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You haven’t truly experienced Southeast Asia until you’re caught in the middle of some elaborate transportation scheme. After spending a lovely morning in Ijen with Leo, we figured the guy was genuinely nice and had our backs. So we asked him to help us find …

Since the Israelis and I had the same itinerary planned, we decided to travel together from Cemoro Lawang to Mount Ijen to Bali. Our van driver from the previous day had cut a deal with us and the Germans to pick us up from our …

After spending the evening hiking up to Mount Bromo’s crater for the sunset, our group of five jolly hikers got out of bed at 3am and set off to hike up Mount Penanjakan to get a view of Mount Bromo during the sunrise. Most people get …

I caught the two hour train ride from Surabaya to Probolinggo, which was delightfully uneventful and braced myself for the craziness that would be catching a ride from Probolinggo to Cemoro Lawang, the closest village to Mount Bromo. You guys, the internet exaggerates. The process …

Dubbed “The Historic State,” Melaka’s position on the Malaysian peninsula made it a key location for warehousing and trade, particularly with the Chinese. Like most of Malaysia, the Hindu, Chinese, Burmese, and Muslim inhabitants peacefully coexisted up until the Portuguese invaded the city in 1511, …

Something that kept coming up as I planned my trip to Indonesia is the belief that locals will try to get away with charging tourists way more than whatever the goods or services you’re trying to buy are actually worth. I’ve made it a habit …

It was 3am when I rolled out of bed, threw on some clothes, and stumbled onto the hostel’s patio to wait for the van to pick me up. The agenda? Watch the sunrise over Borobudur Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the world. Built in …

The initial sheen of travel has started to wear off, and I’m thinking more about how I want to spend the next year. I landed in Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia on Tuesday and decided to stay until Sunday, not because Jogja is a particularly interesting city …

Port Barton is an idyllic beach town situated three hours north of Puerto Princesa and two hours south of El Nido on the island of Palawan, Philippines. Known for being a backpacker’s paradise, Port Barton is the perfect place to go when you want to …

I know, I know. I left the Philippines almost two weeks ago. When will I stop posting about it? Well, I promise this is one of two more posts I have about the island (for this trip, anyway). Getting to Dumaguete from Cebu Dumaguete is …