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Asia Travel Checklist – 10 Things to Organise Before an Asia Trip. Photo Courtesy of Luxury Escapes.

Asia Travel Checklist – 10 Things to Organise Before Your Asia Trip This Winter

Use our handy Asia travel checklist to tick off these 10 things to organise before your Asia trip to make your Asia travel planning easier. If you’re dreaming of a winter holiday in Asia, where winter is high season in Southeast Asia and gets busy in places such as Harbin, China, home to a winter ice festival, you need to start planning right now. Here’s how.

While many of you are not long back from your European summer travels and are still sharing pics on social media and stories with anyone who’ll listen – hopefully not horror stories of missed connections and lost luggage! – some travellers are starting to plan a winter holiday in Asia, where there’s been none of the airport chaos impacting travel elsewhere.

There are still things to consider to prepare for an Asia holiday – things that many travellers overlook or leave until the last minute – which is why we’ve created this handy Asia travel checklist so you can tick off these 10 things to organise before your Asia winter trip. 

Why travel Asia in winter? Weather-wise, winter is the most comfortable time to travel tropical Southeast Asia. It is cooler, yet it’s still warm enough to lie on a beach, and it is dryer, as the wet season ends in November in mainland Southeast Asia.

The humidity will also be lower – the only thing that will fog up your glasses will be a face mask in places where they’re still required or situations where it’s good manners to wear one. Even before the pandemic, Asians wore face masks if sick, if people around them were sick, or if moving about a polluted city.

Dry season is also high season in Southeast Asia, however, which means flights, hotels and tours are starting to fill. The tourism industry in the region is predicting the busiest winter season since the pandemic started, so you’ll need to begin to finalise your Asia travel plans soon.

Further north, parts of Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and China are winter wonderlands with snow festivals galore, loads of opportunities for skiing, snowboarding and ice-skating, and plenty of cosy mountain resorts with blazing fireplaces and hot springs to bathe in.

While countries such as Japan, Korea and China have been starting to open up, they still have Covid requirements in place, with entry rules just beginning to ease in Japan, and testing procedures relaxing in Korea, although travel restrictions are still ongoing in China, where quarantine has just been reduced from 14 to seven days.

If you’re dreaming of a winter vacation in Asia – whether that means a beach holiday bursting with sunshine, exploring ancient temples and tropical islands, or Christmas spent in a snowy winter wonderland – now is the time to start planning it.

Asia Travel Checklist – Things to Organise Before an Asia Trip

Here’s our Asia travel checklist so you can tick off these 10 things to organise before your Asia trip.  As we’ve lived in Asia for 12 years, we’re happy to help. Leave any questions you have in the Comments at the end of the post and we’ll answer them.

Research Visas and If Needed Apply Well in Advance

Topping our Asia travel checklist are visas. Along with travel insurance, arranging visas is often over-looked and left until the last minute by many travellers planning Asia trips. Fortunately, visas for Asian countries are nowhere near as difficult to obtain as they once were and are more affordable. Some countries offer e-visas, some visas on arrival, while others offer visa-free travel to some nationalities.

If you know where you want to travel in Asia this winter – whether it’s a single destination or a multi-country trip, whether you’re considering Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, or you’re dreaming of Japan, Korea or China, research visas before you do anything else and if necessary apply in advance.

Many Asian visas can be obtained at the airport on arrival, some countries offer e-visas that you apply for online before you leave home. On our last trip to Myanmar some years ago we bought our e-visas online the day before travelling and approval came back within an hour.

Friends who recently visited Cambodia applied for e-visas the week before they travelled, one friend received approval the next day, another a few days later. One benefit of e-visas is that you can save time by avoiding queues at the Visa counters and can go straight to Immigration.

There are exceptions, and Vietnam and China are two such countries where you’ll save considerable time by using a visa agent, especially if you come from a country not on the lists of eligibility for a Vietnam e-visa, while China hasn’t yet opened to everyone and the visa process is complicated.

While Vietnam has offered e-visas for some nationalities since before the pandemic, there’s still a great deal of waiting around at the airport, whereas a visa agent can do the waiting for you and whisk you through Immigration.

For Vietnam, we recommend Discovery Travel who we’ve used for years for Vietnam visas. For a visa for China, Visa Express has been recommended, but we’ve not yet had the chance to try them. Yunnan in Southern China is on our list so we’ll report back when we do.

