Running around the world: Southeast Asia

I recently wrote about how I got into running. I mentioned I’d been “running around the world.” I covered the first of those runs around New Zealand and Australia in a photo heavy post.

This is the next post in the series, covering Southeast Asia. Indonesia (Bali and Lombok), Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.

I’d left Australia after six weeks of moving around its major cities (and Tasmania).

Indonesia

Flew to Bali to start my trip across Southeast Asia. Very humid. Did a couple of runs there but failed to capture them on Strava. Had to be careful, holes in the pavement and the roads weren’t great, lots of scooters/motorcycles whizzing around Ubud where I was staying

Lombok was next, via ferry. Got a couple of runs in. Quieter, less busy than Bali. Learned to ride a scooter too.

This run was titled “Too hot, too humid, too late in the day” on Strava. For good reason.

Singapore

Marina Bay in Singapore was a great place to run. Otters jumped out and started running alongside me, which was one of the most surreal experiences I’ve ever had. But very cute. Otters are common in Singapore. Otterly mad!

Vietnam

Then two weeks around Vietnam, starting in Ho Chi Minh City. Bustling with motorbikes and scooters but wide well maintained roads.

Going to Hoi An for the nearby temples and other heritage sites, I was able to find a great route to the sea and back.

Runs fuelled by banh mi’s recommended by the late Anthony Bourdain at Bahn Mi Phuong. Also recommended by a friend. She said she had two when she was there. I ordered my second banh mi before I’d finished my first!

Then onto Hanoi. Crazy intense traffic. Narrow streets. Not possible to run at all in most places. So did a few loops around Hoàn Kiếm Lake, aka Sword Lake.

I’d been apprehensive about maintaining my three times a week routine with all the extra exploration walking. I would run in the morning and then explore on foot, especially for the first few days in a new place. Avoiding public transport to get the place “under my feet.” Sometimes up to 20 km a day. But as it turned out the extra walking took care of my post run stiffness, sitting around for the rest of the day was never a good idea.

Given the heat and humidity it was hard to hit 10 km on runs so the additional walking made up that a bit too.

Thailand

Onto Thailand. First stop Bangkok! Luckily I was staying near Lumphini Park. Checked into the hotel and set off for an evening run. Saw many other runners which was encouraging. Still quite humid in the evening.

Next up was Chiang Mai. Beautiful city with stunning temples. There’s a square wall which goes around the city and this would be a perfect route. The first time Strava stopped recording mid run for some reason and I was annoyed to find I hadn’t got my perfect square. So I tried again a couple of days later and got my “Chiang Mai squared.”

Last stop in Thailand was Phuket. Did some day trips to islands and my second ever diving experience. Got in a few runs including a 10 km run, my first since Hoi An a few weeks before.

And then I was done with Southeast Asia for the time being. I needed to catch my breath and also needed something familiar. A break from the heat.

So I would be returning to Melbourne where winter would be setting in. Downtime, many runs and also trips to other parts of Australia. Will cover next time.