gatesby84

I know these itinerary questions can be very annoying, but I am struggling.... Here is what I have:

Day 1: Arrive in BKK @ 11:45 p.m.
Day 2: Bangkok
Day 3: Bangkok/Night train to Chiang Mai
Day 4: Chiang Mai
Day 5: Chiang Mai
Day 6: Chiang Mai
Day 7: Travel (morning bus to Chiang Kong- 6 hours, cross river to Laos)
Day 8: Slow Boat to Pakbeng (6 hours)
Day 9: Slow Boat to Luang Prabang (6 hours)
Day 10: Luang Prabang
Day 11: Luang Prabang
Day 12: Luang Prabang/Flight to Hanoi
Day 13: Hanoi
Day 14: Hanoi
Day 15: Ha Long Bay tour
Day 16; Ha Long Bay / Hanoi
Day 17: Hanoi / Night train to Sapa
Dat 18: Sapa
Day 19: Sapa / Night train to Hanoi
Day 20: Hanoi / Flight to Phnom Pehn
Day 21: Phnom Penh
Day 22: Phnom Penh
Day 23: Boat from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap (6-8 hours)
Day 24: Angkor Wat
Day 25: Angkor Wat
Day 26: Angkor Wat
Day 27: Bus to Poipet / tuk-tuk to Aranya Prathet, Thailand / Bus to Bangkok
Day 28: Bangkok
Day 29: Bangkok
Day 30: Bangkok
Day 31: Depart BKK @ 5:40 a.m.

I know this is extremely rushed but I am struggling with what to cut out. I have already come to terms with eliminating Vang Vieng and HCMC from my itinerary I am thinking about skipping Chiang Mai and spending more time in Laos. My friend and I want to do some trekking, ziplining (Gibbon experience?), elephant excursions. I have heard that Chiang Mai is a great place for these things. Suggestions are welcome!

gatesby84

shoot...please pretend that I didn't spell sorry wrong in the title of this post

rhkkmk

if you are coming from usa you have not allowed any time for adjustment to SEA... you will need it....one full day...
i'd cut CM and stay in bkk 3 days at beginning... perhaps do one day in CM and then continue... i'd cut halong bay and spend one more day on the sapa excursion..

i would also think about some air asia flts where they would work in rather than slow boats and bus...

thursdaysd

Either cut Halong Bay completely or leave it as it is. You need at least one night on the boat. It's too much driving on a boring road to work as a day trip. I agree that another night in Sapa would be nice, if only to recover from the train ride, but not mandatory. Would highly recommend fitting in a slow boat ride.

There's another thread current with a very similar itinerary.

Kathie

You've done a pretty good job of cutting down the number of destinations. I know, it's all so tempting.

I'm not fond of Chiang Mai, so I'd tend to go with the idea of cutting it and spending more time in Laos. If you keep CM in, I'd suggest cutting one day.

Consider taking some cheap Air Asia flights. For instance, after your long international flight, you have one day in Bangkok followed by a night train to CM. The Air Asia flight is a cheap and efficient way to get to CM. Overland travel can be slow and exhausting.

thursdaysd

But if you're doing night trains, 2d class on Thai trains is the way to go.

Scotters

You should forget about the boat from Phnom Nenh to Siem Reap. Depending on the water level it can take a lot longer than 8 hrs. And for most of the trip there is nothing to see but water. For the price of the boat ($35), 2 people can hire a whole taxi which should take around 5+ hrs or the bus at $12-14 taking 6+ hrs.

Taking the trin to Chiang Mai is fine and as thursdaysd says take 2nd class. If you go 1st the ptice is about the same as flying on a discount airline but you do save 1 night hotel cost

gatesby84

Thanks for all the suggestions! Very helpful! I decided that I will probably skip Chiang Mai and head strait to Laos from Bangkok. I have heard that Vang Vieng & Luang Prabang are more interesting than Vientiane (hence the minimal stay there). This is my revised itinerary:

Day 1 Depart @ 3:25 p.m.
Day 2 Arrive in BKK @ 11:45 p.m.
Day 3 Bangkok
Day 4 Bangkok
Day 5 Bangkok/Overnight sleeper train to Vientiane
Day 6 Van/Bus to Vang Vieng
Day 7 Vang Vieng (tubing)
Day 8 Van/Bus from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang
Day 9 Luang Prabang
Day 10 Luang Prabang
Day 11 Luang Prabang
Day 12 Luang Prabang/Flight to Hanoi
Day 13 Hanoi
Day 14 Hanoi
Day 15 Ha Long Bay tour
Day 16 Ha Long Bay / Hanoi
Day 17 Hanoi / Night train to Sapa
Day 18 Sapa
Day 19 Sapa
Day 20 Sapa / Night train to Hanoi
Day 21 Hanoi / Flight to Phnom Pehn
Day 22 Phnom Penh
Day 23 Phnom Penh
Day 24 Phnom Penh/Taxi or bus to Siem Reap
Day 25 Angkor Wat
Day 26 Angkor Wat
Day 27 Angkor Wat
Day 28 Bus to Poipet / tuk-tuk to Aranya Prathet, Thailand / Bus to Bangkok
Day 29 Bangkok
Day 30 Bangkok
Day 31 Bangkok
Day 32 Depart BKK @ 5:40 a.m.

...how does it look?

thursdaysd

"Vang Vieng & Luang Prabang are more interesting than Vientiane" - are you a 20-something backpacker? Because otherwise I don't think you'll like VV very much. Vientiane has enough for a night or two.

live42day

I loved Vang Vieng and I havent seen the age of 20 for many years. I think going in knowing what it is all about helps and just putting the blinders on to the party animals and enjoying the amazing sceanery. I think your time there is perfect becuase one night you cant do much as most things like caving etc take time to get to. I also did the sunrise hot air balloon ride which was a highlight of my entire trip.

Luang Prabang I spent two weeks in and loved every minute. Four nights there will be great as there is a lot to do, Kwan Si (sp?) waterfalls, the buddha caves, Phussi mountain. I know I have miss spelled all the names. How quickly we forget.
I did not like Vientiane much, but I am more of an outdoor person rather than a city person.