# @stephmylife on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/C03ana0xIIB
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/31312631-stephmylife-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/74abf4af3b.jpg
- **Posted:** 2023-12-15T07:48:46.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Stephanie Barry Woods (@stephmylife) — https://gondola.cc/stephmylife

## Caption

“I want to get off the beaten track” “oh, go here!” “no, I don’t know anything about it” 

It’s an interesting thing about travel - if you don’t hear a lot about a place, some people assume it’s just not that good. Everyone talks about Phi Phi, Phuket, Bali, Angkor Wat, Ho Chi Minh a lot, so they must be the best places right?

No, it’s just where everyone goes 🤷🏼‍♀️ and everyone goes because everyone else goes

We’ve created a cycle where we go to and talk about the same places, then return saying they’re too touristy. People ask me how they can avoid the most touristy parts of SEA, but are often reluctant to go to places they haven’t heard of. Nerves get the best of us, even though we know what we want. 

It takes more time and effort to go even slightly off the beaten track, but it’s effort that is so worth it! If you want to come to SEA, and you want to spend some time away from the tourist hotspots, don’t pack your itinerary with the same places you hear about over and over. And don’t be afraid to go to a place you’ve not heard of before. 

So how do you find these places? (Aside from my feed 🫶🏻)

My motto for Southeast Asia is always ‘one island over, 2 streets back’. And it works anywhere. Think of the busy places you’ve heard of a thousand times. Go to Google Maps, and look at what’s nearby. Koh Ngai is an hour from Koh Lanta and it’s quiet paradise, Koh Yao Noi is 20 minutes from Phuket and feels like another world. Koh Mak is like 30 mins from Koh Chang and you’d never know it - the island only got street lighting a few years ago!

Many travellers will think it’s bizarre that I’m even referring to Laos as remotely off the beaten track - but it feels like a blind spot for many first-time travellers in SEA. It’s skipped so often, forgotten about in even 6-12 month itineraries, and when I recommend it people usually say ‘It’s not as popular as the other countries around it so I figured it’s just not that good’. 

If you’re planning a trip to SEA and you want to see something different - drop a well known place you want to go to in the comments and I’ll tell you a less busy place nearby you should check out too while you’re there!

#loas #luangprabang

## Stats

- **Views:** 1,219
- **Likes:** 2,042
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 54

## Credits

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Stephanie Barry Woods | @stephmylife | https://gondola.cc/stephmylife | Influencer |

## Tags

loas, luangprabang

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