 

Check Covid Travel Restrictions 

Next on our Asia travel checklist is Covid restrictions because while some countries may be acting like the pandemic is over (looking at you, Australia), it isn’t, and Covid restrictions are changing all the time. Once you know where you’re heading to for your winter holiday and are confident you’ll be able to obtain a visa, head to the embassy website(s) to check current Covid restrictions. 

Japan recently announced an easing of Covid restrictions, which means you no longer have to do a group tour to visit Japan. You will still need to do a ‘self-guided tour’, however, and book a flight and hotel package through an authorised travel agent. Insiders predict China could follow suit when it opens up.

Small group tours and packages aren’t necessary for mainland Southeast Asia where Covid travel restrictions have been relaxed, however, they represent great value during high season when prices of flights and hotels increase to their highest of the year.

Why are they more affordable when booked as a package? Because of the buying power of big online travel agents. Luxury Escapes, which we love, which specialises in ‘luxury for less’, has brilliant packages for beach holidays and city breaks including hotels, flights, breakfasts, welcome drinks, and so on.

Note that not every Covid vaccination is recognised. For instance, the Chinese vaccinations Sinopharm and Sinovac aren’t accepted everywhere, so you’ll have to get a new vaccination. Some countries require three or four vaccinations within a certain period before travelling, generally four months before travel, but sometimes within weeks.

You’ll need to organise evidence of Covid vaccinations – some countries require print-outs, others will be satisfied with digital proof. Some destinations still require pre-departure Covid tests, such as Hong Kong, which currently requires that you register these within 24 hours of arrival, although note that requirements change all the time.

Check Covid restrictions before deciding on your holiday destination, do what you need to do to meet those requirements, then monitor the situation in the months, weeks and days leading to your departure to make sure you’re following any rules.

And don’t forget to pack some N95 respirator masks. In Asian countries, even before the pandemic, people wore face masks if they got sick out of respect for others, so they don’t make them sick. It’s also good protection for yourself, whether you’re vaccinated or not. See this post for a long list of reasons to wear masks in some situations.

 

Book Your Asia Flights for Winter Travel Now

The best time to buy flights to get the best price is three months in advance of your trip, which means if you’re planning a winter trip to Asia you really need to book your flights now. 

While we don’t recommend buying flights from a travel agent for Europe, unless you’ve been using the same agent for years and know from first-hand experience they’ll answer their phone in the middle of the night to help after a flight cancellation, however, Asian airports haven’t experienced the same level of airport chaos that there’s been in Australia, Europe and the USA, so you should be right.

Buying a package from a travel agent that includes flights, hotels and transfers is super convenient, saves you the hassle of booking each component separately, and can often be cheaper than had you purchased each element yourself.

Having said that, if your home airport is in Australia, Europe or the USA, there’s still the kind of chaos we saw during the European summer with flights continually being cancelled, baggage left off planes, and luggage lost, then we recommend buying your flights direct from the airline for reasons explained in this post.

 

Buy Travel Insurance After You Buy Flights

Purchasing travel insurance is next on our Asia travel checklist, because it’s the last thing that many travellers do before travelling, when it should be one of the first. Even we’ve been known to buy travel insurance from an airport lounge shortly before boarding. But there’s no way I’d do that now; not since the pandemic.

With cancelled flights, delayed flights, missed connections, and lost luggage increasingly becoming the norm, it’s absolutely essential to buy travel insurance as soon as you buy your flights and to make sure you’re purchasing travel insurance that covers these sorts of travel disruptions.

There’s a mind-boggling number of travel insurers around and you should do your own research on travel insurance and compare coverage offered and prices. We recommend Safety Wing’s Nomad Insurance as it covers travel delays, lost checked luggage, emergencies, natural disasters, and personal liability. And we’ve used most of the major travel insurance providers during our 22 years living abroad and travelling the world for holidays and work.

Travel insurance that includes travel health insurance and Covid coverage is essential these days and I’ve noticed that many of the big insurers don’t include Covid or do but what’s included and what’s not is almost impossible to determine by the convoluted language used in their policies.

Safety Wing’s Nomad Insurance includes global travel medical insurance, which covers accidents and illnesses abroad, including Covid-19 coverage, and in plain text is very clear about what’s covered and what’s not.

