Southeast Asia Adventure: Bangkok, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore and Krabi

From Frankfurt, we flew to Bangkok – but Bangkok was only the opening act. From there, we continued by bus to Cambodia, to Siem Reap. A long ride, but anyone who’s done an overland stretch in Southeast Asia knows: the journey itself is already part of the experience.

In Siem Reap, what you come here for was waiting: Angkor Wat. The temple is just the most famous tip of an enormous complex stretching across several square kilometers of jungle. Ta Prohm, with its massive strangler fig roots growing straight through the walls, is the location made world-famous by “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” in 2001. But the real impact isn’t the film backdrop – it’s standing among thousand-year-old stones that the jungle is steadily reclaiming.

From Siem Reap, we flew on to Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, and from there took the bus to Vietnam. Arriving in Ho Chi Minh City brought the moment everyone experiences when exchanging money in Vietnam for the first time: you swap a few hundred euros and suddenly you’re a millionaire. The Vietnamese dong sounds impressive but holds little value – the exchange rate creates stacks of bills that barely fit into your wallet.

We spent a day on the Mekong Delta. By boat through narrow side channels, past floating markets and houses on stilts, rowed by boatmen in their traditional conical hats. A world that feels fundamentally different from anything on the mainland.

From Ho Chi Minh City, we continued to Singapore. Coming from Vietnam, the contrast is almost a shock: pristine architecture, orderly streets, every tree seemingly placed on purpose. Singapore manages something unusual – jungle and high-tech skyline exist side by side in the tightest of spaces. There are no classic beaches, but on the offshore island of Sentosa, reachable by cable car or train, you can take a refreshing dip in the South China Sea at one of its sheltered coves.

We wrapped up the trip in Krabi, in southern Thailand. A short flight from Singapore, and we were back in Thailand – this time not in urban Bangkok, but among limestone cliffs rising straight out of the sea. The perfect place to bring this journey to a close.