Backpacker International Limited (Thailand Registration Number 0205552005285. ISSN NO. 1906-7674)www.southeastasiabackpacker.comEmail: info@southeastasiabackpacker.com

Backpacker South East Asia is Published by Backpacker International Limited.

Managing Director & Editor: Nikki Scott. (Email: nikki@southeastasiabackpacker.com)

Deputy Editor: Karen Farini. Web Editor: Tyler Protano-Goodwin.

Design & Layout: Nikki Scott. Web Manager: Nicholas Baron-Morgan.

Contributing Writers / Photographers: Nikki Scott, Karen Farini, Lois Yasay, Joe

Astall, Amy Burbridge, Tyler Protano-Goodwin, Deidre Appel, Regin Reyno, Chase

Berenson, Charla Allyn Hughes, Ben Turland, Thomas Matthew Kellar, Jaclyn Hartnett,

Ceiri O’Douglas, Paul Simon Abbott, Simon Bond, Zach Dumyahn, Diana Reyes,

Kilee LeBlanc, Ligia Batista Fradinho, Melanie Swan, Christophe Cappon, Penelope

Atkinson, Kael Ando, Georgie Ando, Eliza Arsenault, Andrew Bond, Alex McAdam,

Christina O’Sullivan.

Advertising enquiries: Email: nikki@southeastasiabackpacker.com

Writing opportunities: Email: info@southeastasiabackpacker.com

S.E.A Backpacker Magazine Legal: All material is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part without the prior written

permission of the copyright holder. Opinions expressed in S.E.A Backpacker Magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. S.E.A Backpacker Magazine does not accept responsibility

for advertising content. Any pictures, transparencies or logos used are at the owner’s risk. Any mention of S.E.A Backpacker Magazine or use of the S.E.A Backpacker Magazine logo by

any advertiser in this publication does not imply endorsement of that company or its products or services by S.E.A Backpacker Magazine. (c) S.E.A Backpacker Magazine, October 2013.

Cover Photograph: By Mike Rowbottom(www.phong-nha-cave.com)

Features:

Destination Spotlight:

Regulars: 8: South East Asia Map & Visa Info

10: NEWS! The Aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, the Philippines

14: S.E.A Backpacker Pinboard: The Best of your Letters & Photos!

20: Word on the Street: Culture Shock!

36: Festivals & Events: What’s On Guide

40: GAMES: Crossword & Sudoku

16: KRABI: Rock Climbing Paradise

28: The Perhentian Islands, MALAYSIA: Perfect beaches, Carnivorous Flowers & Swimming with Sharks

44: Phong Nha, VIETNAM: The World’s Biggest Cave & Amazing Adventures!

54: WHERE NEXT? Trekking in Nepal

62: OFF THE BEATEN TRACK: The Mongol Rally - Overland Route to Asia

CONTENTS:

22: ANIMALS! All Creatures Great & Small of South East Asia

34: PHOTOS: Photography & Consent.

39: DON’T MISS! Event Pick - The Bali Spirit Festival, Ubud, Indonesia

42: South East Asia Faces & Places: Interview with Yoga Guru, Chiang Mai

58: ARTS: 10 Must-Reads for Intrepid Travel Writers

60: FOOD: Off the Beaten Plate - Cambodia

Perhentian Islands, Malaysia... 28

Rock climbing in Krabi, Thailand... 16

26: Local Portraits: Leng Chana, Tailor at the Russian Market, Phnom Penh

41: Soul Searcher: Changing the Game.

52: Traveller Thoughts, Stories, Tips

66: VOLUNTEER: Teaching in Laos

68: INFO: Visas, Exchange Rates & more!

Amazing Phong Nha, Vietnam... 44

44

33 hong Nha Ke Bang National Park in the Quanh Binh province of north-central Vietnam is exhaustingly rich with natural

wonders, most of which have only recently been discovered – so recently, in fact, that it wasn’t until 2003 that the Park was listed as one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. And for what, you may be asking? For the caves…

And when I say ‘caves’, I mean ‘CAVES’.

Incredible Discoveries...Phong Nha Ke Bang is home to the most majestic cave systems in the world – some over four million years old – that have been formed due to the purity of the limestone here, and the multitude of ULYHUV�ÀRZLQJ�WKURXJKRXW�LWV�NDUVW�PRXQWDLQV���2YHU�����QHZ�FDYHV�

DESTINATION SPOTLIGHT:

have been discovered by British cavers (from Bradford), Debbie and Howard Limbert since 1990 alone – and with a whopping eighty per cent of this region still yet to be explored, there are no signs to indicate this rate is slowing down.

Just three years ago, in 2010, Debs and Howard fully completed WKH�H[SORUDWLRQ�RI�ZKDW�LV�QRZ�RI¿FLDOO\�WKH�ODUJHVW�FDYH�SDVVDJH�RQ�the planet, easily surpassing the former record holder: Deer Cave in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. The six-day trek through Hang Son Doong is by all accounts majestic. During one stretch of the cave, I’m told, sunbeams stream through the huge gaping daylight window at a height of almost 250 metres. This is the reason for all the vegetation; for the jungle in the cave that takes almost an hour to walk through.

PHONG NHAPHOREVER

- VIETNAM -

4545

It’s almost spellbinding to think that Son Doong opened up for tourism just six months ago in July 2013. Film-makers, journalists and experts aside, the trek has been completed by only 15 members of the public to date. And there’s now of course a waiting list. Unfortunately for the adventurers all reading this and salivating, WKH�GDWHV�IRU������VROG�RXW�ZLWKLQ�WZR�GD\V�ÀDW��

But, since the 2011 edition of the Lonely Planet plonked Phong Nha Ke Bang World Heritage National Park out of nowhere as the third most essential experience to be had throughout the whole of Vietnam (with number four being ‘food’!), travellers have now begun arriving here in droves. So much so, in fact, that to say that Phong Nha is on the cusp of a tourist boom seems almost like more of a joke than an understatement. Hang Son Doong may well be Vietnam’s Everest – but just like Nepal’s own prize, this sits at the

top of a multitude of other attractions in Phong Nha that we’re only just beginning to hear about.

$QG� LW¶V� FHUWDLQO\� WKH�¿UVW� WLPH� ,¶YH�KHDUG�RI�DQ\�RI� WKHP��:KDW¶V�more, Ben and Bich Mitchell – owners of both Easy Tiger Phong 1KD��ZKLFK�RSHQHG�¿YH�PRQWKV�DJR�GXH�WR�D�VXUJH�LQ�EDFNSDFNHU�demand) and also the original Phong Nha Farmstay – are intent that I should come and experience some for myself.

Well, what can I do? What can I say? Of course, it’s is a total no-brainer. I email them a ‘yes, please, and thank you!’ – and I brace myself for the cold. Then I actually take the step outside the café I’ve been hiding in all day, and go shopping for a puffa jacket. Because apparently, you see, life’s about to get colder…

Wording by Karen Farini. Photography by Mike Rowbottom, Phong Nha Farmstay