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Flying from place to place in Asia - here's our plan with questions

Flying from place to place in Asia - here's our plan with questions

Old Apr 16th, 2014, 08:02 AM
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Flying from place to place in Asia - here's our plan with questions

I am going to book our flights to get us from country to country during our Southeast Asia trip in July and August today or very soon. After looking at potential flight paths, times, prices and airlines to the point of insanity, here is what we've decided on and I would appreciate people's thoughts. The only thing booked so far is our long haul flight to Bangkok and home form Singapore.

NYC to BKK arrive July 9th around 10:00 AM

- Bangkok July 9th - July 12th
3 nights

BKK to Siem Reap July 12th
$75 each Airasia or
$125 each other airline

- Siem Reap July 12th - 16th
4 nights

Siem Reap to Bangkok July 16th
$70 Air asia
$200 Vietnam Air

- Bangkok July 16th - 17th
1 night layover

Bangkok to Mandalay July 17th
$60 each Airasia or
$175 each Thai Air

Will use Myanmar travel agent

- Mandalay July 17th - 18th
1 night
really just want to see the ancient capitals especially Saigang

Mandalay to Bagan July 18th
Is boat too slow because we would love to take the boat from Mandalay to Bagan?

- Bagan 18th - 22nd
4 nights

Bagan to Inle Lake July 22nd

- Inle Lake 22nd - 26th
4 nights

Inle Lake Yangon July 26th

- Yangon July 26th - 28th

Yangon to Hanoi July 28th
Direct on Vietnam on Vietnam Air $275 each or
Yangon to Bangkok to Hanoi $130 each Airasia

Hanoi July 28th - August 4th
7 nights

Can we do a night in Sapa or it takes longer to travel?
Night on Halong Bay?

Hanoi to Bali August 4th
$333 Singapore Air most direct, about 7 hours

Bali, August 4th - 12th
8 nights

Bali to Singapore August 12th
1 night layover
$100 each

12:45 Singapore to NYC August 13th

We are obviously taking a lot of flights. We are flying to maximize our time, but want to be smart about our money. We will spend some extra money to have more time in the places we want to be. We have discussed eliminating a destination, but we can't choose a place to eliminate without one of us becoming very sad.

1. First of all, if we use Airasia for most of our short flights, it will save us a good deal of money (about $1000 total). What are some things we should be mindful of if we go with Airasia for most of our flights? I know the cancellation policy is tough. We are only bringing carry-ons, less than 40 pounds and we'll make sure they fit the proper dimensions. We've used budget airlines in Europe but never in Asia. Any red flags we're not thinking of?

2. A little explanation about our choices:

- Getting to Bali from Cambodia, Myanmar or Vietnam is our most difficult flight to choose. From my research, getting there from Siem Reap or Myanmar is expensive and time consuming with multiple stops. We could have chosen a layover in Bangkok for a very early budget flight (not appealing) or a layover in Singapore, but the option we like the most is the Hanoi to Bali on Singapore Air. It is the most direct, about 8 hours during the day, with a departure time we like and a price I thought was decent ($333).

- With Hanoi as our stop before Bali, we had to choose between Siem Reap or Myanmar for the stop before Hanoi. It seems like either choice works. A person on these forums alerted me to a direct flight that Vietnam Airlines does between Yangon and Hanoi for about $275 and Siem Reap to Hanoi is about the same $220. Airasia doesn't fly between Siem Reap and Hanoi. We could use Airasia to go Yangon to Bangkok to Hanoi for about $130 so we choose Myanmar as our stop before Hanoi, but I would like to choose the direct flight Yangon to Hanoi if I can save some money elsewhere.

- Getting from Myanmar to Siem Reap or Siem Reap to Myanmar seems to have no easy route so the best thing I am finding requires us to do a layover in Bangkok. If we do this we can find a budget flight from Siem Reap to Bangkok, stay a night, then take a budget flight from Bangkok to Mandalay the next day. I am considering splitting our time in Bangkok, two nights at the beginning (July 9th - 11th) and two nights here in the middle (July 15th - 17th) so that we're not on and off the plane in one night on the 16th, but I like having those three nights at the beginning so we can get acclimated to the heat and get rid of any jetlag without having to move to another spot right away.

- We looked into taking a early morning flight from Bali to Singapore on the 13th so we could catch our return flight home without staying in Singapore at all, but at the slightest delay I would stress about missing our long haul flight from Singapore so I want to fly to Singapore on the 12th. If we can get there early, I would love to explore a site or two in Singapore.

3. We are anticipating using a Myanmar agent to help us plan our Myanmar domestic flights, travel and rooms. We've contacted Santa Maria and Golden Travel already. Any other suggestions people have used and liked?

