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My trip was in September and October, the end of the rainy season for most of Southeast Asia. There were occasional afternoon downpours, but fewer tourists meant cheaper accommodation and more availability. I quickly discovered that a room with a private bathroom in a hostel was always more expensive than one in a local guesthouse, so I opted to stay in small boutique hotels at the start of my trip, except for two nights at The Yard, an excellent backpacker hostel in Bangkok.
Use booking.com or agoda.com to book your first night or two before you arrive in your new destination, then look for alternatives or negotiate directly with the accommodation if you want to extend.
Traveling solo is the best way to meet other travelers.
Most major cities have free (tip-based) walking tours that are great for getting your bearings and initial advice. After that, I use getyourguide.com or tripadvisor.com to research more specialized tours. Often you can get a better price on a tour by finding the underlying operator's website and going direct.
As expected, the most exciting change since my last backpacking trip is now having internet access on my phone thanks to a cheap local SIM. Google Maps is a lifesaver not only for directions but also for reviews of attractions and restaurants. As well as Grab, the most popular ride-sharing app in the region. The website 12go.asia is also very helpful for booking train and bus tickets.
The downside to all this technology is that it's easy to waste your trip glued to your phone rather than interacting with people or enjoying the scenery. This is a perpetual challenge for modern travelers, and it's not an easy fix. One rule I find helpful is to not use your phone while eating or waiting for a ride. It's a simple command that encourages you to be more focused and engaged.
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The benefits of solo travel are often touted – freedom, flexibility, lack of compromise – but being an older traveller also has its perks: Not only do you feel more confident, more capable and more comfortable with yourself, you also tend to care less about what other people think.
One day, while visiting a picturesque blue lagoon outside Vang Vieng, Laos, I observed the interactions of a group of young British backpackers: The boys had been boasting all morning, trying to impress the girls, but the girls seemed far more interested in gossiping and taking the perfect selfie.
I reminisce about those days but don't miss them for even a moment. With no one to entertain or impress, I can soak up the stunning beauty of the lagoon and its dramatic setting at the base of towering limestone cliffs.
Enjoy the beauty around you without needing to be impressed by anyone.
Older travelers usually have a bigger budget, so they can hop in a taxi if necessary, dine in fine restaurants, and splash out on the more expensive experiences that are often the most memorable, like a sunrise hot air balloon flight over Vang Vieng's dramatic mountainous landscape.
Instead of taking a cheap slow boat full of backpackers along the Mekong from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang, I decided to upgrade to a more comfortable vessel with premium operator Siong Phu Cruises and join a lovely mother-daughter duo from Spain.
The downside to traveling solo in the off-season is that many tours require a minimum of two people, meaning you might miss out on some activities. Still, that feels like a small sacrifice for the alluring freedom and flexibility that solo travel offers.
There’s no need for me to gush about the wealth of incredible attractions and experiences Southeast Asia has to offer, from the temples of Thailand and the spectacular landscapes of Laos to the ancient kingdoms and heartbreaking history of Cambodia.
The most memorable part of any trip may be the journey itself.
While sites like the vast ruins of Ayutthaya and the temples of Angkor Wat were as impressive as expected, they are not my most cherished memories. What I hold most fondly is the journey itself, from the jarring noise of a third-class train from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi to the high-tech rumble of the new Chinese-built high-speed train from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng.
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Another highlight is a local bus journey from Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong, dodging potholes, with frequent stops to collect everything from car parts to karaoke speakers, then cycling through Laos' bright green countryside to visit lagoons and waterfalls, past farmers tending to their clattering cows and rustic villages with shy, waving children.
And of course, there are the fun interactions with a diverse cast of people from around the world: an enlightening hour-long discussion with Mop, a 20-year-old Buddhist monk at Wat Chedi Luang in Chiang Mai; and a bizarre exchange with a drunk local policeman at a Kanchanaburi night market, who keeps asking me to show him photos of his recent arrest.
Author Rob McFarland with Mop, a Buddhist monk at Wat Chedi Luang in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
A couple of German YouTubers who just arrived in Thailand after driving around European countries. A wandering yogi from Ukraine, a group of six chain-smoking Koreans, an aspiring Zambian influencer, and a sweet and earnest Japanese guy who climbed with me up the steep slope of Vang Vieng lookout point. Most of them I will never see again, but some of them I have already met. The German guy I met on a tour in Siem Reap later came to visit me in Sydney. Now I have a place to stay in Kassel city.
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Predictably, most of the travellers I meet are in their 20s and 30s, but there are a few exceptions. On the first night of my trip, I chatted to a British couple in their 50s at the bar of The Yard hostel in Bangkok. They fled the UK during the pandemic and are now living in Chiang Mai, using it as a base to explore the region. “We're having the time of our lives,” Andy says. “If you have the money and health, your 50s are the golden age to travel.”
The writer traveled at his own expense.