Unlike many travel insurers, who require that you purchase travel insurance before you leave your home country, you can purchase Nomad Insurance online if you’re already abroad. But don’t wait until then! Buy travel insurance as soon as you buy your airfares, so any cancellations, delays, missed connections, and lost baggage are covered.

 

Book Domestic Transport Next

After you book your flights to Asia, before any domestic transport within your destination that you’re planning to use – whether it’s internal flights, long distance trains and buses, cruises and ferries, rental cars, or private vehicles with drivers.

While I’m all for slow travel and spontaneity and being flexible, and I often recommend waiting until you arrive in a place to see how much you enjoy it and decide whether you want to linger longer, that’s not going to work in high season.

In low season, when flights, trains and buses are empty, you can afford to be more relaxed when it comes to your Asia travel planning and decide where you want to go and how you want to get there after you arrive.

But in high season, when flights, trains and buses are full, and hotels are fully booked, you might not have much of a choice as to where and how you travel, so make your domestic transport bookings once you’ve finalised your itinerary and be prepared to adjust that itinerary depending on availability of seats.

 

Book Hotels and Other Accommodation

Once you’ve locked in any local travel you plan to do in Asia, then book your hotels. There’s no point in booking hotels before you’ve booked domestic flights, as you might then need to change hotel bookings, which can be a hassle.

If you’re planning on spending any length of time in one place, I recommend Luxury Escapes, which seems to have better deals the longer you stay, with often up to 50% off luxury and boutique hotels, beach resorts, villas, and apartments.

If you’re only staying in hotels for one or two nights per destination then I recommend you book accommodation through hotel booking sites such as Booking.com, where you can book hotels with no deposits and free cancellations, and the more you book you bigger your Genius discounts.

Though keep in mind that the most in-demand hotels won’t offer deposit-free stays and free cancellations during the busiest periods unless they themselves experience cancellations.

 

Book Tours and Activities

Even if you’re not a ‘tour person’, there are probably some organised activities you want to do on your Asian holiday, such as a sushi tasting experience in Tokyo, a noodle making course in Beijing or an architecture tour in Phnom Penh that you would hate to miss out on.

Booking tours and activities is next on your Asia travel checklist because the best tours and activities get booked up well in advance during high season, when activities such as street food tours and cooking classes have limits on how many people can join, which means you will simply miss out.

While there probably won’t be issues getting spots on free city walks or guided museum visits, any small group tours with specialised guides, such as chef-led market tours or artist-guided gallery tours, are unlikely to be able to squeeze you in if they’re fully booked, you’ll simply miss out.

Book all tours and activities well in advance if you’re travelling during the mainland Southeast Asian high season. We recommend Klook and Get Your Guide for online tour bookings.

 

Book Airport Transfers 

Some Asian airports are some of the world’s best, with excellent airport train services and organised airport taxi systems, with set prices and professional drivers. Others are the absolute pits when it comes to transport and Bangkok’s airports fit into that category.

The Bangkok airport train stations aren’t so convenient for tourists and are better located for residents, while some only have stairs down to the road rather than elevators, and once you get down to ground level finding a taxi can be a challenge.

Lugging bags down long flights of stairs and struggling to hail cabs late at night is the last thing you want after a long flight, when you’re exhausted and just want to be at your hotel. The alternative of taking a taxi isn’t much better.

While the airport taxi services might appear to be organised in that you line up at a desk and drivers take a ticket, you then have to contend with drivers who won’t assist with luggage, who stop just outside the airport to say the metre doesn’t work and haggle over the fare, or who have a dodgy meter that suddenly doesn’t work.

Of course, not all airport taxis are bad in Asia. Singapore taxis are brilliant, Kuala Lumpur’s are very good, Siem Reap’s drivers are lovely, and as long as you use the green and gold taxis in Saigon you won’t have any issues.

I still recommend saving yourself the hassle and booking an airport transfer online with Klook before you leave home so you won’t have to worry and can enjoy the ride from the airport to your destination and all the delightful anticipation it can bring.

 

Buy a Local Phone Card Online or a SIM Card When You Arrive

A local phone card or SIM card is next on your Asia travel checklist and don’t even think about not doing this. Forget phone plans and the exorbitant costs you could rack up if you don’t get the right plan before you leave home and instead buy a local phone card online or a SIM card from the airport when you arrive.

