SE Asia trip -where to go?

totallybored

I'm looking for some advice and recommendations on where to go. I'm planning on going to SE Asia in the summer, I've only just decided and not sure where I should go. I have the whole summer free but only want to go for a few weeks or even up to a month. I'll be in Hong Kong and returning to the UK from there but I'm willing to go anywhere in SE Asia. I'll also most probably be doing this on my own as hubby can't take the summer off!

I don't have a budget for the trip but I do want to try to do it fairly cheap. The only problem is I like nice hotels! I'm willing to compromise a bit on these but I'm not prepared to stay in hostels etc.

I definitely want to go to Hanoi, Vientiane, Siem Reap and probably a couple of days in Bangkok as I went there last year and loved the shopping! I've also been thinking of somewhere in the Philipines (not Manila) but not sure where.

As I'll be on my own I'm not looking for nightlife and I only need a few days in each place to see the main sights. I'm also not too keen on using coaches and trains as being on my own I think I'd find flying less scary.

I'd also love to go to Japan too from HK but I'm not sure how cheaply that can be done!

Any ideas or recommendations on where I should go?

Mr_Wang

It's impossible to do Japan and Hong Kong on a budget.

Use Air Asia for flights, but pretty much there is a beaten path (on land) from Beijing in China right down to Singapore. I have done it.

The first thing you should do is buy the SE Asia bible - A la' South East Asia on a shoe string by Lonely Planet.

Having travelled to every single country in that part of Asia my best piece of advice would be this - Get a flight out there, and let the rest just fall into place. (Get your relevant visas though first, which off the top of my head is just Vietnam and China in advance)

But remember, by staying in 'nice hotels' you are avoiding the very places that will give you best advice and the people with the greatest knowledge.

Everywhere you could want to visit is in my blog: http://thesummerholidayofalifetime.blogspot.co.uk/

And everywhere else can be found here: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa

totallybored

Hong Kong won't be an issue as I'll have someone to stay with which is why I'm going to fly to and back from there. I was considerring Japan with hubby from HK if he comes for part of the hol, depending on dates the flights are reasonable but I know hotels will cost loads. The SE Asia bit will be on my own.

I'm a bit nervous of just deciding on what to do once I'm out there as I like to plan and organise everything!

Mr_Wang

totallybored wrote: »

Hong Kong won't be an issue as I'll have someone to stay with which is why I'm going to fly to and back from there. I was considerring Japan with hubby from HK if he comes for part of the hol, depending on dates the flights are reasonable but I know hotels will cost loads. The SE Asia bit will be on my own.

I'm a bit nervous of just deciding on what to do once I'm out there as I like to plan and organise everything!

Well generally people travel on land and then sort of satellite out of KL.
There is abslutely nothing of interest in Hanoi, but its a great base for other stuff such as Ha Long, but there are plenty of places in Vietnam worth a peek. Then head straight into Cambodia across land and get your visa at the border. If you stay in Saigon let me know, I know a perfect place that will see you off with a ticket to Cambodia without the hassle and costs. Once in Siem Reap I know a fab place that will take you to the border and the you can get the train to Bangkok in Thailand. You only get a two week visa and so head South into Malaysia and Singapore for kicks. All the Malaysian Islands such as Penang and Langkawi are well connected on sea both throughout Malaysia and Thailand. Singapore is worth a punt and a great leaping off point to Indonesia.
Bali is expensive and not that great and so concentrate your efforts in the amazing Java or surrounding islands.

In terms of Phillipines the of course check out Boracay and if you head out to Borneo do it through KL either with Tiger or Air Asia.

The main points are simple, Cambodia is by far the cheapest country followed by Laos and Indonesia. Singapore will be the most expensive with Malaysia a distant and joint second with Thailand. But in reality all (except Singapore) and a lot cheaper than the UK. Every SE Asian country has distinct backpacker areas that provide lodging from about $5 per night. A decent place will be around $15/20 outside the big cities. Vietnam is cheap as chips, but decent accommodation is a real premium.
Food is so cheap its difficult to account for it with any reality, but places such as Angkor Wat will sting you so be careful.

Doshwaster

The good thing about SE Asia is that you can stop in "nice hotels" for a fraction of what they cost in Europe. In Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam, £40-50 a night will get you some fantastic places.

However, if you go slightly "downmarket" you can still get some fabulous hotels and guest houses for around £15-20 a night. Besides, if you are away for a month the hotel bills soon start mounting up. At the end of the day, it's just somewhere to sleep.

The hub of any SE Asia trip is Bangkok. Just fly there and follow your nose - there's no point in booking everything in adavance as you plans will surely change en route either because of the weather or you decide you love/hate one particular place. Spend a few days hanging out at the bars and cafes talking to other travellers to get some ideas of places to go and exchange stories. From BKK most places are only an hour or two flight away.

Just be wary about trying to visit too many places - you'll spend more time stuck in airports than actually exploring and enjoying places. There's no need to see everything in one trip as SE Asia is a part of the world that draws many of us back time and time again.

I'd leave Japan and HK for another time. There is plenty in Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam to keep you busy for 3-4 weeks.

Off the top of my head I would possibly go for a route such as 3 days Bangkok, 3-4 days Chiang Mai/Rai, head into Laos (which I don't know so well) and then into Cambodia (Siem Reap and Phnom Penh are worth 2-3 days each) before heading back to Thailand for a few days by a beach (or even *The* Beach).

You could probably spend 2-3 weeks each in Malaysia (KL is fairly dull but the rest of the country is fantastic) and Vietnam so maybe save those for another trip.

