Travelling Asia and Surrounding Countries

linola_c

Hi Guys,

Apologies if this is not the correct forum!

My bf and I are heading off in mid January and we are hoping to travel some of asia. We are totally clueless of where to go and anxious not to miss out on anything. We are both in our early 20s and are looking for some fun as well as seeing plenty of unforgettable sites!

We will be flying into Kuala Lumpur and intend to fly to Phuket and do Ko phi phi!We intend to be in koh phangan for the full moon party on Jan 19th and iv also seen that ko tao seems to be popular. As for further afield ie Vietnam/Cambodia - we are completely clueless!!!

Has anyone on here travelled this route? Could u give me any indication of a route and how u made ur way between particular places? Where to see where not to see? Any hidden treasures?

Obviously were also anxious to keep our costs to a minimum and we are heading on to australia after.

Would really appreciate some input on this!

Thanks a mil

mandrake04

This time 6 years ago I was in Asia for the guts of 3 months on my own.

Thailand: Bangkok, Koh Samui & koh phangan.
Singapore
Vietnam: Hanoi, Halong bay, Hue, Nha Trang, Siagon.
Cambodia
Laos
Malyasia

Then Australia by Christmas eve....am still here in Oz.

In all a class trip.... I just went with the flow and didnt plan ahead too much. Better to stay pretty flexible or you might miss out in many adventures.

catbear

Yeah, go with the flow on the backpacker route. My only must see for anyone are the temples of Ankor in Cambodia. I'm not a beach person but I was far more impressed with the beaches in south Vietnam than in Thailand although the Thais are the friendliest of the lot, bar the burmese.

Thailand is much cheaper than Malaysia so don't panic. Take your time if booking trips, there's always another tour the next day despite what they say. Just keep in mind that although friendly to your face you are still a walking atm machine to some people. Laos is seriously chilled out.

Wish I were you.

linola_c

Thanks so much!

With reference to the 'backpacker route' - where is exactly is this? And perhaps you could point me in the direction of where I mught find same?

Thanks!

dublin15_2009

Definatly try get to Laos if you can , so chilled out and people are lovely. Go tubing in Vang Vieng if your looking for a bit of a session:D

catbear

linola_c wrote: »

Thanks so much!

With reference to the 'backpacker route' - where is exactly is this? And perhaps you could point me in the direction of where I mught find same?

Thanks!

it's more like a loop. It's best to have a map of SE asia in front of you while you read this. A popular route is the loop which is done in either direction with endless diversions on the way. A lot of people catch a bus or shared taxi to the Cambodian border where they'll cross over, listen to money changers trying to convince you that dollars won't be accepted and that you should buy the local currency off them with all your dollars.

From there another bus/shared cab (more likely a flat-bed) to get to Siem Riep to see the temples of Ankor. Do give these temples a few days, you might have temple fatigue by that stage but Ankor is off the scale for its enormity, look at it on google earth!

Then it's on to Cambodian capital where Soi 21 is a stirring relic of the Khmer Rouge. Then it's onto Saigon, short trip on a bus. After Saigon you have lots of days trips to the delta and Viet cong tunnels (wow). Then at your own pace take buses/train up the coast over several days to Hanoi. Some nice towns on the way worth stopping in for a few days each.

From Hanoi, there are more day trips like Halong bay but now it's time to turn back towards Bangkok via Laos. Now this bit needs careful consideration. If you are sick of buses by now then now is a good time to splurge on a plane ticket as the overnighter bus from Hanoi to Vientienne is supposed to be tough, don't know as I chickened out and flew but others said it was loooooong.

Not much in Vientienne, very quiet for a capital city. Then bus up to Luang Prabang for some serious chilling out. When you've had enough of that, cruise the Mekong to connect to get to Chinag Mai and eventually arrive back in Bangkok.

We took three months at it and we kept bumping into the same backpackers along the way. Hope that helps. BTW it's pretty cheap. If you need to fly use airasia.com

hussey

Moving from Aus to Travel forum