Having a local number is not only super handy, you’ll save a fortune using local data and you’ll need it to access the internet for Google maps, as well as look up things like museum opening times and restaurant websites and reservation numbers when you’re out and about.

If you’re not concerned about the cost of using your home phone number, think about the locals who might need to call you and the costs they’ll incur by dialling an international number.

Websites such as Klook (link above) sells phone cards online and you can buy local SIM cards from airports, where prices are competitive and staff are generally faster at registering visitors than at shops in town. You’ll need an unlocked phone and somewhere to keep your home SIM card safe.  

 

Pack Apple Air Tags or Similar Tracking Devices

Pre-pandemic, I would never have thought to include tracking devices on an Asia travel checklist, but here we are. If you’re travelling with more than carry-on and are intending to check your luggage under the plane, before you zip up your suitcase, pack an Apple Air Tag or a similar tracking device, such as the Dynotag Smart Luggage ID Tags or Amcrest GPS Tracker.

Travellers have reported having great success tracking lost luggage use Air Tags when airlines and baggage handling services have had no idea where their baggage was. Apple Air Tags have been the most popular, but we’ve read good review of Dynotag tags and the Amcrest tracker.

Airlines and airports in Asia have had nowhere near the level of chaos – cancelled flights, planes leaving without baggage, lost luggage, and so on – that passengers have experienced in Australia, the USA and Europe this year. However, it’s better to be safe than sorry and who knows what Asia’s first busy high season could bring.

This post has been sponsored by Visa Express but all our advice and opinions are our own obviously.

Image courtesy of Luxury Escapes

What have we left off our Asia travel checklist? If you’re a regular traveller to the region, we’d love to share your tips and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments below.

Support our Cambodia Cookbook & Culinary History Book with a donation or monthly pledge on Patreon.

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About Lara Dunston

A travel and food writer who has experienced over 70 countries and written for The Guardian, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Feast, Delicious, National Geographic Traveller, Conde Nast Traveller, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia, DestinAsian, TIME, CNN, The Independent, The Telegraph, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, AFAR, Wanderlust, International Traveller, Get Lost, Four Seasons Magazine, Fah Thai, Sawasdee, and more, as well as authored more than 40 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, DK, Footprint, Rough Guides, Fodors, Thomas Cook, and AA Guides.

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Comments

  1. Sharon says

    September 17, 2022 at 11:56 am

    Very helpful, Lara. We’d not traveled much before the pandemic but covid changed that (life is too short!!!) but I get so overwhelmed by all the planning, hubby doesn’t have time to help and I don’t enjoy it at all (prefer reading about places we’re going to). This really helps but now I’m leaning toward a package. Will take a look at Luxury Escapes.

  2. Lara Dunston says

    September 17, 2022 at 1:31 pm

    Thank you, Sharon. Not everyone enjoys the trip planning process, although many do, as it helps build expectations and anticipation and generate excitement. But I get it. Sometimes I love it and sometimes I loathe it. Luxury Escapes is excellent and I’m not saying that just because we’re an affiliate partner. I wouldn’t have signed up if I didn’t like what they do. They have some amazing deals on inspiring trips. Don’t hesitate to let me know if I can answer any questions you have.

  3. Janine says

    September 17, 2022 at 2:36 pm

    Lara, is winter a good time to go to Cambodia? I know from your posts you love the wet season. We’re a family of four Aussies.

  4. Lara Dunston says

    September 17, 2022 at 2:45 pm

    Hi Janine, I do love the monsoon season as everything is so lush and green, there are few tourists, and prices are lower. But it can be hot, although Aussies seem to cope well with the heat. Winter is a whole lot cooler and more comfortable for climbing temples and walking the streets, but the landscape looks a little dry. Siem Reap is more bustling and buzzy with more tourists around and has more of a holiday vibe that I do enjoy. Kids will love it as they get to meet other kids and there are still many reasonably priced hotels. Do browse our Cambodia guide and please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have questions or need help planning your trip.

  5. Emma says

    September 17, 2022 at 8:48 pm

    I’m a hotel junkie so after flights I book hotels then book everything else around those LOL! I’ve got my eye on The Standard in Bangkok next. Have you guys stayed yet?