There are plenty of SE Asia regulars on these pages so if you can give us some more idea of what you like (culture, shopping, nightlife (don't worry if you are on your own - it's more fun that way!), cities, beaches, food, countryside) then we can offer a lot of advice.

bylromarha

You sound like the thought of SE Asia alone is something you want to do, but you want it to be as smooth as possible by organising flights and hotels in UK.

I get that! Our SE Asia trip this summer is already sorted hotel and airasia wise. Flying in and out of HK too!

We're there for 3 and a half weeks and we quickly realised all the places we wanted to go, that we didn't have enought time to visit them all. I'm not the sort of person who could just land and go with the flow when I get there.

So have a good look through the guidebooks, see where you want to go. We did that, and narrowed down our trip to the places we're off to - had to cut out Vietnam + Laos altogether, but means we get quality time in the parts we really want to go to.

We've booked some really nice hotels all over the place, you don't need to do hostels to get cheap prices. We booked direct or used http://www.sawadee.com/

AFWIW, I found Angkor Wat pretty, but found 1 day was more than enough for me to see all the parts I wanted to see. Getting a taxi guide round the site was by far the best and most informative way to see the key parts.

totallybored

Thanks both for he useful info.

I can't miss out HK as that was the main part of the trip to see a friend. I've just decided to expand on it and do more than HK!

I went to Singapore and Indonesia last year so I'm happy to miss both of those off.

With regards to budget I was thinking up to $70 a night (it can be cheaper depending on where I'd be). It has to be somewhere clean and have wifi which is all I'm really bothered about.

With regards to what I like, I love shopping and am happy to spend days in markets etc buying any sort of cheap tat, I prefer cities and want to see a bit of culture. I'm not too bothered about a beach on this trip as I've got the rest of my life to go on beach holidays (and i did the beach holiday of a lifetime last year) and this is a chance to see some places I wouldn't normally have the time to go to. I don't want to do anything that involves jungles and mud!

I didn't know I'd be doing this until last week when I quit my job so haven't had as much time to plan and research as I'd like.

totallybored

bylromarha wrote: »

AFWIW, I found Angkor Wat pretty, but found 1 day was more than enough for me to see all the parts I wanted to see. Getting a taxi guide round the site was by far the best and most informative way to see the key parts.

That's really useful, I want to go but did wonder if several days were really necessary.

Doshwaster

totallybored wrote: »

Thanks both for he useful info.

I can't miss out HK as that was the main part of the trip to see a friend. I've just decided to expand on it and do more than HK!

OK, that's one thing decided: you need to start in HK. So, you are looking for a route which will loop through SE Asia and return there.

HK isn't as great a hub for low cost airlines as Bangkok and KL but the fantastic Air Asia do fly from there (http://www.airasia.com/my/en/flightinfo/routemap.page) and they have cheap flights to BKK. Alternatively,it's just a short hop to Hanoi.

In terms of "booking in all in advance" vs "making it up as you go along". Pre-booking is great for a short trip of 1-2 weeks and does give you peace of mind but on longer trips I guarantee your plans will change en route whether you want them to or not. Almost every hotel, cafe and bar has free (or very cheap) WiFi and there are travel agents everywhere so it's easy to make bookings as you go.

claire16c

We went to Vietnam for about 2 and a half weeks as part of an 8 month trip, it was one of our favourite places. We didnt fancy hostels there either, but we stayed in 3 star hotels for around £10-14 a night! So would probably be even less for 1 person.

We started off in Hanoi, mainly to see Ha long Bay, but our favourite place was Hoi An.

We worked our way down the country ending up in Saigon, spending 2-3 nights in each place we stopped at, I prebooked the hotels on expedia beforehand, and we flew to most places with Vietnam Airlines, who were really cheap considering they arent a no frills airline.

We only used the train once. That was an experience

We also went to Tokyo, our hotel was about £60 a night, I think it was called the Oak hotel. The room was tiny, but it was great because it was made for travellers - i.e had a washing machine, microwave etc, but had proper hotel rooms. We bought most of our meals from the equivalent of the pound shop, and the 7-11. So our main costs were the hotel and metro tickets.

totallybored

I've done a bit more research and decided I'll be a bit more adventurous.

I'm thinking of a route similar to the one Mr Wang suggested after looking at where I want to go. I want to start off in Hanoi (I have friends who loved it and didn't like Saigon so I'm happy to do both). I few nights there so I can go to Halong Bay. Then I want to get the train to Saigon, and go to Hoi An on the way (and anywhere else that is recommended). From Saigon I'll get a coach to Phnom Penh for a few days before another coach to Siem Reap. I understand the easiest way from Siem Reap to Vientiane is across into Thailand and then a train into Laos so I'll do that.

Now I'm not too sure about the route after Vientiane (and is here anything else in Laos worth seeing?). I understand that I can only stay in Thailand 2 weeks when entering via land and I think that should be long enough. So far I want to go to Chiang Mai for a few days, a couple of nights in Bangkok and then I'd like a beach for maybe 5 nights in any order. I've not done a huge amount of research into beach resorts yet and don't have much of an idea on these. I found somewhere that I liked the look of in Bophut on Koh Samui but I'm open to any suggestions. I'd like a bit of luxury for this though.

With regards to visas, I understand I can get a visa on arrival at the airport in Hanoi (you apply for the letter first online). Cambodia has an e visa but I'm not sure which crossing is used between Saigon and Phnom Penh so I don't know if it would be valid for that border or not and I understand that if I want to stay longer in Thailand then I can just leave the country and come back in to get another 2 weeks.

I've also not researched if I need any jabs or malaria tablets for anywhere yet either. I'm a mosquito magnet so I'll probably be eaten to death too!