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Solo Female Travel

You Might be a Backpacker in Southeast Asia if…

02/10/2013 by Kristin 34 Comments

Have you been a backpacker in Southeast Asia? Have you discussed, ’til you were blue in the face, what the proper name for sandals is?  Have you lamented a horrible shorts tan?  Have you experienced a terrible Changover after a night of too many buckets and beers?  Well, then, you may just be a backpacker in Southeast Asia if you identify with the aforementioned, and anything on this list:

1) You have a devastating tank top tan

2) You have had the tank top/singlet/vest debate ad nauseam

you might be a backpacker in southeast asia if
This? This is a tank top

3) You have seriously considered (or already have) dreadlocks

4) You wear the same clothes several days in a row with no shame whatsoever

5) You own an In the Tubing tank top that you bought out of necessity because you are out of clean clothing (and frankly, have been for quite some time)

you might be a backpacker in southeast asia if
Wearing it with pride

6) You know how to say “hello” and “thank you” in about ten different languages

7) You own a pair of fake Ray-Bans because you lost the pair you brought from home

you might be a backpacker in southeast asia if
Genuine fake Ray-Bans

8) You own a pair of fake Havaianas because you lost the pair of flip-flops (jandals/sandals/thongs) you brought from home

9) You have some kind of perpetual wound, whether from tripping on uneven concrete, getting burned from a flaming jumprope, or crashing a motorbike

you might be a backpacker in southeast asia if
Bumped, bruised, and awesome (and missing a toe?!)

10) You have come to embrace the bum gun

11) You are so used to having the entire room at your disposal during a shower that a western shower seems entirely too small and too contained

12) You have come across several menus that have struck fear into your very being

you might be a backpacker in southeast asia if
Let’s just hope something is lost in translation

13) You have come to add at least 30 minutes to the wait time any time you’re told “wait 5 minutes”

14) You have been a millionaire in several currencies

15) You have learned to add at least two hours to any time quote given for a bus journey

Have you backpacked around Southeast Asia? What do you have to add?

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Comments

  1. Christina says

    02/10/2013 at 11:48 am

    HAHA! Oh can’t wait to experience all of this…minus the deer feces..?

    Reply
    • Kristin Addis says

      02/11/2013 at 7:47 pm

      I still lose sleep wondering if they really eat feces.

      Reply
  2. Ashley of Ashley Abroad says

    02/11/2013 at 12:10 pm

    This was hilarious! INTESTINES IN THE FECES? Whaa?

    Reply
    • Kristin Addis says

      02/11/2013 at 7:46 pm

      I elected just to order a beverage at that establishment

      Reply
  3. Alana - Paper Planes says

    02/11/2013 at 7:35 pm

    #11 made me laugh 🙂

    Reply
    • Kristin Addis says

      02/11/2013 at 7:45 pm

      I now have hot water regularly, but a smaller shower in Australia. It’s a tradeoff, I’m not sure how I feel about it!

      Reply
      • Alana - Paper Planes says

        02/11/2013 at 7:59 pm

        At least your feet don’t get wet every time just going in to use the toilet! That still slightly annoys me sometimes…

        Reply
        • Kristin Addis says

          02/11/2013 at 8:06 pm

          oh, I just include that in the glaze of filth I find myself covered in while in that region of the world. Embrace it.

          When I lived in Taipei, since we were in a fixed location, we had flip flops we kept in the bathroom so that we could avoid wet feet 🙂

          Reply
  4. Kristin Addis says

    02/11/2013 at 7:46 pm

    oh DUH! I Beer Lao “my country, my beer”, and of course, the Chang beer shirt I rocked in almost every photo I took!

    Reply
  5. Lorenzo Gonzalez says

    02/11/2013 at 8:47 pm

    Haha This is ridiculously funny.. I love this Ava! Grrr, I mean, Kristin!

    Reply
    • Kristin Addis says

      02/11/2013 at 8:51 pm

      Keeping you on your toes, Lorenzo!

      Reply
  6. Far East Flashpacker says

    02/12/2013 at 8:29 am

    absolutely true! we have experienced the motorbike accident in Ko Phangan!