  6. Lara Dunston says

    September 17, 2022 at 9:09 pm

    Hi Emma, I used to do that too when I was younger, when we used to spend a lot of time in Europe. I spent years working my way through the Design Hotels website, ticking off sleek, chic boutique hotels. We haven’t tried the Standard yet, as we haven’t been to Bangkok since the pandemic, but I’m very keen to experience. Hopefully we’ll get back to Thailand next month. I’ll report back after we do.

  7. Ranjit says

    October 29, 2022 at 11:31 am

    Lara, do Indians need visas for Cambodia? My friend said they did not need a visa but online sources say it is necessary. I thought I would go straight to the horse’s mouth as you live in Siem Reap. Thank you in advance for your advice.

  8. Lara Dunston says

    October 29, 2022 at 11:36 am

    Hello Ranjit, yes, Indians need visas for Cambodia. The only nationalities that do NOT need visas for Cambodia are members of ASEAN countries. I’m wondering if your Indian friend has citizenship of an ASEAN country such as Singapore, Malaysia or Thailand. You can apply for Cambodian visas online on the official govt website or get Cambodian visas on arrival in Siem Reap or Phnom Penh.

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Lara and Terence are an Australian-born, Southeast Asia-based travel and food writers and photographers who have authored scores of guidebooks, produced countless travel and food stories, are currently developing cookbooks and guidebooks, and host culinary tours and writing and photography retreats in Southeast Asia.
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Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check o Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check out our seafood recipe collection, especially if you celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with a fish focused meal in the Southern Italian tradition, transformed by Italian-Americans into the Feast of the Seven Fishes, or like Australians, who celebrate Christmas in the sweltering summer, feast on seafood for Christmas Day lunch, we’ve got lots of easy seafood recipes for you.

Our recipes include a classic prawn cocktail, blini with smoked salmon, a ceviche-style appetiser, and devilled eggs with caviar. We’ve also got recipes for fish soup, seafood pies and pastas, salmon tray bake, and crispy salmon with creamy mashed potatoes.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/seafood-recipes-for-christmas-eve-and-christmas-day-menus/
(Link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating!! 

#christmas #christmasfood #seafood #fish #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #grantourismo #grantourismotravels #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you’re still looking for food inspo for Chris If you’re still looking for food inspo for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meals, my smoked salmon ‘carpaccio’ recipe is one of dozens of recipes in this compilation of our best Christmas recipes (link below). 

The Christmas recipe compilation includes collections of our best Christmas breakfast recipes, best Christmas brunch recipes, best Christmas starter recipes, best Christmas cocktails, best Christmas dessert recipes, and homemade edible Christmas gifts and more.

My smoked salmon carpaccio recipe makes an easy elegant appetiser that’s made in minutes. If you’re having guests over, you can make the dish ahead by assembling the salmon, capers and pickled onions, and refrigerate it, then pour on the dressing just before serving. 

Provide toasted baguette slices and bowls of additional capers, pickles and dressing, so guests can customise their carpaccio. And open the bubbly!

You’ll find that recipe and many more Christmas recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/best-christmas-recipes/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas!! X

#christmas #christmasfood #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #salmon #smokedsalmon #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels 
#xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I sh If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I shared a collection of recipes for homemade edible Christmas gifts — for condiments, hot sauces, chilli oils, a whole array of pickles, spice blends, chilli salt, furakake seasoning, and spicy snacks, such as our Cambodian and Vietnamese roasted peanuts. 

I love giving homemade edibles as gifts as much as I love receiving them. Who wouldn’t appreciate jars filled with their favourite chilli oils, hot sauces, piquant pickles, and spicy peanuts that loved-ones have taken the time to make? 

Aside from the gesture and affordability of gifting homemade edibles, you’re minimising waste. You can use recycled jars or if buying new mason jars or clip-top Kilner jars, you know they’ll get repurposed.

No need for wrapping, just attach some Christmas baubles or tinsel to the lid. I used squares of Cambodian kramas (cotton scarves), which can be repurposed as napkins or drink coasters, and tied a ribbon or two around the lids, and attached last year’s Christmas tree decorations to some.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/homemade-edible-christmas-gifts/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Yes, that’s Pepper... every time there’s a camera around... 

#christmasgiftideas #ediblegifts ##christmasfoodgifts #foodgifts #giftideas #homemadegifts #christmasfood #ediblegiftideas #hotsauce #chillisauce #sriracha #pickles #homemadepickles #recipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood 
#blackcat #blackcatsofinstagram #picoftheday 
#christmas #christmastree #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas #cambodia #siemreap
This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’ This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’s perfect if you’re just back from the fish markets armed with luxurious fresh crab meat. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and very, very moreish.

