The Ultimate Guide for Solo Female Travelers in Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Singapore

By Emma Allen

Have you ever wanted to travel through South East Asia as a solo female? Does the mere thought of traveling solo fill you with worry, anxiety or fearing for your life? Have you wanted to experience more than a tourist? Have you wanted to travel as a backpacker on a budget? Well, 'The Ultimate Guide for Solo Female Travelers in Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Singapore' is your blueprint to answer all the questions you fear might hold you back.
Emma Allen is a professional backpacker who has worked and lived in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and most recently cruise ships as a Carnival Cruise Line team team member. She has traveled independently to over sixty countries and all her backpacking knowledge has come from trial and error.
'The Ultimate Guide for Solo Female Travelers in Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Singapore' is filled with useful up to date tips, handy hints, true personal stories about traveling in these countries with photographs.
If your looking for a female perspective of traveling solo around South East Asia then this guide is just the flight ticket you might be persuaded to purchase and go on an inspirational journey yourself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Emma Allen
• Release date: Apr 9, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370441952

Book preview

F I V E * S T E P S * T O *

T R A V E L * H A P P I N E S S

Do you dream of traveling South East Asia as a solo female traveler?

Do you worry about safety?

Does your family show you horror stories in the media about other travelers who didn't survive?

Do you believe you can't travel solo?

Are you comfortable sleeping on planes, trains and any other mode of transport and still have all your belongings?

Are you comfortable sleeping in shared dorm rooms, communal bathrooms and engage with other travelers?

If you answered YES to most of these questions, then here are the five steps to travel happiness.

Step one : Deciding to go on a trip of a lifetime. Congratulations, that's the easiest part. The only part that is. Choose Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore? Just South East Asia, or Round the World.

Step two: is where the planning, organizing, researching, budget making all begin to make sense of the puzzle. I suggest looking at a world map and picking out destinations you like the sound of and researching. Take into consideration, weather, do you want to travel in six months time? Or one year from now? Do you want a friendly budget of South East Asia or luxury budget of Australia, New Zealand, Canada ? Are you planning to work?

Step three: is the booking of flights, visas, insurance, vaccinations ( if you need them and keep proof of certain ones ie Yellow Fever) Give yourself plenty of time to achieve these goals and don't forget. Take a planner or use the reminder on your phone to get it done. Working holiday visas are available for ages 18-30 in Australia and New Zealand. I worked in a backpacker travel agent in Queensland and a pharmacy in Sydney and picked and packed kiwi fruit in the Bay of Islands and picked grapes for premium wines in Marlborough, New Zealand.

You can blog as well to keep your family and friends in the loop of where you are, what your doing etc.

And start the excitement ...

Step four - be prepared. How to pack light, there is more on packing in the chapter 'The important bits' You don't need to take your entire closet. Separate your home currency to the USD, place your money in different areas, just remember where you put it. Emergency fund roll in a lip balm Nivea tube or mint tin. Hide it some place safe in your carry on or money belt pocket.

Step five- Have a safe and awesome trip. If you feel you will be homesick, take photos or trinkets to remind you home is where the heart is.

H O W * T O * S A V E * M O N E Y * while you travel

$: Set saving goals if your working to fund your trip. Who doesn't want a side trip to Fiji or Laos?

$: Museums or places of Interest for example Herculaneum in Italy have free admission on Sundays. Check the websites for details.

$: Ask locals, where the best place to eat is?

$: Slow down, spending more time in fewer places can be better than racing through fifty countries in fifty days.

$ : Be flexible with flights.

$ : Explore local markets. Paddy's Market in Sydney offers discounted prices from 3pm on fruit and vegetables

$: Hike the mountain or hills for awesome panoramic views

$: Walking is free

$: Rent a bicycle for the day

$ Take local buses

$ You've heard the saying 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do' well do what the locals do.

P R O ' S * A N D * C O N S * O F * T R A V E L L I N G * S O L O

Here is what to consider if you want to travel as a solo female traveler:

Pro's :

Freedom. You don't have to rely on other people, you can decide where to go, what to do without trying to please people. One of my friends had planned a trip with her best friend to travel South East Asia only for her best friend to reach Thailand and say she was flying back to Ireland. In her abandonment, she took it in her stride to travel South East Asia alone and we met in Cairns, Australia and had the best time snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef.

