So you're planning a trip and you're wondering how far you'll get South East Asia within four to six

months? This is my list of places I visited in four months without rushing from one place to another using

local transportation when possible and flights when needed, including Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar,

Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines and a little bit of Vietnam. It can easily be stretched to six months by

staying longer at a few great places or by adding a few.

I've visited Indonesia on other trips, therefore I didn't include it on this one.

A while back, I saw a documentary about people living in the south cemetery in Manila, many of them working for the cemetery but staying in between the tombs over night.

I've always found the influence of different circumstances in different places on design fascinating. How do we react on what is given and how does our culture influence the result?

So... how do people live in a cemetery?

Obviously I had to go on see it for myself.

After an amazing month in the Philippines my last stop was Manila.

Z hostel had invited me to stay with them and as design hostels are my favourite kind of accomodation and the Philippines have some of my favourite places in the world, I knew this would be good.

"So you're doing the whole scenic views thing?" my new Filipina friend asked me sitting in the white sand, overlooking the most beautiful beach I've ever seen. She pointed out that my itinerary through the Philippines basically consisted of impressive cliffs, stunning beaches and beautiful views. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

If you, like me, are a very visual person and can stare at a star fish in clear ocean water for an hour, and you are wondering which islands to go to, here is some inspiration for your trip through the Philippines.

"What do you bring to a lonely island? Not in a “the bible and a flashlight”-way, but really, what do you bring?" I asked my friend Natasha.

I was about to be picked up from Coron town to stay at Two Seasons Coron on a tiny island for a couple of days. I came to Coron for wreck diving but what else do you do in a luxury resort on a private peninsula? "Uhm... bring sunscreen?"

Ever since I got a first glimpse at a wreck in Koh Tao, I was so fascinated by the size of the ship, by the history around it and by the coral stuck to it, that I definitely wanted to see more.

I knew that I had to travel to Coron in the Philipines.

During the second world war, several ships had tried to hide in the Coron bay and were all sunk.

Today this makes a great dive site, one of the best for wreck diving in the world.

Two months later, I climbed off the speedboat at Bulalacao island in Coron bay.

El Nido has been on my list for ages. One stunning beach next to another, amazing diving and beautiful cliff surroundings? Sounds like my kind of place.

So on my trip through the Philippines, I made sure that this was my first longer stop.

The lovely people at Spin Designer Hostel invited me to stay with them, which obviously made my time in El Nido even better.