    Reply
    • Kristin Addis says

      02/18/2013 at 4:00 am

      OH massive bummer! I feel lucky to have evaded accidents so far. Scary!

      Reply
  7. Britany Robinson says

    02/12/2013 at 11:53 am

    Ha… yup! These things all make me miss it!! I’ll add… You’ve eaten some sort of bug, just to be able to say that you did.

    Reply
    • Kristin Addis says

      02/18/2013 at 4:00 am

      I came so close to eating a cricket in Chiang Mai, then chickened out…no literally, had chicken instead.

      Reply
  8. JustChuckinIt says

    02/12/2013 at 7:32 pm

    HA! This is great. I cannot WAIT to hit SE Asia this summer, I’m working my ass off for it now. I’m sure I’ll be able to relate to plenty of this. I already went through the “Wearing the same thing with no shame” and “Wanting dreadlocks” in New Zealand.

    Reply
    • Kristin Addis says

      02/18/2013 at 4:00 am

      When this summer? I’ll be around too!

      Reply
  9. JustOneBoomer says

    02/12/2013 at 9:22 pm

    So, did those motorcycle crash wounds belong to anyone to whom I gave birth? (BTW, go easy on the “feces in the intestines”. My life experience tells me that you can, in fact, have too much of a good thing.

    Reply
    • Kristin Addis says

      02/18/2013 at 4:01 am

      Literally laughed out loud. No, those wounds were from another friend. Seems to be a common issue!

      Reply
  10. Larry Waight says

    02/13/2013 at 12:09 pm

    Hahahah I love this!!!

    Reply
    • Kristin Addis says

      02/18/2013 at 4:01 am

      Thanks much 🙂

      Reply
  11. Peter Lee says

    02/15/2013 at 5:19 am

    Love this post and these fake Ray-Ban looking pretty cool. :P#13 point is really a bad thing. I hate waiting. 🙁

    Reply
    • Kristin Addis says

      02/18/2013 at 4:01 am

      But it WILL teach you patience!

      Reply
      • Peter Lee says

        02/19/2013 at 12:33 am

        Are you such pretty..??

        Reply
  12. Caitlyn O'Dowd says

    02/21/2013 at 7:47 am

    Love it! Have many of these, including a massive scar from scraping against a garbage bag in Vietnam that just so happened to have a huge bit of glass poking out 🙁

    Reply
    • Kristin Addis says

      02/25/2013 at 11:31 pm

      Ooooh don’t you just love wondering what glass from a garbage bin might have infected you with? Such a fun game to play on the road 🙂

      Reply
  13. Far East Flashpacker says

    02/22/2013 at 10:12 am

    Flashpacker is the way to travel! We experience it, we breathe it, we leave it!

    Reply
    • Kristin Addis says

      02/25/2013 at 11:31 pm

      I’m down with the flash pack

      Reply
  14. ChasinJason13 says

    11/12/2014 at 11:33 am

    I’ve done enough traveling in Central Europe/Mexico/Philippines to understand many of these from experience and I’m looking forward to becoming another tank top tan statistic next year. I enjoy your articles immensely,hopefully we’ll run into each other on the road.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      11/12/2014 at 2:18 pm

      Thanks dude! I love the tank top tan statistic.

      Reply
  15. Mary OSullivan says

    02/06/2017 at 4:17 am

    I am 60 and have just backpacked through Cambodia/Vietnam for 8 weeks-what a brilliant time I had , loved Cambodia and the people ( who said anything about climate change ) they’re not worried, went on motorbikes, tuck tucks , night buses , day buses .etc / Also Vietnam was a wonderful place and I want to revisit the north again just didn’t get enough time . I would encourage anybody in there senior years to get out there and experience!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      02/09/2017 at 6:43 am

      That’s awesome Mary. Glad you enjoyed your time there!

      Reply
  16. Julie says

    11/18/2018 at 7:41 am

    OMG Kristin you always crack me up!! You nailed them all. I fit every description with pride. Also since when are flip flops called slippers? When I think slippers I think over sized fluffy animal slippers that my grandma got me for Christmas.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      11/18/2018 at 12:36 pm

      I know same and a vest to me will always be like a tuxedo vest.

      Reply

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