Thailand-Laos-Vietnam-Cambodia Itineraries Please Help!

Waxing the Gaza

Hi, just wondering if anyone has any travelled this route(or Similar route) and any info or tips you may have.

The route we are planning is Bangkok to Chiang Mai by train cross the border in to Laos,fly from Laos to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam,Bus or train to Phnom Pehn in Cambodia and finally bus or train back to Bangkok via Angkor Wat.Phew!.

If anyone has any information on any of these places ie. transport,accomodation etc it would be greatly appreciated.

Mythago

What kind of time frame are you looking at?

Waxing the Gaza

Around 4-6weeks.

Mythago

Well six weeks really would be pushing, if you could swing 8 and a definite 2 weeks in each place it would be easier! But on the Laos-Vietnam side I'd recommend trying to get to Danang and bussing to Saigon(here at the moment and not overly impressed), with stopovers of course. Then get a boat up the Mekong to Phnom penh, fast or slow depending on your budget/time constaints. Can't really offer advice on Laos(not been there yet)but the majority of travellers I've met ave spent 10 days to 2 weeks there, but your time limit doesn't really allow for that! I'd nearly consider dropping a country, because, TBH you will feel rushed. I'm just wrapping up vietnam(in 12 days) and have to skip loads!! includin drinkin tonight cos I'm up really early! Anyways, how my slightly disjointed comments are helpful!

Waxing the Gaza

Have you been to Hanoi?If so would you reccomend staying there a while,i heard there are some really cool limestone islands nearby.Might have to skip Danang and fly straight to Saigon.
Do you know if there is a train from Hanoi to saigon and costs and times involved etc.Never thought about the boat trip up the Mekong to Phnom penh,Have you done this?Or if you are planning on it i would be curious to know how you get on?One last thing,how did you find costs(accom,food,Beer)in relation to thailand?
Thanks.

Gaz

Im am in the middle of my travels at the moment, left Ireland on the 3rd of October and did that exact route you have there.

Flew into Bangkok on the 3rd , stayed there for a few days , checked out the Grand Palace and things like that , from there got an over night train to changmai
In changmai for about a week and a half , stay in the Top North hotel , nicest and cheap ... did elephant trekking , bamboo rafting and hill tribe treks while in Changmai.
From there headed north to Chang Kong for the Laos border crossing , took an 8 hour slow boat down the mekong , stopped for the night in a small village then back on the boat the next day and continued to Luang Prabang , very nice french style town. From there drove to Vang Vieng, great place to chill out for a few days, lots of other travellers and some good stuff to do. From Vang Vieng travelled to the capitol , Vientianne, which is crap , very little to do , try and sort out your vietnam passport before arriving there other wise its a 4 day wait.
From there we flew to Saigon , spent about a week there and travelled to the coast for another week in a beutiful place called Mui Ne , id highly recommend a few days there.
Lots of cool stuff to do in Saigon , visit the tunnels used during the war and also the war museum.
From Saigon we did a 3 day mekong deltra trip to Cambodias capitol , Penom Penh, some very interesting and gruesome places to visit there , ie: s21 torture museum and the killingfields. Very errie but well worth the visit.
From there we took a boat for 4 hours up to Siam Reap , Ankor Wat ...Amazing place , $40 per day , so its by far the most expensive thing i had done , but really really amazing , you wont regret it.
From Siam Reap we then headed back to Bangkok, arsenumbing 14 hours , my advice is Valium !!! Over the counter and made the trip a breeze !

From Bangkok we flew to Koh Samui the next day , stayed there for 1 night then headed to Koh Phangan for a month and chilled out , $2 a night for a beach hut.

I did all that in just under 3 months , most incredible journey.

For me , i then headed to Sydney and that where i am now , just working away getting the funds sorted for the trip home. Heading to New Zealand in 3 months then im hoping to go to Nepal , Tibet and India on the way home.

Any questions , just ask.

Oh and onemore piece of advice , dont buy any lonely planets or any other travel guides , get a cheap one over there. There all really good copys and cost about 2 quid.

Waxing the Gaza

Thanks a million for the reply,very helpful but I have a few more questions.
Could you give me a rough idea of the amount of money you spent in your 3 months in South East Aisa on Food,Drink,Travel and accomadation?I know everyone says how cheap it is but im still not conviced.Ill probably spent 3 weeks to a month in Koh Phangan first and then start the serious travelling.
Is there a need to take maleria tablets when travelling through Laos,Vietnam and Cambodia?
After Asia we are heading for Sydney as well.How easy is it to find work and accomadation(House or Apartments not hostels)?

Gaz

What ever you do dont go to Koh Phangan first, get the travelling out of the way first , trust me , you will never leave or you will leave to late.
Do the travel and then relax in Koh Phangan.

Asia is cheap, especially in Koh Phangan, where our beach hut was 100 Baht a night, we stayed at the Porn Sawan resort, i would highly reccommend , 100 baht is about 2 euro. Added a moped to the daily bill for another 120 Baht.

I think we spent about 4 thousand over 3 months , me and the girlfriend, but we bought extra flights , one from Vientianne to Saigon and a return from Bangkok to Samui. In Koh Phangan we lived on about 30euro a day or less.

The big problem is when you arrive in Sydney, I was bleeding money, an average hostel is about $25 each for a dorm and 65 - 90 for a a private room per night plus your eating out for breakfast and dinner , so i blew a few grand in the first few weeks. Took us 3 weeks to find a decent apartment but as we arrived at Christmas it was always going to be harder.
Our apartment is 2000 a month but thats sharing with another couple, so 1000 per couple , which works out at 250 a week , thats very good for 2 people and we have a nice big apartment , modern kitchen and a private pool and hot tub (pool and tub for apartment block only i mean). Id say Randwick or Coogee are the best places to go for , cheap, close everything and right on the beach.

