Al_Core

Hi, my rough route will be Hanoi - Hoi An - Saigon - Phnom Penh - Siem Reap - Luang Prabang - Vientiane fly - Chiang Mai - Bangkok - Home. With several side-trips and in-betweens, about 6 weeks. I wish to travel by rail and boat. Is late October to November a good time to do this? Any suggestions about a change of routes? Which of these countries should I spend more time in? Also, are tall men able to buy clothing that fits in se asia?

Thanks, any ideas would be well appreciated.

Kathie

Six weeks! What a wonderful amount of time to have to travel in SE Asia!

Do take a look at the weather at each destination you are visiting: www.weatherbase.com
VN in particular can be difficult, as it's such a long country, it gets impacted by several different weather systems.

Overall, your route looks good. You are trying to cover a lot of ground, but you have a good amount of time. We might all give you different answers on where to spend more time. If you have the flexibility, you can make that decision as you go. My favorite spots? Hanoi is worth a good amount of time, we spent a week in Siem Reap and would have enjoyed even more time (do pick up a copy of Dawn Rooney's book, Angkor: Guide to Cambodia's Wonderous Temples to prepare), Luang Prabang (here's a place you have to slow down in order to "get" it) and Bangkok, my favorite city.

Enjoy!

silverwool

If you want clothes why not get them handmade in Hoi An. Also, if you are going to Hoi An, Hue to the north is well worth a visit.

Vientianeboy

Vientiane and Luang Prabang will be hot.

Vientianeboy

Whoops sorry, wrong thread. This is actually a very pleasant time to visit Laos and the weather will not be that hot.

rhkkmk

tall clothing is rarely available but custom clothing is cheap...

i think you may need an airplane or two and there are not that many trains....but buses are available and river travel is also limited...

Bisbeee

Hoi An/Hue will be very rainy (often times Hoi An floods this time of year).

mohan

We experienced cold and rainy weather in HoiAn for the entire five days in late Nov. Sometimes the rain was intense and an umbrella was not enough. Our hotel came with a beautiful swimming pool but it was too cold to even think about it. We took a day trip to My Son and a boat ride on the river, both would have been much better if it were on a sunny day. Fortunately the town itself is pretty like a movie set and there were many great restaurants with ambiance and massage places so we managed to keep ourselves busy. I had planned to do some sightseeing on a motor bike, go to China beach, picnic there and that didn't happen because it was too wet. We hired a driver to take us to Hue, couldn't see any scenery on the way because the fog was too thick. I had a good time regardless but would pick a better time to go there next time. Monsoon can paralyze the whole town and summer in S.E. Asia is too hot for me. Hope this helps.
Yes, tall man will have a hard time buying pants in Asia.

daawgon

There is no real ideal time since you're considering so many locations and you're crossing several weather patterns. Oct/Nov is not too bad - I did VN last year at that time and the only problem being some washouts due to prior typhoon - not a big issue. Thailand is always the hottest place, and VN the coolest. This is the beginning of the dry season in VN. I'm planning on Nov 18th-Dec 10th for N. Laos and N. VN in 2010 myself.
I would start as late in Oct as possible and it should be fine. High season starts in Nov and prices start to go up the closer you get to the holidays. Have fun!

daawgon

Try to stay off of long distance buses as much as possible - can be somewhat uncomfy and dangerous. Very few trains in the region, and none cross borders in Indochina (only Singapore to Thailand). I use Vietnam Airlines - an excellent way to get around as is Air Asia.