I would greatly appreciate your thoughts on Airasia, Myanmar travel agents and any misconceptions you can find in my conclusions.
Sean
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Old Apr 16th, 2014, 09:35 AM
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I've flown Air Asia several times on both our trips to SEAsia. Never had any problem with them. Not sure if you intend to carry on your bags. Their carry on weight limit is about 7kg I think.

We took the boat from Mandalay to Bagan and it takes about 10 hours. Very much enjoyed the leisurely boat trip. You can click on my name and read our TR which describes the day on the boat.

Used Santa Maria for our plans in Myanmar and had no trouble with them. Everything was handled in an efficient manner.

The train from Hanoi to Sapa is an overnight one. Took it from Sapa to Hanoi and didn't have a great sleep to say the least. Others had no trouble with it.
It takes about 3-4 hours to get to Halong Bay from Hanoi. Definitely do an overnight if you go to HB. You should be able to return from Halong Bay to Hanoi in later afternoon and have time to make the overnight train to Sapa if you wish.
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Old Apr 16th, 2014, 09:38 AM
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Have you looked into Bangkok Air's Discovery Pass? I haven't used it in the last two years, but if you fly at least 3 legs, it was a good price.

If your Air Asia flight is late or delayed, they will not compensate you for connections missed. I fly Air Asia occasionally, and like their planes and staff. You have to be careful though, as the savings are not quite as good as they seem at first glance.

Also Air Asia's weight limit for carry on luggage is 7 kilograms. 15.4 lbs, not 40 lbs, and they have weighed my bags a few times.

As an example of things to look out for on AA: Their BKK- Siem Reap is cheap, but it stops in KL, where you have to de-plane and check in again. If you checked your bag, you have to pay the baggage fee again on the second leg. This makes the total cost almost as expensive as the direct flight on BKK Air, and it takes twice as long to get there.

For a complicated itinerary like this, I'd definitely get travel insurance.



I think Air Mandalay flies from Siem Reap to Myanmar if you don't use BKK airways.
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Old Apr 16th, 2014, 10:31 AM
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Lcuy, Air Asia flies directly from Bangkok to Siem Reap. You don't have to fly through KUL.
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Old Apr 16th, 2014, 11:06 AM
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As others have said, do watch out for the Air Asia flights that are not non-stop. For the Bangkok-Siem Reap flights I expect you would be better off with a Bangkok Air Discovery Pass. The flight is non-stop and no crazy stuff about luggage fees.

There is (seasonally) a Myanmar Airways International flight from Siem Reap to Yangon. If that flight exists, it would make things easier for you.

Frankly, cutting Mandalay would make this an easier trip. Cutting a major destination would make it even easier, but it sounds like you don't want to do that.

Have you thought about visa fees? You will need a visa for Myanmar, Cambodia, VN and Indonesia. VN is the most expensive of these. You can pre-arrange a visa for VN, but remember you'll pay an initial fee plus a "stamping fee." A visa from the Myanmar consulate or Embassy will be much less than an Pre-arranged visa. You can get a visa on arrival in Cambodia and In Indonesia easily and inexpensively.
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Old Apr 16th, 2014, 11:39 AM
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I also thought AA began last fall direct non stop flights to Siem Reap from BKK.
Do check the BKK Discovery Air Pass, but I don't think you have the requisite 3 flights needed. When the flights to SR were so expensive it was a good deal, but now with AA flying there, maybe not so much of a deal. I think you will find flying AA even with the baggage charges will be less expensive.
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Old Apr 16th, 2014, 12:23 PM
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They can use Bangkok Air into Yangon, so certainly possible to have the minimum of three legs. Depending on baggage fees and any other extras (like advance seats) on Air Asia, the Discovery Pass may be less. But they will need to sit down and price it out.
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Old Apr 16th, 2014, 12:30 PM
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We are using Bangkok Air to fly BKK to Mandalay and Rangoon to BKK. Do check the Discovery Pass and timing since you are planning to go to SR also. We flew Bangkok Air BKK-SR-BKK and really liked the air line.
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Old Apr 16th, 2014, 06:39 PM
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We've had good experiences with Air Asia. Last summer, out of 8 flights over the course of 6 months, only one was delayed. There's not just the cancellation charge, though, but also a charge for changing flight dates and times.

Singapore Airlines From Hanoi to Bali would be a painless and efficient choice, but you might also check out AirAsia through Kuala Lumpur. The connections are good and the cost could be considerably less.