Jobs are hard to get, agencies fu<k you about , took me 4 weeks to get my first job and 2 to get the next one, most places dont like hiring travellers although labouring and trade jobs are easy to get if thats your thing , im on $22 an our doing IT , IT seems to be very hard to get but its possible. So im pulling in about 650 a week.

I'll add more when i have time or if you have any more questions

Mythago

Have you been to Hanoi?If so would you reccomend staying there a while,i heard there are some really cool limestone islands nearby.

This would be Halong Bay, probably the best trip I had! Did 2 days & thoroughly enjoyed it!

Do you know if there is a train from Hanoi to saigon and costs and times involved etc.

Expensive and slow! Better to fly, as you'll be rushing!
And Cheers to Darth Homer for all the info.... will be takin a few hints from all that myself!

TomTom

I got a train from Saigon up to danang, which too 26 hours.
Train was very uncomfortable, and it smelled like crap so we flew back to saigon.
We went to a small town called hoi an or however its spelled. Its a great place to relax.
Despite the fact saigon can be a bit gloomy it worth seeing, espically the cochi (sp)tunnels. Plus I managed to find an irish bar thats was actually irish.

Waxing the Gaza

Sorry lads but I have yet more questions.
Whats the story with visas for Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia?Do you have to send your passport to the respective embassies in advance?I should be crossing all these borders by land.Is it possible to organise the Visas in Bangkok?
Thanks.

Gaz

We got our visa's from the tour companys over there , got our loas one in Chang Mai, and our Cambodia one in Saigon. Its a bit scary handing over your passport and not getting it back till the next day but we had no problems ...For Vietnam we went to the vietnam embassey in Vientianne (Laos).

Make sure you bring money with you into Laos and Cambodia, there is no ATMs in these countries. Also have some Dollars on you.

Oh and save yourself some hassle and bring some passport photos with you before you go, finding somewhere in Laos isnt easy ....trust me.

PWEI

Here's an itinery I wrote for a friend last year.Notice I said to head down to the islands in the south first and then head up to the North of Thailand and Laos.But Darth Homer is right,do the travelling first and then relax on one of the islands.
I wrote this last year;






"OK my advise would be to have a few weeks in Thailand and finish up in the North Western town of Nong Khai.From there you can cross the Thai-Laos friendship bridge into Vientiane in Laos and later you can then cross in to Vietnam by land.Then if you wanted to go to Cambodia you could go from Ho Chi Minh.
Anyway here's a suggested itinerary for Thailand and Laos.After a few days in Bangkok head for some sun,sand and sea.The islands in the south are good this time of year cause there's no rain from March to June.The main islands are Ko Samui,Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao.A word of warning though if you go to Ko Samui,the main beach Chaweng has
developed out of control in the last few years and its like somewhere in Spain now.If you want somewhere quite avoid Chaweng but if your after plenty of nightlife then Chaweng has it all.Bo Phut and MaeNam beach's are much quieter and have also
cheaper accommodation.Ko Pha Ngan island is nearly as big,but is much quiter and tranquil and the beach's are just as beautiful.After a week or two in the sun
head back to Bangkok and take a slow train ride north stopping off in Lopburi and
Sukhotai (Siam's first Capital) to have look at a look at Thailand historic temple
architecture. From here you could go straight to Chaing Mai but if you want something more off the beaten track go west to Mae Sot right on the Burmese border. From Mae Sot north to Mae Sariang you'll find loads of treking,rafting and waterfalls.From Mae Sariang head to Mae Hong Song which is surrounded by loads of various hilltribes some of which only get a visitor once every few months unlike the hilltribes around Chaing Mai who get visitors ever day. Continue north to Tha Ton on the Kok river and you if you want you can boat down the Kok to Chaing Rai.If this all sounds a bit much you could just go straight to Chaing Mai (from Bangkok or Sukhotai) which has a lot of hilltribes,treking and rafting.
I've done the first route and prefer it cause its a bit more adventurous and the treking in Chaing Mai is all tourists routes.If you want to go to Laos from here head east to the town of Nong Khai.Here you can cross the friendship bridge along the Mekon river into Vientiane in Laos.You could take in all the sights in Vientiane and the city of Luag Prabang in a week if you fly between the two.Luag Prabang is a world heritage site and full of French Colonial and Laos architecture. But I would advise after Vientiane head a little bit north
to a small very scenic town called Vang Vieng. This is very popular with backpackers who like to relax and smoke the queer stuff.Its by a river and is surrounded by limestone and is full of
caves and tunnels some of which you have to get a boat to see.If your going to Vietnam from Laos you can cross by land via Savanakhet and Lao Boa which are further south.I've only been to Vientiane, Vang Vineg and a couple of other small places not really worth mentioning.Although Chong Mek is worth a look,half is on the Thai side and half on the Laos side.It has a huge market which is dirt cheap and again half the market is half in Thailand and the other half in Laos.From Lao Boa which is in central Vietnam you can either head north
or south.I can't say anything about Northern Vietnam cause I haven't been there.I can recommend Nha Trang in the south.The waters are turquoise and great for snorkelling. There's also loads to see there like offshore islands and the Giant seated Buddha.
Anyway I've gone on long enough,not matter where you decide to go your going to have a great time,I'd dead jealous!"