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the best places in Asia for a single female traveller???

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Need some advice on travelling in Asia
13 years ago, November 29th 2010 No: 1 Msg: #123930  
Hi guys!
I'm planning a month trip to Asia in February. The idea came a couple of weeks ago so nothing arranged yet. Any suggestions where would be the best to go for a single female traveller? Hoping to visit at least 2 countries. Any advice on what to do and what to avoid? Any tips for accommodation/transport or just anything related much appreciated!!! Really tight on time for planning... Reply to this

13 years ago, November 30th 2010 No: 2 Msg: #123940  
B Posts: 11.5K
Hi Anna,

Welcome to TravelBlog.

I've travelled as a single female only to Japan, HK, South Korea and Thailand - but never had any safety concerns in any of those countries.

The main thing to consider would be budget, as there can be a big difference in the cost of living between countries. SE Asia would be the cheapest area in the region.

How long do you have in total for the trip, and where will you be departing from? Reply to this

13 years ago, November 30th 2010 No: 3 Msg: #123957  
Hi!

I will be departing from England-Manchester or London. I'm hoping for relatively low cost holidays so definitely thinking of SE Asia region. I will have about 4 weeks, maybe can stretch it up to 5.

I've been to HK and Singapore before and it was absolutely fine. I would really love to go to Thailand or Malaysia but my Malaysian friend told me it's quite dangerous to travel in there on my own so it put me off a bit. And now I'm thinking whether it's better to go to other countries in that area instead. Reply to this

13 years ago, December 1st 2010 No: 4 Msg: #124042  
Hello Anna 😊

Thailand is the only country in the world where I have never experienced sexual harassment, so I recommend it if you want someplace exotic, but without the usual hassles female travellers face.

In Thailand busses are the best way to get around, because they are generally efficient, frequent and inexpensive.

I generally stay in guesthouses, when I am there. They start from around 4 Euros a room for the budget ones, but you can get very nice ones for the price you would pay for an average hotel room in Europe.

For whatever country you choose, get a Lonely Planet guide for it. They are invaluable for the information and advice they provide, especially the safety and health information.

If you are planning on 2 countries, you could get a Lonely Planet book that covers a number of countries like 'South East Asia on a Shoestring', by Lonely Planet.

Mel Reply to this

13 years ago, December 1st 2010 No: 5 Msg: #124043  

I would really love to go to Thailand or Malaysia but my Malaysian friend told me it's quite dangerous to travel in there on my own so it put me off a bit. And now I'm thinking whether it's better to go to other countries in that area instead.


It is not too dangerous for you to go there, in my opinion. Thailand is the safer of the two, id say. The biggest dangers are thefts. Just be careful with you belongings. Have a wallet that you wear under your clothes and conceal camera and all valuables when walking around. Snatch theives who try to grab shoulder bags are the biggest nuisance, in my opinion, but once you are not carrying anything they can easily grab, they arent really a danger.

I was in both Thailand and Malaysia for 7 weeks this year with my 9 year old daughter. We had almost no trouble. The only problem we had was a petty thief in a hostel. I have made a few blogs about the trip, which you can look at if you want.

Reply to this

13 years ago, December 2nd 2010 No: 6 Msg: #124078  
1 posts moved to this new topic: Chinese Reply to this

13 years ago, December 2nd 2010 No: 7 Msg: #124090  
Hi! No doubt about it that Asian travel is quite cheap but you need to plan your trip carefully so as to avoid any awkward circumstances. As you are traveling alone and a female so as per my viewpoint you should go for backpackers hostel accommodation. These hostels have plenty of travelers from all around the world and you can easily find a good company. Wish you a lovely trip. The two amazing Asian countries which I like the most having loads of attractions are Thialand and India. Reply to this

13 years ago, December 2nd 2010 No: 8 Msg: #124093  
Hey!

Thanks all of you guys for your thoughts 😊 I'm pretty sure Thailand will be one of my choices then. have to think about the other one. Maybe Indonesia... For some reason I don't feel like going to India, but maybe should read about it a bit more-I might change my mind 😊 Reply to this

13 years ago, December 17th 2010 No: 9 Msg: #124867  
Hello Anna, im leni from indonesia, and you are
welcome in my hometown, anytime you have a chance to
visit it. but i live in a traditional village, not a modern live. and also simple life.here you can see many things, mountain lake,terrace rice fields, cows racing attraction, where you only can find this attraction in my area, the cows race in the middle of the muddy rice field. this is the villages game that held after harvest and before plantation time so if you are interesting to come, of course i will show you around my place if im not busy, dont worry its save here, the peoples are friendly.
. since then take care and see you
Ups if you are interesting to visit my village you can contact me in <snip>. cause some times i dont open my computer often.
you can see some photo's from this site.
<snip>

Greeting from Minangkabau
West sumatera - indonesia
Leni
Reply to this

13 years ago, December 18th 2010 No: 10 Msg: #124924  
Hi Anna,

I am also going to be travelling around SE Asia and as a young female I also have some concerns, I think the main thing is to be sensible, and definitely plan ahead, one thing I am looking at doing is voluntary work through "Gap year for Grown ups" as im 32 lol they have things like repairing schools in Thailand from anything from 3 weeks to 12 weeks, which I think will be a great way to meet people and settle in the country before I go off trekking. I have recently been told from my employer (of 10 years!!) that they will be making us redundant in April, so I have no time limit but obviously I will have to be careful with my budget, that’s why I also think SE Asia will be best as it is cheaper. I would like to do Thailand first then, Cambodia and Vietnam, I have a friend who is currently travelling through those countries and he said he is having an amazing time.