Our crab omelette recipe was one of our 22 most popular egg recipes of 2022 on our website Grantourismo and it’s no surprise. It’s appeared more times than any other egg recipes on our annual round-ups of most popular recipes since Terence launched Weekend Eggs when we launched Grantourismo in 2010.

If you’re an eggs lover, do check out the recipe collection. It includes egg recipes from right around the world, from recipes for classic kopitiam eggs from Singapore and Malaysia and egg curries from India and Myanmar to all kinds of egg recipes from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Mexico, USA, Australia, UK, and Ireland.

And do browse our Weekend Eggs archives for further eggspiration (sorry). We have hundreds of egg recipes from the 13 year-old series of recipes for quintessential egg dishes from around the world, which we started on our 2010 year-long global grand tour focused on slow, local and experiential travel. 

We’re hoping 2023 will be the year we can finally publish the Weekend Eggs cookbook we’ve talked about for years based on that series. After we can find a publisher for the Cambodia cookbook of course... :( 

Recipe collection here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio):
https://grantourismotravels.com/22-most-popular-egg-recipes-of-2022-from-weekend-eggs/

If you cook the recipe and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either in the comments at the end of the recipe or share a pic with us here.

#recipe #recipes #eggs #eggslover #breakfasteggs #WeekendEggs #egg #breakfast #brunch #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #lookingforapublisher #writingacookbook  #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angko I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angkor Archaeological Park, home to stupendous Angkor Wat, pictured, celebrated 30 years of its UNESCO World Heritage listing. 

That’s as good an excuse as any to put this magnificent, sprawling archaeological site on your travel list this year.

While riverside Siem Reap, your base for exploring Angkor is bustling once more, there are still nowhere near the visitors of the last busy high season months of December-January 2018-2019 when there were 290,000 visitors. 

Last month there were just 55,000 visitors and December feels a little quieter. A tour guide friend said there were about 150 people at Angkor Wat for sunrise a few days ago.

If you’re looking for tips to visiting Angkor, Siem Reap and Cambodia, just ask us a question in the comments below or check Grantourismo as we’ve got loads of info on our site. Click through to the link in the bio and explore our Cambodia guide or search for ‘Angkor’. 

And please do let us know if you’re coming to Siem Reap. We’d love to see you here x

#siemreap #cambodia #asia #travel #instatravel #traveldeeper #slowtravel #localtravel #experientialtravel #exploremore #neverstopexploring #goexplore #igtravel #angkorwat #angkor #temple #temples #angkorwithoutcrowds #unesco #unescoworldheritagesite #unescoworldheritage #archaeology #archaeologicalsite #traveladdict #beautifuldestinations #beautifulplaces #travelgram #wanderlust #picoftheday📷 #grantourismotravels.
Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky, flavourful and succulent chicken thighs that are fantastic with steamed rice, Chinese greens or a salad, such as a Southeast Asian slaw. 

The chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours before cooking, which ensures it’s packed with flavour, then it can be cooked on a barbecue or in a pan.

Terence’s soy ginger chicken recipe is one of our favourite recipes for a quick and easy meal. I love the sound of the sizzling thighs in the pan, and the warming aromas wafting through the apartment. 

It’s amazing how such flavourful juicy chicken thighs come from such a quick and easy recipe.

Recipe here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio): https://grantourismotravels.com/soy-ginger-chicken-recipe/

If you cook it and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either here or in the comments at the end of the recipe on the site or share a pic with us x 

#recipe #recipes #chicken #soygingerchicken #asianfood #southeastasianfood #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #cookingtime #recipe #recipes #comfortfood #foodblog #food #foodstagram #healthyfood #instafood #healthy #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re mak Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re making with my market haul from Psar Samaki in Siem Reap — all for a whopping 10,000 riel (US$2.50)?! 

Birds-eye chillies thrown in for free! They were on my list but the seller I spent most at (5,000 riel!) scooped up a handful and slipped them into my bag. She was my last stop and knew what I was making.

My Khmer is poor, even after all our years in Cambodia, as I don’t learn languages with the ease I did in my 20s, plus I’m mentally exhausted after researching and writing all day. I have a better vocabulary of Old and Middle Khmer than modern Khmer from studying the ancient inscriptions for the Cambodian culinary history component of our cookbook I’m writing.

