Where I got the best photos... :)

I recently contributed a Trip Report in Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree and I was asked by one of those who replied where I got the best photos from my recent backpacking trip.

Well, I took HUNDREDS of them and I'm consolidating my favorite ones here. I'm so glad I brought my wide-angle lens (for my Nikon camera) with me on the trip. You know how I love taking travel photos! With a lot of picture perfect moments, I can never go wrong with a wide-angle lens. The world looks so much bigger.

In Siem Reap, Cambodia:

The ancient halls inside Angkor Wat.

Intricate designs of the temple.

I wonder when these scattered stones were here.

The reflection of sunrise in the pond.

Lazing in the green fields of Prasat Kravan.

You can rent a canoe to explore Angkor.

Getting lost inside Bayon.

Get tangled with nature in Ta Phrom.

Climb on top of Phnom Bakeng to get an aerial view of Angkor.

And now, in Ayutthaya, Thailand:

Biking around the wats and exploring the city.

The 3-bell shaped chedi in Wat Phra Si Sanhet.

See crumbling structures around...

The beaches in Phuket, Thailand!:

The long-tail boats in Ko Phi Phi Don Island.

With this kind of days, sometimes you wish it'll never end.

Fall in love with the color paintings in the sky during sunset in Phromthep Cape.

Hope you enjoyed some of them. From your traveling shutterbug, Libby. ;)

Banana Pancake trail... Coming very soon!

I love pancakes but I honestly haven't tried any banana pancakes! It was only last night I surprisingly learned (in the Backpacking talk at R.O.X. High Street) that in our neighboring countries, this food is readily available almost everywhere... in guesthouses, cafes and restaurants catering to backpackers as a form of sweet breakfast.

Ooooohhh...

Hence, the South East Asia Mainland backpacking trail was given that unique nickname. There is no actual route or road to follow the Banana Pancake trail. It’s rather a growing list of places in Southeast Asia with rising influx of travellers and backpackers. It can stretch from the backpacking epicenter hub in Thailand (Khao San Road!), to Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, and certain parts of India and China.

I can’t wait to taste the banana pancake and discover its trail really soon…

Apparently, there are other essential backpacking trails you can take, based again on Lonely Planet. I think I’d like to take the North to South Island trail in New Zealand next since my sister is now there. ;) Another dream trail is The Gringo Trail that refers to a string of places in South America (Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, etc.) normally taken by “Gringos”, a slang word for Americans and other foreigners in Latin America. This culminates to the Inca trail by visiting the lost Inca city of Machu Picchu in Peru.

From last night’s talk, it’s also interesting to learn that one of the earliest forms of backpacking trails was during the ‘60s and ‘70s which is called The Hippie trail—these were cheap travels taken by hippies from Europe overland to and from southern Asia, mainly India and Nepal. They journeyed then by thumbing (or hitchhiking) or through low-cost bus or train transport.

So we’re still part of this whole hippie movement even up to now… ;)

There was this newly-wed couple back in the ‘70s who wanted to cross Europe and Asia overland, up to Australia for their honeymoon. Back then everyone thought it was impossible. But they proved them wrong and it was indeed THE trip of a lifetime they will never forget. Right after, they wrote their first travel guide entitled Across Asia on the Cheap. This couple was Tony and Maureen Wheeler and that was the beginning of their Lonely Planet empire.

'All you've got to do is decide to go and the hardest part is over. So go!' -- Across Asia on the Cheap philosophy

I AM going! So see you in the Banana pancake trail soon!