Well I hope you have a great trip just a shame im not going till April or we could have met for a beer 😊

All the best

Julie (Glasgow)

Reply to this

13 years ago, December 20th 2010 No: 11 Msg: #125041  
Hi Anna,
I am Australian and own a booking agency in Bali. Bali is the most beautiful place in South East Asia in my opinion and the people are the most genuine and lovely. That's why I set up shop here. We are a free service and we just reccommend places for you to stay and go. We can help you out with anything you need. Because we take bookings for hotels and villas and market them, we get the cheapest rates and they pay us so you just get discounts and that's it! 😊 I don't want to be the guy who's bombing a blog with advertising but I thought I could offer some advice perhaps that may be of some help.
To throw a spanner in the works, my favourite time to go to Bali is January/February. OK so dry season is mid year yes and we all know that's the time to go. I used to love Kuta during this time when I was 16 chasing girls who just wore cutoff jean shorts and bintang singlets but now I am over that scene and try to avoid extreme crowds so January February suits me perfect when there's still plenty of tourists but not quite as crazy and hectic. Here's what it's like in the wet season, it doesn't just rain constantly. The average day will be warm and sunny and if you live at the beach you will tan up and start looking like an indonesian! In the evening, sit on your balcony and watch the thunder storm clouds roll in.. The most tremendous lightning shows on the planet! Then yes, it will bucket down with rain for a couple of hours which is excellent because it cools everything down and then it moves on. If you get caught in it it's just life and you can duck into a bar or whatever and wait till it clears. Or what normally happening is there will miraculously be umbrella salesmen everywhere and you can buy an umbrella for a couple of dollars but really the rain comes and goes. So you get the sunshine with the thunderstorms. The whole place feels alive and I just love it.

With regards to "Is it dangerous?" Bali is one place on earth where I feel completely safe. The Balinese are as upset as we are about what happened in the past. I always partied at the club which got bombed and I had friends in Bali at the time so it's close to home for me too but I know for a fact this was a random incident by a bunch of extremists. Since then there has been major security measures put in place in Bali as there has been throughout the world. This doesn't make me feel as safe as I do just because the people there as a whole have a loving and peaceful nature. You should concern yourself with something else from now on because you will be safe in Bali. Of course people who look for trouble can find it anywhere but in general you'll be fine. Also, if you did contact us, my crew in Bali would pick you up from the airport for free and drop you at your hotel or backpackers and make sure you are ok. They will tell you where to go and where not to and show you around if you wanted them to.

Also one more thing to note on time of year, In the "off season" everything is cheaper including accommodation, a fair bit cheaper too which we all like. Remember if you are a surfer the bigger swells are in the peak season (mid year) but you will get waves all year round. You will of course see Kuta Beach and the tourism centre there, ten minutes north of that is Seminyak which is more boutiquey shops and cafes. In the south West you have Dreamland area mainly for surfers and Uluwatu temple where the monkeys are everywhere. If it's your first time, driving is scary. Take a couple of days to get used to the roads and then hire a scooter if you're brave and just do everything slow and you should be ok. Or hire a driver to take you around for the day for about $20-$30 including car and driver. Then you can go up to Ubud inland a bit and check out the art capital and rivers and mountain. There are hundreds of places to stay in Bali, each one different. We normally get the cheapest contract rates and can hook you up for whatever your budget.
My favourite place in Bali which you just must go and see is heading West from Denpasar about an hour and a half away a little place called Medewi. Just like what all of Bali was like 25 years ago, amazing. Expect to pay from $30 per night there for accommodation and then everything else costs next to nothing. Medewi is just a small beach in the middle of nowhere which is a great place to try surfing for the first time if there in the off season and the people are incredible. Unparralleled sunsets over the Indian Ocean and a spiritual sense that cannot be explained here. Get over there and enjoy it! I wish I could show you around. I hope this helps. <snip>
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13 years ago, December 20th 2010 No: 12 Msg: #125047  
Not a female, but SE Asia seems as safe for a single traveling female as anywhere else. Biggest worry are the male travelers. I know males. They can be jerks.

'sheeed Reply to this

13 years ago, December 23rd 2010 No: 13 Msg: #125188  
Baikonur visit logistics
I was at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Dec 14th-17th 2010 for the Soyuz TMA-20 launch. (Here's a highlight summary .) If you don't find spaceships and rockets interesting, this is definitely the wrong trip for you. But if you do, it's a really great experience.

