In May/ June I went to Japan, South Korea and Indonesia in the space of about 5 weeks. It was planned as our summer travels in our favourite Asian countries. Right before the peak summer travel season but just in time to catch the best window. Japan to visit friends, TCG cards, the food and lots of matcha. South Korea obviously for the beauty care and our annual (beauty products) shopping trip. Indonesia because I missed the island of gods a lot since 2022…
Three countries that have basically nothing in common.
Japan is the most organized place I've ever been. The trains run to the minute, the streets are quiet even in the middle of cities, and every system like queuing, paying, eating, has a right way and a wrong way and everyone knows which is which. It's just a place I adore so much from the minute I land. I'm a huge lover of matcha and it's always fun to do the matcha tasting when traveling here. While my other trips used to be extensive tourist spots and sightseeing trips. By now I just visit friends, my favourite shops and enjoy the vibe. After living in Osaka for 3 months, I love staying here again first and then making my way to Tokyo. Tokyo is huge and the metro network is extensive, so having a Japan eSIM is a non-negotiable thing. On the day of departure it's convenient to be connected and receive any updates on air travel in real time.
South Korea is the opposite. Seoul is loud and fast and operates at midnight like it's 6pm. The food is on every corner and it's all good and you can eat for nothing. I arrived from Japan at 1pm, just in time to drop my luggage at the hotel, head for a hair treatment followed by one of the korean barbecue places.
Indonesia, I was in Bali because it's a place I came back for the 6th time. Slower, hotter, more chaotic in the specific way of somewhere where infrastructure hasn't quite caught up with the number of people trying to use it. Scooters everywhere. Roads that stop making sense. The kind of place where you make a plan and then immediately stop having a plan
Three places that ask completely different things of you.
What I didn't expect is that the one logistical thing I stopped worrying about across all three was data. I'd found Holafly's Asia regional eSIM before I left, one plan that covers the whole region, instead of buying a new SIM every time you land in a new country. You just do one purchase in the beginning for the whole trip and that's it. Once you land, switch of airplane mode you get connected to the right network and can use your data immediately. It's the easiest way to stay connected while traveling across multiple countries. Convenient? 100% Which is the point, honestly.
In Japan it meant Google Maps worked from the second I landed, which sounds obvious but isn't. Tokyo is enormous and complicated and you will need a map. In Seoul it meant I could look up where to eat at midnight without it being a whole production. In Bali it meant when the scooter rental guy gave me directions by pointing vaguely at the road ahead, I could figure out what he meant without hunting for wifi first.
The regional plan is a bigger deal than I'd realised before I went. You buy it once before you leave, get a QR code by email, scan it - takes maybe four minutes. No SIM shop at the airport. No switching cards at each border. No explaining to someone at an airport kiosk which plan you want in a language neither of you speaks well. The best eSIM for travel in Asia is one that you activate once when you arrive and it works all the time until you land back home. And if you're heading to Europe this autumn, Holafly has a regional eSIM for Europe too.
How I set up my Holafly eSIM before travelling
I usually set up my eSIM before I leave home rather than waiting until I arrive. After purchasing the eSIM, Holafly sends the installation details by email. From there, I add the eSIM to my phone and keep my regular SIM installed as well.
The important part is that I install it while I still have a reliable internet connection. Then, once I arrive at my destination, I can switch to the Holafly eSIM for mobile data and get connected without looking for airport WiFi or a local SIM shop.
Especially on a multi-country trip like this one, I liked not having to repeat that process every few days. Japan to South Korea to Indonesia didn't mean three separate SIM-card stops or three different setups.
There is also an extra safety net I really like: Holafly's Always On feature. Every eSIM includes 1 GB of free global backup data per month, renewing monthly for 12 months from the moment you install your eSIM. That means you still have backup connectivity even after your original eSIM has expired. When you travel as much as I do, having that little bit of data available in the background can be surprisingly useful.
If you're planning a trip yourself, you can use my code MICHAELACARROT for 5% off any Holafly travel eSIM or 10% off Holafly Plans for the first 12 months.
I've landed somewhere without data before, and it changes how the first few hours go. You're solving that problem before you can do anything else. In countries where you can't read the signs or ask someone in any language you both speak, that's not nothing.
The three countries were so different that comparing them feels almost beside the point. Japan is precise. South Korea is alive in a way that catches you off guard. Indonesia is beautiful and operating mostly on its own logic and I say that with warmth. I left each one thinking about it differently than I'd expected.
The eSIM was the same in all three. I thought about it maybe twice.
If you're doing any kind of multi-country trip in Asia (or honestly just one country) the regional option is worth knowing about. Code MICHAELACARROT at Holafly for a 5% OFF any Holafly travel eSIM or 10% OFF Holafly Plans for the first 12 months.
I got back in late June and I'm still thinking about the delicious first matcha after I landed J
Written in partnership with Holafly. The opinions and the travel memories, are mine.
