South East Asia

[Wainy316]

Considering after here (maybe later this year, maybe next) to go to Australia via South East Asia.

Hoping to see the likes of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia etc.

I know this is popular area for people to travel and was wondering if anyone on here has done it before? Are these places really as cheap as you hear? Are they easy to travel around as I have heard there is no train connections between some of the countries.

Are they generally safe?

Which of these countries or areas did you enjoy most?

Any advice would be appreciated as this idea is very much in the early stages.

Cheers.

[BangkokVilla]

1) Yes, it is still pretty cheap especially in Cambodia and Laos. Malaysia and Thailand are more 'developed' so may be a little more expensive overall.

If you venture into major tourist areas or cities it will also be more expensive but you should still be able to get backpaper digs for 6-8 quid a night and a basic hotel at 10 quid up. Unfortunately the pound is weak at present, (at least against the Baht) at around 49. It was 75 when I arrived 5 years ago.

2) Travel will not be a problem, it's generally frequent and very cheap compared to UK prices. Travellers will often get booked into mini-vans by guesthouses, these will generally be fine although the driving may be erratic. There are a number of trains running from Malaysia to Bangkok and Bangkok to Laos IIRC. More budget air carriers are running now such AirAsia, Nok Air etc, so cheap flights in the region are more readily available.

3) Thailand and Malaysia are generally safe, even late at night but like anywhere don't leave your brain at the airport and keep your wits about you. Laos I think is largely OK although some rural areas may be unsafe. Cambodia seemed more rough when I visited Phnomh Penh/Angkor Wat about 10 years ago, the hotel used to pull down shutters at sunset and there was a gun fight outside the hotel one night. This was on the riverside area in PP which is one the main tourist areas. All part of the fun though !

4) Highlights

Malaysia- KL, Langkawi Island and Perhentian Islands (Best unspoilt island experience I have had- stunning !)

Laos- Vientiene and Luang Prabang (UNESCO world heritage site)

Cambodia- PP and Siem Reap (Angkor Wat). Sihanoukville has good reports but I have never been.

Thailand - Bangkok (a couple of days is enough for most people), Chiang Mai/Chiang Rai/Golden Triangle, Krabi/Ao Nang, Koh Chang, Koh Tao (Diving mecca), Koh Samui/Phangnan (quite developed now and home to full moon party). I can't say I would really recommend Phuket, it is a mafia-run rip-off centre and too overdeveloped in most places.

These are just some of the main ones, if you get yourself a rough guide to SE Asia you can plan in a bit more detail.

[legov]

Just a heads up, don't spend too much time in Singapore or you'll find yourself strapped for cash soon enough cost of living is soaring.

[Wainy316]

Getting a rough route together.

Thinking of flying from Seoul to Saigon, then moving through Cambodia for about a week and then plan to fart about in Thailand for a month or so. (Any tips here would be appreciated as it is rather large).

Next on through Laos and then to Hanoi, from where I will fly to Beijing to do the Tanssiberian, Mongolian rail to Moscow as my final stop before heading back tot he UK for a bit.

[tonyh29]

if you do your Thailand stuff first one option is to enter Laos by car visa on arrival over the Freedom bridge (there is a bus but it wont wait for you whilst you get your visa on the bridge , but you may be able to wait for the next bus I think they are frequent enough ) fly to Udon Thani from BKK .. and then away you go

I went to Seoul via Taiwan for a pretty decent price if you fancied a few days there on your way to BKK from Seoul (it's Thai airways that fly the route so ICN -TPE- BKK is easily done )

if you think you will get bored of Thailand consider visiting Burma whilst you are in Thailand (air Asia and Tiger fly there) we got Visa on arrival (although you have to do a lot of paperwork in advance ) was a really great place and we had some great nights out there as well to boot ( you wont get home before 5 am )

Vietnam:

Saigon is worth a day or 2 .. go see the Cu Chi tunnels whilst you are there

Hanoi is a not really worth more than half a day (imo) but you can get to Ha Long Bay in a few hours from there if you fancy a couple of days cruising around in a Junk ( I'd recommend it)

Hue is worth considering some interesting Vietnam war stuff there , the DMZ between North and South and also a few tombs from the old emperors

Vietnam airlines do some good flight passes and were very cheap , so consider flying rather than bus / train

From Saigon take a car to Chau Doc and then you can enter Cambodia by boat , takes a few hours but you travel along the Mekong Delta and get to see some idea of life on the river , the hotel arranges your visa and sends a member of staff on the boat with you ...

Some pics here if you want an idea of what you can see

Phnom Penh is worth a few days , visit the genocide museum and the killing fields , few temples as well

then fly down to Siem Reap for Angkor Watt

Laos - Vientiane isn't that large so I wouldn't plan on spending a lot of time there , a lot of back backers go on down to Luang Prabang and go white water rafting etc

Beijing you can spend days there and not touch on it all ( i'm back there in April for my 4th time !!) .. I'd try and get over to Xian and see the terracotta army , you can fly it or some companies offer overnight train trips to go see it

Trans Siberian doesn't leave every day and tickets are a bit funny to get if i recall so I would go through an agent ( though there are Russian websites that appeared to offer tickets directly at a premium try here ) ... not sure how easily you can sort your Russian visa from Seoul ??

we did Mongolia to Beijing , took 36 hours , the rumour is as you cross the border you can see old parts of the great wall so try and get a train that does it during daylight hours(we did it over night so didn't see it) .... you spend a couple of hours locked on the train in a siding whilst they swap the carriages onto a different gauge , but even that is kinda entertaining

(i'd still suggest the Tibet Railway though , most incredible thing you will ever see in your life

pics don't do it justice but some Tibet railway views here )

but back to Trans Siberian , Get off in Ulaanbatar and have a day there (more if you want to go out and see the locals and stay in a Ger) .... if your ticket allows you to do that ?

From Moscow go on up to St Petersberg , awesome place , allow a good few days there (maybe more) .. we did over night train from Moscow quite cheaply ...

PM me if you want any tour companies that i used 9or other info) , I always use a local agency rather than a UK one , you get a better price and local knowledge

[Wainy316]

Many thanks for the insight Tony, you have given me a lot of new things to consider that I may of otherwise overlooked.

The boat into Cambodia is a must and will have a look into the Tibet railway.

How did you find Seoul?

[tonyh29]

the DMZ was really interesting ( the yanks reckon there are a couple of tigers roaming about in it but we didn't get to see them) .... I seem to recall you said you hadn't been yet ..it's def worth a day out ,use the USO tours if you decide to go as they take you down the tunnel the North Koreans built and I don't think the other trips do

and had our second day generally wandering around the place ..Saw the world cup stadium and museum and went to Gyeongbokgung Palace which was enjoyable even with the hangover

We found a pub called the Bulldog by hooker hill which was fairly respectable , no working girls just a good friendly place to drink , we made the mistake of going into a lounge bar first off and got approached by women who wanted us to pay to talk to them !! ...The Bulldog closed at 3 am but we left at 7am both nights (well mornings) ..something quite amusing about getting the metro home drunk when everyone is going to work and then stopping for the post drink fried chicken and chips for breakfast before going to sleep !!

If / when I come back I'd like to see a bit more of the country maybe down to Busan

Hotel we stayed at in Chau Doc was called the Victoria ( Info about the boat transfer here but it may be that other hotels offer the service as well ( the website says you need your visa for Cambodia so double check but we def got ours on arrival when we went in 2009 )