Baikonur visit logistics are a little arcane, so I've written up a few notes on what I learned about flights, entry formalities, tour companies, etc. and posted it at <snip>

If you are planning a Baikonur visit and have any other questions, send me a note and I'll try my best to answer!
<snip>
Reply to this

13 years ago, December 28th 2010 No: 14 Msg: #125408  
S Posts: 49
I vote for Vietnam. You should visit. The famous destinations: Hanoi city, Halong bay, Sapa, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Mui Ne, Cu Chi tunnel, Ho Chi Minh city... Reply to this

13 years ago, January 5th 2011 No: 15 Msg: #125923  
Hi Anna and Julie,

I will be in Cambodia from Feb 1st to 7th, maybe go to Thailand from Cambodia on Feb 5th and back to Vietnam on Feb 8th.
And until April, my friend and I will be back Thailand one week.
Hope see you, Anna in Cambodia if you plan there and see Julie in Thailand as well.
If you need any information about Vietnam before you go, I wish I could show you some helpful, Julie.
Happy New Year all of you! Reply to this

13 years ago, January 26th 2011 No: 16 Msg: #127441  
Hi all!
Thank you for all your post. Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to reply regularly. Now the work rush is over, it's time for proper planning.

I decided to go to Thailand and Malaysia. Trip starting 15th Feb and lasting nearly 5 weeks. I realised my trip without these countries wouldn't be satisfying enough, will have to leave the others for next time.

A couple of friends are joining me for the first 2 weeks so the plan is to stay 10 days in Thailand and then move to Malaysia. Once I'm on my own, I'm planning to explore the country a bit, hoping to make it to Borneo. Was thinking about Philippines as well, but might not have enough time-I'll see how it goes.

Any recommendations as to accommodation and places to visit in these two countries? I also have to buy a flight ticket out of Thailand (unfortunately polish nationals are required a proof of that on arrival...). I was thinking of flying form Phuket to Kuala Lumpur so I don't waste time on going back to Bangkok. But maybe any other suggestions?

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13 years ago, January 27th 2011 No: 17 Msg: #127501  
B Posts: 897
Great choice with your circumstances Anna - Thailand has always been a safe place for me as a solo female problem and have never had any problems at all even in downtown bangkok or phuket....I tend to stay away from Pattaya. Regards Bali - I have to be honest and say while I love Indonesia and am a frequent diver on the islands I have had a tout grab me aggressively in Kuta - but on Lembongan island I can be out late at night having dinner with fellow divers and come back to find worried staff waiting up for me..its the same simple logic as you would apply at home, do your research, theres plenty of advice here and stay out of areas where trouble happens.

I have way too much time on my hands so read local papers like the cambodia daily and the bangkok post etc and have noticed trends in certain areas. In 2009 I stayed in Kata solo and never for a second felt threatened or intimidated other than by an overzealous tailor who was quickly sorted out by the woman running the restaurant next door when I told her. IF you find yourself in a situation that makes you vaguely uneasy..tell someone, and get out. Trust your gut feeling. Kata to me is a sleepy village away from the hustle of Patong if you are in Phuket..yet it has been the scene of a recent spate of attacks including the rape and murder of a swiss woman. By reading the local online papers ive found out nearby Karon beach has had two tourists drown in a day and another two end up in hospital....so things seem to have changed a little there. Have a read of a local online paper if you can find one.

Why not buy your Phuket to KL ticket and then grab a connecting flight to Sarawak or Sabah..it depends on what your interests are - just a word of advice. If you do fly air asia and land in phuket with a view of going to borneo, book your flight to borneo at least 4 hours in advance of check in time just to be on the safe side. Having been caught this way before I now work on a 7 hour rule of thumb for a connecting flight out of Phuket to KL before booking anything to Borneo. Have fun!! Reply to this

13 years ago, February 3rd 2011 No: 18 Msg: #128013  
Out of all the Asian countries, I never felt safer then I did in Japan. I lived there for 3 years and I never had any kind of harassment while I was there. I walked home alone at night all the time and never so much as had a tingle at the back of my neck.

I went to Malaysia with another friend and we were fine and nobody bothered us and everybody was pretty friendly. Singaporeans have to be some of the friendliest people. Head there while your in Malaysia. The hospitality of the people is amazing.

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13 years ago, February 3rd 2011 No: 19 Msg: #128069  
Hey there, I'll be flying to Bangkok Feb 18th, and will be heading down to Phuket a few days after that.....any chance that you and your friends would like to meet up?

Thanks you!
Amy Reply to this

13 years ago, February 3rd 2011 No: 20 Msg: #128112  
Thanks again for the info, all really valuable to me.

Kathryn, i've been to Singapore before so i will skip it this time, although I wouldn't mind going there again if i had more time. And Japan I think is too expensive for me 😞 I'd love to go though.

Amy, we leave Bangkok very early on 19th and fly to Phuket. I don't think we will stay there long as we have limited time and after little research we realised there are many more beautiful places around, Phuket not really my cup of tea I think, but we will see. (many people said it's the worst of what Thailand has to offer). At the moment we're planning max 2 days in there and then to nearby islands, after that heading to Krabi as we're flying from there to KL on 28th. Have you planned where ypu're gonna be after Phuket, or you're going to stay there for a bit? Reply to this

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