My Nepal ~ Southeast Asia Backpacking Trip through Instagram

If this is what contentment feels then I want this for the rest of my life, I whispered to myself as I watch the sunrise from the rooftop of our guest house in a quiet area of Dhulikel in Nepal.

I woke up at around four in the morning, couldn’t sleep and just thought of doing some laundry work. Struggling with the freezing water, I successfully finished the job in two hours and witnessed what might be a typical sunrise for some but at that exact moment I finally realized what I’ve been yearning for; the liberty of being able to experience the life beyond the comforts of my own little space in the world.

Twenty four days on the road may just be fleeting to some but for me it’s such an achievement; I’ve never dreamed of embarking on this trip but then the circumstances perfectly suited with everything that happened. Being a government employee with meager means to support this kind of trip, let alone myself, I consider this journey to be a privilege and a turning point of what I really wanted to do in my life. For the first time in my life, I knew what direction I’m going to take with the conviction of pursuing it.

Day One: Claypot Chicken ~ Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Day Two: "Blissfulgaro" ~ Kathmandu, Nepal

Day Three: Trucker Guro! ~ Kathmandu, Nepal

Day Four: Quaint ~ Dhulikhel, Nepal

Day Five: "Some people want quantity and goodness, I want quality and greatness"
- Purna Man Shrestha of Nawaranga Guesthouse and Art Gallery. ~ Dhulikhel, Nepal

Day Six: Best View in Bhaktapur Right Outside Our Window ~ Bhaktapur, Nepal

Day Seven: Bhaktapur Sunset ~ Bhaktapur, Nepal

Day Eight: Early Morning Scene ~ Bhaktapur, Nepal

Day Nine: Tambay ~ Bhaktapur, Nepal

Day Ten: Nepali Thali Meal and Buff Steak! ~ Pokhara, Nepal

Day Eleven: 'Coz We're Too Lazy to Paddle ~ Pokhara, Nepal

Day Twelve: Roti + Omelet Curry + Egg Masala = Happiness ~ Kathmandu, Nepal

Day Thirteen: Infinity Pool Overlooking Chao Phraya River for a Change ~ Bangkok, Thailand

Day Fourteen: Ano 'Yung Pagod?! ~ Bangkok, Thailand

Day Fifteen: Chill ~ Pattaya, Thailand

Day Sixteen: Ayutthaya ~ Ayutthaya, Thailand

Day Seventeen: Splurge ~ Bangkok, Thailand

Day Eighteen: 48,000 Merienda ~ Siem Reap, Cambodia

Day Nineteen: Temple Run ~ Siem Reap, Cambodia

Day Twenty: Saltwater Pool is Love ~ Siem Reap, Cambodia

Day Twenty One: Rock & Roll 16-Hour Sleeper Bus ~ In Transit

Day Twenty Two: Vietcong ~ Dia Dao Cu Chi, Vietnam

Day Twenty Three: Just Go ~ Mekong River, Vietnam

Day Twenty Four: If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading - Gautama Buddha

The trip had two segments; the Nepal leg and the Southeast Asia leg. My buddy was in charge during the first leg (I did no research at all) while I took care of the next leg (we had two other companions for this one). The plan was to check out some interesting sights on five different countries with no fixed itinerary:

Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)

Nepal (Kathmandu, Dhulikhel, Bhaktapur, Pokhara)

Thailand (Bangkok, Pattaya)

Cambodia (Siem Reap)

Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh)

Day 1 – Manila to Kuala Lumpur

Day 2 – Kuala Lumpur to Kathmandu

Day 3 – Kathmandu

Day 4 – Kathmandu to Dhulikhel

Day 5 – Dhulikhel

Day 6 – Dhulikhel to Bhaktapur

Day 7 – Bhaktapur

Day 8 – Bhaktapur

Day 9 – Bhaktapur to Pokhara

Day 10 –Pokhara

Day 11 – Pokhara to Kathmandu

Day 12 – Kathmandu to Kuala Lumpur

Day 13 – Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok

Day 14 – Bangkok to Pattaya

Day 15 – Pattaya to Bangkok

Day 16 – Bangkok

Day 17 – Bangkok

Day 18 – Bangkok to Siem Reap

Day 19 – Siem Reap

Day 20 – Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh

Day 21 – Ho Chi Minh

Day 22 – Ho Chi Minh

Day 23 – Ho Chi Minh

Day 24 – Ho Chi Minh to Manila

Everything went well and we’re just too happy that we came back home in one piece. Some arguments over here and conflicts over there but the differences didn’t win over our desire to explore and experience more.

Returning home, I dedicated a whole day to just do nothing but slouch on my bed that I abandoned for some weeks. A thrilling sense of going back to school and meet my new students followed. The excitement grew more as I started counting the days before the opening of classes. I was that rejuvenated.

Looking back, I never set a goal for this trip nor to prove something. I just went on and enjoyed the journey itself. We did have some mishaps while on the road but at the end of the day we would just laugh about it while downing some bottles of local beer.