Exploring the world one story at a time.
No South East Asia backpacking trip is complete without a visit to some of Cambodia’s most famous sights. From the vibrant Siem Reap to the remote islands on the coast of Sihanoukville, here’s what to do on a backpacking itinerary in Cambodia as part of the Lot Pass from Stray Asia!
Continue reading “Backpacking Cambodia – Siem Reap to South Coast Itinerary”
From the Laos capital Vientiane full of culture to the remote 4000 Islands on the Cambodian border, we explored some of the most remote areas of this South East Asian gem as we continue our Stray Asia adventures. Continue reading “Exploring Laos from Vientiane to Don Det”
The rich culture and untouched country side of Laos awaits as we make our way down the Mekong River for a 2 day boat ride, ending in the old capital Luang Prabang. Join us on the next leg of our Stray Asia journey! Continue reading “Mekong River Cruise to Luang Prabang”
From the ancient history in every corner of Ayutthaya to the contemporary excitement in Chiang Mai, see what you can do with just 4 days travelling north through Thailand as we begin our Stray Asia tour!
A city of rich culture, fascinating history, delicious food, and a lively backpacking scene – Bangkok has it all! Here’s all that you can fit into a 5 day visit to the capital of Thailand.
Join along for the ride down the East Coast of Australia where we’ve already completed our Cairns to Noosa journey, and we’ll be going from Brisbane to Sydney in part 2! Exploring two hugely different cities plus everything in between, here’s what we did on our backpacking trip. Continue reading “Backpacking Australia from Brisbane to Sydney”
Backpacking the East Coast of Australia is almost a rite of passage for many travellers in the part of the world. I began my journey down the coast in Cairns, eventually aiming for Sydney and via many beautiful stops along the way. Here you’ll find all the best places to visit on the East Coast of Australia on the first leg of the trip from Cairns to Noosa! Continue reading “Backpacking East Coast Australia: Cairns to Noosa”
For a perfect beach break, peaceful relaxation, and great food, Fiji is the place for you! Here I share my Bula Pass island hopping experience across the Yasawa Islands. Continue reading “Fiji Island Hopping”
How do you drive the length of a country (or near enough) in just over two weeks? Here’s how we managed to road trip New Zealand from Christchurch to Auckland and hit all the best spots along the way! Continue reading “New Zealand Road Trip – Christchurch to Auckland”
With incredible views, scenic walks, and any kind of activity your heart could desire, is a week long enough to enjoy all that Queenstown has to offer? Here’s what I filled my time with on my second visit, and a few ideas to enjoy what Queenstown has to offer! Continue reading “New Zealand – A Week in Queenstown”
During an extended tour of New Zealand, I decided I wanted to spend some time WWOOFing. I chose to revisit Franz Josef after enjoying my time on the Kiwi Experience tour which took us along the West Coast of the South Island, and realised this tiny glacier town hadn’t seen the last of me. If you’re looking for where to WWOOF in New Zealand, check out what Franz Josef has to offer! Continue reading “WWOOFing in New Zealand”
What to do after you finish the Kiwi Experience? Here are few things to do in Christchurch and Canterbury around the city and further afield to soak up the South Island beauty in New Zealand! Continue reading “Ultimate Guide To Solo Travel in Christchurch and Canterbury”
Moving away from the West Coast on the Kiwi Experience bus and towards left us in Wanaka, and then in Queenstown. There’s a lot of hype about this destination, many of the people have heard such great things so it was hard to avoid high expectations. I have to say, it was a great place, the views and lakes are amazing, but you can tell it’s a bit of a tourism hotspot for extreme sports, partying and generally enjoying youthfulness. Having said that, I did very much enjoy my time there and could definitely stay again! Continue reading “Kiwi Experience – South Island: Otago & Canterbury”
Thinking about taking the Kiwi Experience bus tour? Here’s all you need to know about the stops and itinerary of the West Coast of the South Island in New Zealand from Abel Tasman to Wanaka.
It’s fair to say that the South Island is considerably more stunning than the north (sorry northerners!). It seems that the south is all about the outdoors, nature, and extreme sports while the north is more about history, culture and a more urban life. It’s all personal preference really, but I can see why it’s recommended to spend longer in the South Island.
Continue reading “Kiwi Experience – South Island West Coast”
For many backpackers the favourite way to get around New Zealand is through the Kiwi Experience. I signed up for the Sheepdog Pass to take me from Auckland to Christchurch using the hop-on hop-off travel approach, and here you can find just how it went on the North Island leg of our trip. From the cosmopolitan Auckland down to the cultural Wellington plus some incredible spots in between, you can be sure that the North Island of New Zealand has incredible scenery and exhilarating activities to suit every backpacker!
Continue reading “Kiwi Experience – North Island: Auckland to Wellington”
Kia Ora from Auckland!
As the most expensive and busiest city of New Zealand, it can be easy to burn your budget in a few short days. Here you can find the best activities to cover 4 days in Auckland from wandering the city and cultural areas, plus a few unique activities along the way – all for under $30! Continue reading “4 Days In Auckland On A Budget”
My second week in Melbourne saw me exploring more of the city itself. Monday was a very hot day which a couple of light showers in between, so I decided on a day to relax a bit and let myself recharge. I was also getting confused because I STILL hadn’t felt jet lagged in any way besides waking up slightly earlier, I definitely didn’t want it to hit at some later point!
Continue reading “Best Things To Do In Melbourne: Beaches, Art, and Parks”
Most of my time spent exploring Melbourne to get my bearings involved lots of walking, lots of getting lost, and lots of gardens. Melbourne has many really beautiful (and surprisingly big) gardens across the city. In the midst of a bustling CBD it’s a refreshing break to sit among the flowers and trees with a fountain in the background. Continue reading “Exploring Melbourne CBD & Visiting the Great Ocean Road”
My first day trip from Melbourne was an activity I had I vowed to do whilst in Melbourne: see the Penguins on Phillip Island! The Penguin Parade happens daily around sunset, and is magical, unique experience. Here’s my day trip from Melbourne to Phillip Island, visiting koalas on the way and seeing the Phillip Island Penguin Parade! Continue reading “Phillip Island Day Trip”
The seemingly gruelling 24 hour journey from London was actually fairly painless despite having to basically sprint between gates during my flight transfer. I must say that Qatar Airways did a great job at keeping everyone entertained and well fed, I hardly noticed that the flight time to Melbourne took so long!
Now I’ve had a day to figure out my bearings here’s a few things I’ve come to notice about Melbourne: Continue reading “First Impressions of Melbourne”
Welcome to Suzy Stories! Where to start… After much time spent agonising over what to call my little ramblings I settled on Suzy Stories. I wanted to explain quickly what it was I’ll be using this blog for but to be quite honest I’m not too sure, so stories seemed to fit best (and who doesn’t love some alliteration?!). Other great ideas included ‘Suzy Sashays’, ‘Suzy Sight-sees’, ‘Suzy Struts’ and when things got really desperate ‘Suzy Sees Something’. Continue reading “Welcome to Suzy Stories”