oh where to go
Jul 7th, 2016, 05:12 PM
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oh where to go
I have 30 to 45 days to travel. Would like to go to Viet Nam Laos, possibly Cambodia and Burma. May be too much for limited time and budget. Not totally low budget, maybe mid. Travel start mid January or February. Thoughts appreciated.
Jul 7th, 2016, 06:15 PM
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Jan- Feb is a great time to travel in SE Asia. 45 days would be perfect to explore Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia at a reasonably leisurely pace. Adding Burma would, I feel, be too much in the time available. With 30 days I would suggest covering just Vietnam and either Cambodia or Laos or maybe even just Vietnam. I have yet to visit Burma so will leave others to comment on that country
This part of Asia lends itself to overland travel and there is a fairly well worn path through the region with decent travel infrastructure. There area number of budget airlines in the region which can speed things up if desired but it largely depends on your own travel style.
As far as budget is concerned, Vietnam is the cheapest country in which to travel, followed by Cambodia which is only slightly more expensive and then Laos which can be very expensive in places, notably Luang Prabang. Burma is the most expensive.
You don't say where you are travelling from but I would suggest considering either an open jaw ticket or maybe a straight return to Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur and utilising one of the budget airlines like Air Asia to get to your starting point.
Here is a link to our blog of our travel. https://accidentalnomads.com If you click on the destination tab and go to Vietnam or Cambodia the are a lot of photos and detail of our travels in the region last year.
If sticking to Vitenam and Cambodia, I would suggest starting in Hanoi, checking out the north before heading south by train through central Vietnam, Hue, Hoi An, Dalat etc. Before heading to Ho Chi Minh City and the to the Mekong Delta. It is pretty straightforward to get to Phnom Penh by boat from there. From PP you could spend a few days in the south, Kampot, Kep, Bokor etc before heading to Siem Reap for Angkor Wat via Battambang.
Just a few ideas but there are countless variations. One would be to reverse the Vietnam section and then head into northern Laos via Dien Bien Phu in the north of Vietnam. Involves some fairly rough roads but worth it!
This part of Asia lends itself to overland travel and there is a fairly well worn path through the region with decent travel infrastructure. There area number of budget airlines in the region which can speed things up if desired but it largely depends on your own travel style.
As far as budget is concerned, Vietnam is the cheapest country in which to travel, followed by Cambodia which is only slightly more expensive and then Laos which can be very expensive in places, notably Luang Prabang. Burma is the most expensive.
You don't say where you are travelling from but I would suggest considering either an open jaw ticket or maybe a straight return to Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur and utilising one of the budget airlines like Air Asia to get to your starting point.
Here is a link to our blog of our travel. https://accidentalnomads.com If you click on the destination tab and go to Vietnam or Cambodia the are a lot of photos and detail of our travels in the region last year.
If sticking to Vitenam and Cambodia, I would suggest starting in Hanoi, checking out the north before heading south by train through central Vietnam, Hue, Hoi An, Dalat etc. Before heading to Ho Chi Minh City and the to the Mekong Delta. It is pretty straightforward to get to Phnom Penh by boat from there. From PP you could spend a few days in the south, Kampot, Kep, Bokor etc before heading to Siem Reap for Angkor Wat via Battambang.
Just a few ideas but there are countless variations. One would be to reverse the Vietnam section and then head into northern Laos via Dien Bien Phu in the north of Vietnam. Involves some fairly rough roads but worth it!
Jul 8th, 2016, 01:04 AM
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I am not sure more than one month is enough for you to visit these countries. The price in Vietnam is quite cheap compared to other countries; especially when you visit Central Vietnam regions such as Hoi An. If spending 2 weeks, you can explore everything in Vietnam.
Jul 8th, 2016, 07:39 AM
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Getting to SE Asia from middle America is never cheap. But you will find that the best prices are generally into Bangkok. Just start watching airfares and when one pops up that works for you, buy it. There is (unfortunately) no magic to finding good airfares. Expect to pay something in the range of $1200 RT from, say, Chicago.