Other travelers: You will meet other like-minded people, so you won't be alone for very long. You can share experiences.

Getting out of your comfort zone. Talk to new people. Build confidence and have fun doing it.

Cons:

Scenario: you are at the train station with luggage and you need to use the bathroom. You have no one to watch your things while you go.

Target: Pretty female western travelers can be the target for crime, sexual behaviors from men : wolf whistling to rape. This can happen anywhere though.

Activities : Sometimes you just need a friend to share an activity with, to take pictures and enjoy.

You will be lonely sometimes and especially dining alone in a cafe or restaurant. I particularly don't like this because people stare and think 'poor love, why is she alone?' I combat my fear and do it anyway because 1) I am hungry and 2) I like to people watch from the staff how they serve to people in the street.

T H E * I M P O R T A N T * S T U F F

M O N E Y:

All Money matters. The Vietnamese Dong (VND) will make you feel like a millionaire as the notes are in the thousands.USD is 22,000 to the $1 and GBP is 29,000 to the pound to give you an idea.( Rates are estimate, always check for up to date)

VND                                GBP                                  USD

10,000                             30 pence                            40 cents

20,000                             60 pence                            80 cents

50,000                             1.50                                   $2

100,000                           3.10                                   $4

200,000                           6.20                                   $8

500,000                           16.00                                $20

1 million                           32.00                               $40

The surcharge on Master card is 3% from the banks. ATM's are available throughout Vietnam. Visa is widely accepted. DO NOT pay on credit card at restaurants, cloning or access to extra funds is likely.

Bring your haggling skills for Vietnam, Cambodia and Sri Lanka. At the central market in Kandy, upstairs I haggled in a friendly tone with the shop owner over a few keychains, leather purse for my niece and jokingly asked What do I get for free ? He kindly gave me a hand crafted leather keychain.

If you change money from US dollars to Vietnamese Dong in the Ben Thanh market, they will take $2 commission. Always check to see if they give you the right amount back. Vietnamese dong can't be ordered in home countries before you depart, so I would suggest to take USD and change when you arrive.

Don't take out money more than you need. Wear a money belt and I highly recommend the one from Kathmandu (Kathmandu.co.uk/co.nz/ .com.au) which is RFID tech protected. Keep your money separate from the amount you need for a day which some say can be $25-30 a day. Some days, I would spend just $10/15 a day.

Be careful with the notes as the 10,000 and 100,000 look vaguely similar as in the same colors as do the 20,000 and 500,000. Take your time to look at the money and haggle down by 20 per cent. Make sure you agree the amount in dong or dollars. Dong is easier.

The biggest money tip is knowing when to splurge and when to stick to your budget. Tipping is not recommended as it's considered rude. South East Asia has long been on the backpacker radar for budget travel and while Vietnam and Cambodia are less expensive than Singapore, don't overspend in these countries that in Singapore your out of pocket and needing financial assistance.

A general rule ; budget strategically. Less clothes, double the money.

V I S A S

If you are staying longer than fifteen days, then you will need to get a Visa On Arrival either single or multiple entry. First of all, you need a letter. Print it out. I got mine from Vietnam Visa Pro for $20. Other names will be listed, it's not anything to worry about. My visa was a multiple entry as I knew I would be traveling onto Cambodia and more than likely go back to Vietnam. Or you could go to the Vietnam Embassy in London or other major cities and apply there.You will need to take USD to cover the visa costs if you are staying for more than fifteen days. If you are only staying for fifteen days, a visa is not required by British citizens. For other nationalities check with your government tourist office. Mexicans will need a tourist visa to enter Vietnam.

Armed with two passport photographs for a daylight robbery fee of six pounds at my local train station and $50 for a three month visa. Probably take the passport photographs before your arrival in Asia. They can take your photo for the visa when you land at the visa arrival desk in Ho Chi Minh airport for another fee.