So when one seller totalled my purchases I thought she said 5,000 riel but she handed back 4,500 riel! The sum total of two huge bunches of herbs and kaffir lime leaves was 500 riel.

Tip: if visiting Siem Reap, use Khmer riel for local shopping. We’ve mainly used riel since the pandemic started— rarely use US$ now as market sellers quote prices in riels, as do local shops and bakeries, and I tip tuk tuk drivers in riels. I find prices quoted in riels are lower.

Psar Samaki is cheaper than Psar Leu, which is cheaper than Psar Chas, as it’s a wholesale market, which means the produce is fresher. I see veggies arriving, piled high in the back of vehicles, with dirt still on them — as I did on this trip. 

The scent of a mountain of incredibly aromatic pineapples offloaded from the back of a dusty ute was so heady they smelt like they’d just been cut. More exotic European style veggies arrive by big trucks in boxes labelled in Vietnamese (from Dalat) and Mandarin (from China), such as beautiful snow-white cauliflower I spotted.

Note: the freshest produce is sold on the dirt road at the back of the market.

#cambodia #siemreap #foodwriter #foodblogger #foodphotography #igfood #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #instadaily #picoftheday #market #siemreapmarket #psarsamaki #marketfresh #vegetables #healthyfood #marketshopping #traveltips #foodtravel #culinarytravel #localtravel #cooking #cookingtime #curry #homemade #currypaste #grantourismotravels
My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recip My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recipe makes tender meatballs doused in a delightfully tangy-sweet sauce, sprinkled with crispy fried shallots, with carrot-daikon, crunchy cucumber and fragrant herbs. 

The dish is inspired by bún chả, a Hanoi specialty, but it’s not bún chả. No matter what Google or food bloggers tell you. Names are important, especially when cooking and writing about cuisines not our own.

This is an authentic bún chả recipe:  https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-bun-cha-recipe/ You’ll need to get the outdoor BBQ/grill going to do proper smoky bún chả meat patties (not meatballs).

My meatball noodle bowl is perhaps more closely related to dishes such as a Central Vietnam cousin bún thịt nướng (pork skewers on rice noodles in a bowl) and a Southern relation bún bò Nam Bộ (beef atop rice noodles, sprinkled with fried shallots (Nam Bộ=Southern Vietnam) though neither include meatballs. 

Xíu mại= meatballs although they’re different in flavour to mine, which taste more like bún chả patties. Xíu mại remind me of Southern Italian meatballs in tomato sauce.

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, home to millions of Khmer, there’s bánh tằm xíu mại. Bánh tằm=silk worm noodles. They’re topped with meatballs, cucumber, daikon, carrot, fresh herbs, crispy fried onions. Difference: cold noodles doused in a sauce of coconut cream and fish sauce. 

Remove the meatballs, add chopped fried spring rolls and it’s Cambodia’s banh sung, which is a rice noodle salad similar to Vietnam’s bún chả giò :) 

Recipe here: (link in bio) https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-meatballs-and-rice-noodles-recipe/

For more on these culinary connections you’ll have to wait for our Cambodian cookbook and culinary history. In a hurry to know? Come support the project on Patreon. (link in bio)

#recipe #recipes #vietnamesefood #cambodianfood #asianfood #southeastasianfood #ricenoodles #rice #noodlebowl #meatballs #igfood #igfoodie #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #writingacookbook #writingacambodiancookbook #patreon #patreoncreator #grantourismo
It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour matches the furnishings of our rented apartment. So, no, I did not colour-coordinate the interiors to match our cat’s eyes. 

I keep getting DMs from pet clothing brands wanting to “partner” with Pepper and send her free cat clothes and cat accessories. Although she did wear a kerchief for a few years in her more adventurous fashion-forward teenage years, I cannot see this cat in clothes now, can you? 

#pepper #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcatsrule #blackcatsmatter #cat #cats #catsofinstagram #catstagram #catlover #catlovers #catlove #catoftheday #catphoto #catpic #catpics #cambodiancat #cambodiancatsofinstagram #catlife #catloversclub #catoftheday #catgram #catstagram #cats_of_instagram #catphotography #catsofig #catsoftheworld #catsofinsta #cats🐱 #siemreap #cambodia

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