Stats, Facts and Figures from 10 months travelling South East Asia!

For a while there I wasn't sure I'd ever be writing this blog. Not because I thought anything tragic would happen to us, but because I thought we might actually never leave South East Asia! Compared to our time in South America, we took it suuuuuper slow along the old "Banana Pancake trail" weaving our way across borders and meandering down the Mekong. 

We lost whole weeks chilling on islands and exploring hill tribe villages, and we ate enough delicious food to sustain a small nation! We witnessed wild elephants grazing in Thailand and trekked for hours to find the largest flower in the world, which actually turns out to be a stinky fungus.... booooo! We watched the sun set over hundreds of ancient temples in Bagan, Myanmar and  woke to the sunrise over Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

So, as we depart this incredible region of the world for our next destination, here are a few facts, figures and statistics from our travels through South East Asia. I hope you enjoy it and if you have any suggestions for stats we should be keeping as we head towards Africa, please let us know in the comments!

Also, for anyone who missed our "Stats, Facts and Figures from 6 months in South America" blog, you can find it here!

• Number of days spent in South East Asia = 278

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• Countries visited = 6 (Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam)

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• Number of rooms slept in = 91

• Longest stay in one place = Sarah’s 15 days at Ao Nang while Wade returned to Australia to work…. It’s a tough life but someone had to do it!

• Types of Accommodation = hotels, hostels, guest houses, dormitories, beach bungalows, village homestays, overnight buses

• Cheapest Accommodation = Vong Paseud Guesthouse, Champasak, Laos ($6.70)

• Most Expensive Accommodation = Samui Toggad Resort, Koh Samui, Thailand for a friends wedding ($63.70)

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• Number of Islands Visited = 14
  - Malaysia: Penang, Langkawi
  - Thailand: Koh Lipe, Koh Lanta, Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao
  - Laos: Don Det (Mekong River Islands)
  - Cambodia: Koh Rong
  - Vietnam: Cat Ba Island, Monkey Island, Vinpearl Island, Hon Mun

• Favourite Island = Koh Rong, Cambodia
  (Read all about this awesome island on our Koh Rong Travel Guide)

• Number of nights spent on Islands = 83

• Overnight buses = 7

• Longest bus trip = 16 hours Vientiane to Pakse, Laos

• Total Hours spent travelling on buses, planes, trains, tuk-tuks and boats = 370 hours

• Vehicles driven by us = 48 days on scooters, 2 days on e-bikes, 14 days on pushbikes, 4 days in kayaks

​​UNESCO World Heritage sites = 12

​(click on the blue links to see Photo Albums)

Cambodia:

• Angkor Temple Complex

 
Laos:

• Town of Luang Prabang
• Wat Phou and settlements within the Champasak cultural landscape

 
Malaysia:

• Melaka and Georgetown, Historic cities of the Straits of Melaka

 
Thailand:

• Historic City of Ayutthaya
• Historic Town of Sukhothai and associated towns
• Khao Yai Forest Complex

 
Vietnam:

• Complex of Hue Monuments
• Ha Long Bay
• Hoi An Ancient Town
• Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park
• Trang An Landscape Complex

• Favourite Ale = Beer Lao/draught beer in Myanmar

• Cheapest Ale = 40 cent mugs of draught beer in Myanmar

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• Tried and tested local spirits = Rice Wine…. Everywhere!

• Wade and Sarah’s favourite local dishes = too many to list! See photos below for some of our favourites!

• Favourite Street Food = Pao/Steamed pork buns

Photos: (clockwise from top left) Fish Amok - Cambodia, Pork Pao - Malaysia, Spicy Seafood Salad - Thailand, Cao Lau - Vietnam, Char Kway Taow - Malaysia, Hue Style Pork Soup - Vietnam, Local breakfast goodies in Myanmar, Khao Soi - Northern Thailand

• Scuba Dives by Wade = 13

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• Cooking Classes = 3  (Click here for our review of Pickles and Spices Cooking Class in Penang, Malaysia)

• Longest trek = Kalaw to Inle Lake 75km (Read all about it here!)

• Major Illnesses = 1. Sarah caught Dengue Fever in Thailand and had to return to Australia

• Robberies = 2 (against us, not by us just in case anyone was wondering!)

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• Months/Years of travel still to come = Only time will tell!!

​Well there you have it! We could rattle off statistics and numbers all day but we're trying to keep it interesting so like I said, if you have any you think would be a bit of fun or interesting during our time in Africa, let us know in the comments below!

In the meantime, if you missed our last stats blog, don't forget to check out our "Stats, Facts and Figures from 6 months travelling South America"!