If I had that much time, I'd spend the full 28 days allowed in Burma/Myanmar. It's a fascinating country that has only recently opened up. That's why it is a bit more expensive than the other SE Asian countries. It takes a lot of research to do a good trip - you will want to do a lot of reading to understand the history and choose the places you want to visit. Only in the last couple of years are credit cards generally accepted in Burma, and there are now ATMs.
A visit to Angkor in Cambodia would be a highlight of a trip to SE Asia, so I would recommend that. And I loved my time in Laos. Thailand is very accessible. I'm not a big fan of VN, so take a look at the resources Crellston gave you. He has traveled extensively in VN and gives great advice. The travel agent who posted above (matran) who said you can see all of VN in two weeks takes the typical agent approach where you spend most of your time in transit. You can see maybe three areas of VN in two weeks, but not the whole country.
SE Asia is our favorite part of the world. Here is a link to our photos: www.marlandc.com You may find browsing some of the photos to be helpful in choosing destinations.
If I had that much time, I'd spend the full 28 days allowed in Burma/Myanmar. It's a fascinating country that has only recently opened up. That's why it is a bit more expensive than the other SE Asian countries. It takes a lot of research to do a good trip - you will want to do a lot of reading to understand the history and choose the places you want to visit. Only in the last couple of years are credit cards generally accepted in Burma, and there are now ATMs.
A visit to Angkor in Cambodia would be a highlight of a trip to SE Asia, so I would recommend that. And I loved my time in Laos. Thailand is very accessible. I'm not a big fan of VN, so take a look at the resources Crellston gave you. He has traveled extensively in VN and gives great advice. The travel agent who posted above (matran) who said you can see all of VN in two weeks takes the typical agent approach where you spend most of your time in transit. You can see maybe three areas of VN in two weeks, but not the whole country.
SE Asia is our favorite part of the world. Here is a link to our photos: www.marlandc.com You may find browsing some of the photos to be helpful in choosing destinations.
Jul 8th, 2016, 07:52 AM
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Check out airfare from Chicago. We are flying CHI-Sgn and BKK-CHI in February-March for a little over 500 per person. We just need to get ourselves to Chicago, which is, fortunately, a 4ish hour drive from Detroit. May be worth taking a cheap flight to Chicago from Middle America 
Jul 9th, 2016, 05:03 AM
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Thanks all. Kathie curious to know why you are not a big fan of Viet Nam. I've travelled extensively through SE Asia many years ago the year after China opened up. We were in Thailand literally on the border of Burma when the coup happened.
Ginger50 I will check out the Chicago flight options. Thanks
Ginger50 I will check out the Chicago flight options. Thanks
Jul 9th, 2016, 08:17 AM
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I love the Buddhist countries in SE Asia. The culture has a gentleness and warmth to it that VN lacks.
Also, the lack of respect for intellectual property bothers me - the sellers on the street selling photocopied books, the fake everything sold throughout VN, the cloning of business names - if a Prince hotel opened and did well, another dozen, all named Prince, but no relation to the original will all pop up. It means that recommending any business is VN is problematic.
I find the many VN agencies posting spam here to be really annoying. They freely offer misinformation, thinking that will get them customers. While advertising is forbidden on Fodors, as per the terms of use, that has no impact on these spammers.
That said, we enjoyed our time in VN. The staff at our hotel were helpful and kind, the food was good. We did get the shakedown from a couple of women at the Perfume Pagoda, which I never like. And we had one taxi driver who had a meter which ran very fast (like 10x as fast), but those were exceptions.
When we flew out of Hanoi, we had some dong left and wanted to spend it. We went into the shops in the airport. The duty-free store had various of the usual liquors. I looked at what the had and noticed a bottle of Scotch that said "Made in Scotchland" on the label. Once I saw that I started reading others - there wasn't a genuine bottle of anything in duty free.
I am truly addicted to travel in most of SE Asia, but I feel no need to return to VN. There are many here who absolutely love VN - read their comments.