If switching the order of Vietnam and Cambodia works out, then you're all set. If there are other reasons to fly from Cambodia to Bali, then look again at SilkAir to Singapore and then AA to Bali. SilkAir is a good airline, owned by SQ.
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Old Apr 16th, 2014, 08:05 PM
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I've also had good experiences with Air Asia. You will probably need to check luggage, best to do that online when booking, rather than pay extra at the airport.

I've had good flights with Jetstar Asia, Silk Air and Thai Smile.

I use the Skyscanner website for flight info, then book direct with the airline.
I've had one bad experience with a consolidator (Bravofly) so would never use one again.
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Old Apr 17th, 2014, 06:46 AM
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For sure check out the Discovery Airpass but also price the flights without the pass. We've done trips where Bangkok Air/Lao Air promotions actually gave us better rates than the Discovery Airpass. We contact the Bangkok Air office in NYC to confirm Airpass availability and actual costs of Airpass options and they've been very helpful on that but often times can't offer the special promotions fares we saw on the webpage.

Regarding time needed for Sapa: A trip with one night in Sapa (plus the 2 overnight trains) is possible but you'll probably want to have everything lined up ahead of time to maximize your time there. Here is an example of such a trip from Vietnmam Homestay/Aurora Travel, an agent we've used several times for various services on past trips: http://www.vietnamstay.travel/vietna...-homestay.html. We booked our first trip to Sapa through them but did our 2nd trip independently. One other note: On a couple occasions, Aurora Travel has gotten us better fares on Vietnam Air than we saw on the airlines web page.

Re: river trip between Mandalay and Bagan - we took this Bagan to Mandalay last August. It's a very interesting trip and I'm glad we did it but it also is a long day...longer than the literature describes. If time is precious, you may want to choose another option. We've never done it but my understanding is that the bus is not only faster but less expensive.
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Old Apr 17th, 2014, 07:07 AM
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On the other hand, given your very hectic pace, it might be a good way to get some down time, which you might appreciate by then.

We didn't do this trip but recently took a 2-day boat trip down the Mekong to Luang Prabang, Laos, and loved the experience. We were worried about being bored, but weren't for a moment, and enjoyed having the leisurely and relaxing ride on the water.
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Old Apr 17th, 2014, 08:58 AM
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Having traveled by boat twice to Luang Prabang and once from Bagan to Mandalay, I will say that they don't really compare. The Mekong trip, I agree, was pleasant. The Irrawaddy much less so. While I'm not sorry I went by boat to Mandalay I don't think I'd do it twice.
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Old Apr 17th, 2014, 09:21 AM
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Just to offer anther viewpoint on the boat trips. We did the 2 day boat trip from Luang Prabang to Chiang Khong in January 2012 and found 2 days way too long to be on a boat. Water was low and we were on the boats ~12 hours each day. Thought some of the scenery was interesting, but half of it was rather bland and boring. We did the ~10 hour boat trip from Mandalay to Bagan this past February and enjoyed the boat time on that trip. The scenery wasn't particularly fascinating, but was pleasant. It was a nice way to lull away a day. The boat was much bigger with multiple levels and one could walk about. As progol pointed out it might be some welcome downtime on your trip.
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Old Apr 17th, 2014, 09:45 AM
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Yestravel, I think we may be comparing apples to oranges. It must surely depend on the boat. I was not on a posh boat on the Burma trip but more like a bus on the water. Given the OP's concern about budget, I assumed she was talking about the less expensive option. If the boat being discussed is a luxury cruise, then I'm sure it will be a very pleasant way to spend a day. But I think more details are required to recommend an unknown.
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Old Apr 17th, 2014, 10:24 AM
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I would not consider our boat in Myanmar a "posh boat" nor a "luxury cruise." I believe this was the ferry that we went on, Shwe Keinnery River Cruise (it was arranged by Santa Maria TA.) It was a typical ferry, nothing special about it. http://myanmartravel.org/cruises/
It wasn't that the ferry was super comfortable or fancy, it was just a pleasant way to spend a day.
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Old Apr 17th, 2014, 10:54 AM
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In any case, as illustrated by the link you provided (thanks), there are a variety of options, some better than others. That was my point, no matter which each of us used. And which might be acceptable, as in everything travel, depends wholly on one's perceived needs and budget.
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Old Apr 17th, 2014, 03:18 PM
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Sorry, my reference to my boat ride was simply to make the point that traveling on the water can be relaxing, providing a good break from an otherwise hectic trip. I didn't intend to compare the actual experience to the trip from Mandalay to Bagan since I haven't been to Myanmar.

I also want to add that we had no problems with the one Air Asia flight we took. We did have to check our bags, however, but the fees were minimal. The plane was fine, though definitely not a "boutique" airline, which Bangkok Air calls itself. For the savings, I'd go with Air Asia instead of the Discovery Pass.
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