Classic South East Asian signs can leave a lot to the imagination when some of the message is lost in translation! We've compiled a Top 15 to make you smile, chuckle, tut, shake your head, fear, pity, worry and most of all - laugh!

Continue reading...

South East Asian Super Fruits – Eating For Great Health S.E.A Backpacker Style!

South East Asia's 'Super' fruits cure and prevent all sorts of ailments and diseases, and even contain bonus aphrodisiac properties! The exotic fruits that grow in this tropical climate can do you nothing but good. Here's the lowdown on what fruit does what for your body...

Continue reading...

S.E.A Faces & Places: Interview with Ayurvedic Practitioner, Kimmana

As conversations between backpackers begin to include Ayurvedic buzzwords such as "dosha", "five elements" and - heaven forbid - "fasting", we catch up with an Ayurvedic practitioner, to unscramble the mystery of this ancient Eastern tradition of medicine...

Continue reading...

Stitched up in Hoi An! Welcome to Vietnam’s Fashion Capital…

London, Paris, New York, Milan... Hoi An! There's quaint little town on the central coast of Vietnam, home to a unique and extremely addictive shopping experience... Here you can have any item of clothing or footwear tailor made for a tiny fraction of what you’d pay in the West – is it even possible to resist at least a couple of small purchases (even if it means lugging them around the whole of South East Asia in your already overstuffed backpack)? S.E.A Backpacker Magazine Editor, Nikki Scott was up for the challenge!

Continue reading...

S.E.A Backpacker Top 20 Inspirational Travel Quotes

Do you still need a gentle nudge to take the backpacking leap? Just for you we’ve compiled twenty of the very best inspirational travel quotes of all time in the hope that one of them will resonate enough with you to kick-start the journey of your dreams…

Continue reading...