A long two hour wait at the visa arrival desk while they processed the visa application and called up every individual following the same procedure. Other visas available are the single entry for 1 month and costs $25 at the airport VOA desk. If you want to cross the border from Thailand into Cambodia, I suggest you fly since many travelers have told of issues, scares, scams, nightmares at the border while waiting to cross.

Visas are not required for Singapore for British citizens.

V A C C I N A T I O N S

Hepatitis A and Typhoid are highly recommended, even though they are pretty pricey from a travel doctor.

T R A V E L * I N S U R A N C E

Ensure your travel insurance is covered for the length of time you will be away for and covers what activities you will be doing and electronics. World Nomads is highly recommended by travelers everywhere.

P R E * T R I P * P L A N N I N G

* Book flights 10-14 weeks before on a Tuesday at 3pm is the cheapest time.

* Check your passport for validity. Check your intended destination for Entry/ Exit requirements as they require an onward ticket and how many pages you have left or have x amount of months left of the passport.

* Make copies of passport, visas, credit card numbers, itinerary to leave with family and friends just in case, a passport is stolen or lost.

* Take photos of important documents and load them into dropbox or google drive.

* Double check details especially on a visa. If you arrive with a mistake on the visa, you could be denied entry.

* Apply for visas in plenty of time, some can take 2 weeks to process

* Check if you need to print out your flight boarding pass or download the airline's app. It's paper free and saves wasting paper.

* Consider every item in your bag. Don't carry stuff you won't use, won't need or think you will need. Just because the airline says 20kg doesn't mean you have to use the full 20kg or exceed it.

* Inform your bank are traveling to certain countries. If you don't, they assume the card is being fraudulently used and will block the card.

*Check for travel warnings. Volcanic ash clouds, earthquakes, hurricanes and cyclones, snow, ice all have dramatic impact on flights and travel plans can go awry or worse... cancelled.

* Check your flight details before you leave for the airport. The day I left Sydney to fly to Tokyo, there was an earthquake in the central province of Japan. Luckily, this didn't affect Tokyo and no flights were cancelled or delayed.

* Take a photo of your accommodation on a street map or the directions to easily find your accommodation at your destination.

* Pack some good walking shoes like Sketchers.

* Create a small first aid kit with minimal items. Band -aids usually for cuts / blisters from new shoes. Tiger Balm for insect bites relief, antiseptic wipes, small swiss army knife, nail clippers.

* Minimal make up. Asia is hot and humid, do you want your make up to slide off your face as though a clown just scared you at a birthday party? Plus being make up free is good for your skin.

A S I A N * T R A V E L

* E S S E N T I A L S

You will need the following essentials to survive in South East Asia.

* Hand Sanitizer - liquid antibacterial gel. This will be a lifeline for so many reasons.

* Tissues - just in case toilet paper is not available, or better still take your own.

* Electrolytes - Sometimes a case of food poisoning happens. The symptoms are flu like, body aches, no energy, diarrhea or vomiting. Gastroenteritis had hit. It wasn't from the street food. It was from the chicken I had eaten earlier at a place where I had been on a few occasions. The experience left me avoiding meat for a month yet for some reason I ate more fish and had more energy.

Electrolytes replenish the salt levels in the body, take one with bottled water and depending on the severity in a few days you should begin to feel better.

* Ibuprofen / paracetamol

* Vietnamese phrasebook - just saying a few words will be highly regarded by the locals.

* Intuition - Use Lonely Planet's latest guidebook, cherry pick the information and enjoy your own experience with an open mind. That being said, some of the information is out of date and things are always changing.

* Universal adapter and phone charger.

* Rain Jacket or Poncho - Hoi An and Hanoi have weather changing climates and sometimes when it rains, it's a downpour.

*Sense of adventure -speak to locals.

* Pack lighter will save on baggage fees at the airport and remember to pack an additional bag for souvenirs. Also packing lighter is easier to move.

* Packing cells / cubes will be beneficial in your organization. I use mine to separate tops from bottoms and a large one for footwear wrapped in a ziplock bag and pack underwear in my shoes. I also use a tumble dryer sheet or spray febreeze to ensure my clothes smell fresh. Rolling clothes will save space.

*Keep phone cords wrapped up in a sunglass case to avoid