Travel plans for Thailand/Combodia/Vietnam

millysg1

Hey,
I did that a couple year back. 6 weeks starting in Bangkok and then finishing in Vietnam doing also Loas (my fav out of four) and Cambodia. I cant comment on flights as we had been in India for 2 weeks before hand and we did that by joining a tour but for these four countries we didnt and it was easy. We were paying £4 ish for a room per night and food is cheap, again £5 each for a dinner. We took Rough guide or Lonely plant for south eat asia on a shoe string and it told us everything we needed. We used local transport and travelled via train, bus or boat. We could of actually done with another 2 weeks, we were rushing at the end and only spent 2 days in cambodia in the end. We travelled north from Bangkok stopping a couple times (chang mai, ayuthaya, sukhothai) and finished in Chang Rai where we did a jungkle trek. then went over the river into Loas to take a boat trip for 2 days down the Mekong river to finish in vang vieng, which is great for water sports on the river, i.e tubing. then we took a kayak trip down the river to finish in Vientaine. then travelled on to cambodia, visited the killing fields and prison, then into Vietnam. We started in Ho Chi Min City and worked our way up the coast to finish in Halong Bay. It was all amazing and can be done very cheaply. I actually looked on the Intrepid tours and saw what routes they took in what length of time to get an idea of where i wanted to go and how long it was worth staying there. They have a range of ways of tavelling around the area so i would highly recommend looking at their website to get your own inspiration. You definatly dont need to take a tour, we used Intrepid for India and China but were glad we didnt for south east asia. Any questions, please just PM me.

Doshwaster

grubby23 wrote: »

So I still like the idea of spending 5 weeks in these 4 countries, and making less stops in each of them. I guess Vietnam can be done in around 6 days, so 4 weeks left for the other stuff!

The paradox of travel is that the more places you try to see the less of the places you actually see as as you spend so much time travelling between places. You really need a minimum of 2 nights/3 days in most places otherwise you just arrive, have a wander around, sleep and then leave.

Besides, don't worry about not seeing everything you want. The magic of SE Asia is that it does draw people back time and time again (I have been 5 out of the last 6 years) as there is so much to explore - and we haven't even mentioned Malaysia yet!

grubby23

I was talking about tours, and just found the following combination, a tour that lasts for 32 days, covering all countries

http://g.statravel.co.uk/trips/cambodia-on-a-shoestring/ATRC/2013/itinerary/

http://www.gadventures.com/trips/vietnam-laos-thailand-on-a-shoestring/AVVL/2013/

The costs for this would be 1500 quid, making it 50 quid a day for accommodation, transport and some of the meals and entrances.

Doshwaster

grubby23 wrote: »

The costs for this would be 1500 quid, making it 50 quid a day for accommodation, transport and some of the meals and entrances.

Once you add in extra spending money and the return flight from the UK you will be looking at around £2500.

Both of the routes you posted look good but. as I said above, I'd much rather do them on my own and pick up day trips along the way. Quite frankly, on long trips like this I find that once in a while you do need a day off from the adventuring and just spend it sleeping or doing nothing.

PompeyPete

I agree with all of Doshwaster's postings [on this thread!].

totallybored

Doshwaster wrote: »

The thing about SE Asia is that you are never alone - you aren't hiking across the Sahara - there will be thousands of similar independent travellers doing the same thing. It's so easy to meet up with some people, hang out together for a few days, then move on. If you encounter someone who is a pain it's easy to lose them.

On my first train journey from Hanoi to Danang I shared a compartment (prison cell) with an Australian woman who got off the next morning before me. A week later I bumped into her on the beach in Nha Trang. 3 days later she got off the same train as me in HCM. A week after that, 4.30 am in the morning waiting for sunrise over Angkor Wat guess who I hear shouting my name!

I went for dinner on my first night in Phnom Penh and the only other people in the restaurant were 2 guys. The following night they turned up in another restaurant we went to. Off to Siem Reap, on our 2nd day in the hotel they arrive to stay there. We leave SR to go to Battambang and our taxi stops for fuel, another taxi stops and they are in it! We went out for dinner in Battambang and they turned up in the restaurant, by that point we asked them to join us!

OP, I really would do this on your own. I was a bit scared before I went (mainly about getting the trains on my own and doing border crossings) but it was so easy. If I did it again I'd spend less time in Vietnam and more in Cambodia though. Also, most of the people I met seemed to start in Hanoi and work round to Bangkok not the other way round.

harvieharvie

tours are almost ALWAYS overpriced and give you a canned experience of a place.

all the info you need is already out there on the internet.

muddled

All the posts have really helped my daughter who is flying out to Thailand on Sunday for Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos! You have provided valuable advice and suggestions in response to the OP. Can I piggy back here and ask what your advice would be in respect of pre paid cash cards as an emergency back up. Cash Global Passport seems a good deal and having read the posts on this thread would welcome any advice.

Many thanks

Doshwaster

muddled wrote: »

All the posts have really helped my daughter who is flying out to Thailand on Sunday for Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos! You have provided valuable advice and suggestions in response to the OP. Can I piggy back here and ask what your advice would be in respect of pre paid cash cards as an emergency back up. Cash Global Passport seems a good deal and having read the posts on this thread would welcome any advice.

Many thanks

Yes, a global cash card is a good idea. Travellers Cheques are so 20th Century. I also take a credit card for emergencies and keep it separate from the rest of my money and well hidden (often inside a dirty sock!)

The main thing to be aware of with cash cards in Thailand is that virtually all banks charge 150 BHT (about £3) for a withdrawal so don't take out small amounts. Take out enough to last you a few days.

There are ATMs in Phnom Penh but they give out US Dollars. Shops and restaurants will give change in the local currency but the notes are virtually worthless so use them for tips. It's a good idea to have a supply of one dollar bills to use for tuk tuks etc.

Sorry, can't comment on Vietnam and Laos. My travels have not taken me that far - yet.

totallybored

Doshwaster wrote: »

Yes, a global cash card is a good idea. Travellers Cheques are so 20th Century. I also take a credit card for emergencies and keep it separate from the rest of my money and well hidden (often inside a dirty sock!)

The main thing to be aware of with cash cards in Thailand is that virtually all banks charge 150 BHT (about £3) for a withdrawal so don't take out small amounts. Take out enough to last you a few days.

There are ATMs in Phnom Penh but they give out US Dollars. Shops and restaurants will give change in the local currency but the notes are virtually worthless so use them for tips. It's a good idea to have a supply of one dollar bills to use for tuk tuks etc.

Sorry, can't comment on Vietnam and Laos. My travels have not taken me that far - yet.

Cash machines in Cambodia give $10 notes so I wouldn't worry about taking too much USD. I often got change in $1 but the local currency was easy to spend if you got that.

I bought some Dong before I went to Vietnam but its hard to get here. I mainly used ATMs, some charge and some don't. It seemed random. Tourist places would accept usd but I'd use dong in Vietnam (I felt I was being ripped off enough without the added problem of converting currency).

I carried several debit and credit cards with me and I was on my own. Probably quite stupid but I was fine. I live in south London so I felt safe enough!