Cultivate Curiosity.
It is never too late to find new ways to pass time. It is empowering to create something with your hands. It feels good to connect with nature and sweat it out. And it is always enriching to explore new places and meet new people.
“How we spend every day is how we spend our lives.” Read that again. Think about it. What did you do yesterday and what do you have planned for the next three days? Fast forward to 2080, when you look back, what did you actually do? Good news is, there is tomorrow, so it is not too late to start transforming your day…your life.
South East Asia is arguably the best place to try new things. We have big mountains to summit and small ones to warm up on. We are surrounded by the ocean which means endless coastlines to surf and deserted beaches of all colours (white, pink, and black). We are in the Coral Triangle, the most biodiverse region on the planet so it is a dream to scuba dive, snorkel and freedive.
And for those of you who are not “outdoor adventure” types (yet!), South East Asia really has something for everyone. Do you like elephants - why don’t you advocate and help protect them? Do you like eating - try new cuisines and perfect your home-cooked recipes. Do you like sitting around doing nothing - have you thought about sitting around and doing nothing in a Unesco Heritage site or surrounded by rice paddies?
You start by going. If you don’t try, you don’t know. You are more than watching [insert streaming service] as a pastime. We believe in you.
Scuba Diving
South East Asia is the most bio-diverse region on the world. We are lucky to have the Coral Triangle, an area that spans Indonesia and Southern Philippines; the western corner of the Pacific Ocean. Our founder, Jin who is also a dive instructor has dived around the world and she will tell you with conviction that her favourite dive sites are all in Indoensia. “The more flights it takes to get there, the better”.
Trekking and Camping
Do not ever be discouraged by the big word “trekking”; it is just walking in nature. We have flat walks for you to see orangutans and elephants and we have 2-hr hilly ones that bring you to remote villages. As you realise how capable and strong you have been this whole time, you can summit volcanoes for sunrises. There are only a few things that feel better than being at the highest point of an island (sometimes country) to greet to sun. And eventually, you will start camping in the wild, expanding your adventure options and your heart.
Surfing and kitesurfing
Surfing and kitesurfing appear to be one of those activities that you are born into; if your parents did not surf, it just seems impossible to start. But over the last decade, surf camps and surf villages have been popping up any where there is a surf break. These places are just as much for absolute beginners to anyone who loves a friendly break. Have you ever thought about surfing in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives? The best surfer is the one having the most fun.
Unesco World heritage
“The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialised agency of the United Nations aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture.” South East Asia has over 40 sites; if we include Intangible Cultural Heritage, there are close to 100 destinations. There is so much to learn from from these places and people. There is something magical about being somewhere our ancestors lived centuries ago, abandoned, and then rediscovered again.
Wildlife
Once you meet an elephant or an orangutan in the wild just doing their jungle things, something shifts inside you. We need to connect with nature as much as possible. We need to go to the places that inspire us to fight the good fight against climate change. Lucky us, South East Asia covers a lot of ground and a lot of difference types of landscapes. The most important one to mention is Gunung Leuser Biosphere Reserve (Sumatra) which is the only place left in the world where orangutans, tigers, elephants, and rhinos still live together.
Diverse, indigenous cultures
Founder Jin will take this to her grave that she has time travelled. There are certain places we work with that are a glimpse into our past. People who hold ceremony to honour the mountain, the moon, their ancestors. People who still chose to live without electricity. For Jin, the guides in these destinations, are the most heartful people she has ever met. In this places, if you ask the right questions, if you listen closely, there is so much that we can learn that cannot be googled.
handicrafts and good food
Chickenfeet Travels is mostly adventurous, but to get to these offbeat spots, you usually have to travel through a tourist hotspot. These places are a bit hectic, but they also cater to transferrable skills like cooking, soap making, jewelry making. Travel for good food; farm to fork. Travel to learn how to use your hands. Founder Jin calls it “jungle food” and there is nothing better. Have you eaten the trunk of a banana plant?
Jin’s word of wisdom
I started travelling before I could walk or talk. And I was lucky enough to have grown up with my aunt who let me try everything…even pushed me to try things. I did my first discover scuba dive when I was 12 (hated it) and then dived back in when I was 19 and never looked back.
Scuba diving brought me to places that I never would have thought of going. I travelled to Borneo to dive the famous Sipadan. I went to Mozambique for my divemaster course. And I lived on Malapascua as a volunteer diving with thresher sharks and mantas.
When I hear of something really cool, from more experienced divers, I go out of my way to go there. Now my hobbies are scuba diving, trekking, surfing, kitesurfing or in my case, just getting dragged around! Oh and waterfalls. I like those a lot too.