Also, the lack of respect for intellectual property bothers me - the sellers on the street selling photocopied books, the fake everything sold throughout VN, the cloning of business names - if a Prince hotel opened and did well, another dozen, all named Prince, but no relation to the original will all pop up. It means that recommending any business is VN is problematic.
I find the many VN agencies posting spam here to be really annoying. They freely offer misinformation, thinking that will get them customers. While advertising is forbidden on Fodors, as per the terms of use, that has no impact on these spammers.
That said, we enjoyed our time in VN. The staff at our hotel were helpful and kind, the food was good. We did get the shakedown from a couple of women at the Perfume Pagoda, which I never like. And we had one taxi driver who had a meter which ran very fast (like 10x as fast), but those were exceptions.
When we flew out of Hanoi, we had some dong left and wanted to spend it. We went into the shops in the airport. The duty-free store had various of the usual liquors. I looked at what the had and noticed a bottle of Scotch that said "Made in Scotchland" on the label. Once I saw that I started reading others - there wasn't a genuine bottle of anything in duty free.
I am truly addicted to travel in most of SE Asia, but I feel no need to return to VN. There are many here who absolutely love VN - read their comments.
Jul 9th, 2016, 10:07 AM
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I spent around that time in SEA two years ago, but I went in rainy season.
The route I did was
Bangkok- Vang Vieng -Luang Prabang- Chiang mai- Bangkok - Yangon- Inle Lake- Bagan- Mandalay - Ho chi minh - Hoi An - Ninh Binh - Hanoi -Sapa
I would say for you to research every country, and decide what you want.
I covered mostly highlights, some cities and no beach at all. That was just a preference as I have beaches in my country and was going to Indonesia after.
More than saying the number of countries, just decide the number of destinations. I did a lot of countries in a short period of time, but in Thailand for example, I just visited Chiang Mai and Bangkok. No beach, no national parks etc...
You have to understand that preferences vary a lot, for example, Kathie didn't feel no need to return to Vietnam, I on the other hand, is the place I feel like returning the most to, with Myanmar being my favorite but not the one I'm most eager to return to.
I would make a list of the places that attract you the most and figure the logistics around that. You could focus in just one country and feel too rushed, depending on the number of destinations and the type. I would be happy with two days in Vang Vieng but I spent 5 in Bangkok.
I fell in love with SEA, and wouldn't change my itinerary at all because it represents my experiences, and I loved every minute. I hope you'll feel the same after.
If you need anything more specific just ask, for reference I spent arount 60euros for two people per day two years ago excluding flights.
The route I did was
Bangkok- Vang Vieng -Luang Prabang- Chiang mai- Bangkok - Yangon- Inle Lake- Bagan- Mandalay - Ho chi minh - Hoi An - Ninh Binh - Hanoi -Sapa
I would say for you to research every country, and decide what you want.
I covered mostly highlights, some cities and no beach at all. That was just a preference as I have beaches in my country and was going to Indonesia after.
More than saying the number of countries, just decide the number of destinations. I did a lot of countries in a short period of time, but in Thailand for example, I just visited Chiang Mai and Bangkok. No beach, no national parks etc...
You have to understand that preferences vary a lot, for example, Kathie didn't feel no need to return to Vietnam, I on the other hand, is the place I feel like returning the most to, with Myanmar being my favorite but not the one I'm most eager to return to.
I would make a list of the places that attract you the most and figure the logistics around that. You could focus in just one country and feel too rushed, depending on the number of destinations and the type. I would be happy with two days in Vang Vieng but I spent 5 in Bangkok.
I fell in love with SEA, and wouldn't change my itinerary at all because it represents my experiences, and I loved every minute. I hope you'll feel the same after.
If you need anything more specific just ask, for reference I spent arount 60euros for two people per day two years ago excluding flights.
Jul 10th, 2016, 01:30 PM
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One place everyone neglects to mention to posters who want to visit multiple countries during a long trip to Asia is Malaysian Borneo. Yes, you have to fly there, but it's very inexpensive from Singapore, or KL. It was one of my favorite trips to SE Asia.
