Travel plans for Thailand/Combodia/Vietnam

Proxy

My standard tactic for most countries is:

Two cash/debit cards and one credit card, all hidden in different places. Cash machines tend to chew cards up occasionally (I've seen it all too often) and you can't always retrieve them.

And a small wad of crisp, low denomination US dollars, for emergencies.

muddled

Doshwater, TotallyBored and Proxy, excellent! Many thanks, will make sure she hides spare cards and takes some US Dollars as well. I don't think she planned on doing this. She's going with a friend and between them they'll have a mixture of cards and cash. Once again many thanks.

grubby23

Thanks guys for your feedback and apologies that it took me so long to get back to you. But I am back online and I will hopefully book my flights within the next 7 days. Flying to Bangkok return, and taking from there a flight to Hanoi where I start then my 30-35 day Explorer.

Hope March/beginning of April is a good time to travel these countries .

PS.: PS.: Prices for flight are around £600, even for indirect ones, isnt that quite expensive from London - Bangkok?

PompeyPete

Very hot, humid, and very little rain. Hopefully it'll be too hot and dry for many mozzies to be knocking around!!
36 days and counting down fast for us.:)

Doshwaster

grubby23 wrote: »

Thanks guys for your feedback and apologies that it took me so long to get back to you. But I am back online and I will hopefully book my flights within the next 7 days. Flying to Bangkok return, and taking from there a flight to Hanoi where I start then my 30-35 day Explorer.

Hope March/beginning of April is a good time to travel these countries .

PS.: PS.: Prices for flight are around £600, even for indirect ones, isnt that quite expensive from London - Bangkok?

Interesting that you decided to go ahead with the Explorer tour. Do come back here when you return to give us a report of how it went and whether it was value for money.

Unfortunately, with rising taxes and fuel prices £550-600 is as good as you are going to get to BKK these days with a decent airline such as Emirates or Etihad. You may find Jet Airways are cheaper if you want to save a few pounds. Delhi is fine for connections but I would avoid Mumbai at all costs.

grubby23

Doshwaster wrote: »

Unfortunately, with rising taxes and fuel prices £550-600 is as good as you are going to get to BKK these days with a decent airline such as Emirates or Etihad. You may find Jet Airways are cheaper if you want to save a few pounds. Delhi is fine for connections but I would avoid Mumbai at all costs.

I would be interested in a stopover on my way there, one obvious one is Dubai but I have already spent there a couple of days.

I was thinking of one day in Doha, I guess that could be interesting or in Brunai. Is it worthwhile to explore any of these places for a day or a waste of time?

Doshwaster

grubby23 wrote: »

I would be interested in a stopover on my way there, one obvious one is Dubai but I have already spent there a couple of days.

I was thinking of one day in Doha, I guess that could be interesting or in Brunai. Is it worthwhile to explore any of these places for a day or a waste of time?

I can't comment on Doha or Brunei, but you would have to check the fare rules to see if a stopover is allowed. You may find that it adds to the cost of the ticket.

I know Emirates do special stopover packages for Dubai: http://www.emirates.com/english/destinations_offers/dubai_stopovers/dubai_stopovers.aspx

grubby23

Time to finalise my travel plans. Most likely I will do Thailand on my own, focusing on the south as apparently in the north the are burning down the ricefields?

Here is a rough outline, what do people think about it. Is it a bit too much for the timespan?

7.3 Arrival 1900 Bangkok
8.3 Bangkok
9.3 Day Trip to Ayutthaya
10.3 Phuket
11.3 Phuket
12.3 Daytrip Phi Phi Island with Maya Bay
13.3 Krabi
14.3 Ralay
15.3 Koh tao (diving certificate)
16.3 Koh tao
17.3 Koh tao
18.3 Koh tao
19.3 Koh phangan
20.3 Koh samui
21.3 Koh samui, fly from Surat Thani to Bangkok

My arrival can't be earlier than 7.3 and I have to be on the evening of the 21.3 in Bangkok. It would have been nice to go to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market but not sure where I can fit this one in.

Thanks for your feedback!

PompeyPete

grubby23 wrote: »

as apparently in the north the are burning down the ricefields?

Same in most of the SE Asian countries during the dry season. That's what the farmers do, and have done since the year dot!

PompeyPete

grubby23 wrote: »

I guess that could be interesting or in Brunai. Is it worthwhile to explore any of these places for a day or a waste of time?

Brunei is alright for a couple of days, but only if you're then carrying on into Borneo.
Brunei is a small no-alcohol autocratic Kingdom.
I describe as being like Saudi Arabia with a smile!