South East Asia itinerary. Please Help!
 

I?m working on the itinerary for an approximately 30-day South East Asia trip in late fall 2005?time of the year flexible (I know, I?m planning far in advance, but this is a special trip to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary). We?re interested in spending a good chunk on our time in Vietnam. But because this is our first time in Asia, I?m looking for a starting point that will be an easier entry into Asia.

In my research, I learned that it?s possible to fly to London (we?re starting from NYC), and then get a flight directly to Phuket, Thailand. That idea appeals to me?maybe start our trip at a beach and end it at a beach. The only issue is that we are not party people, and neither do we dive. We would just be looking for a beautiful beach where we could relax and accumulate to the culture and time change. I?m worried that Phuket is not the beach destination for us. Maybe Koh Lanta? (Conde Nast Traveler did a little piece on two years ago, which recommends two resorts?SriLanta and Relax Bay) So, I need a little help with that. Cicerone? You always have great itinerary and beach suggestions. What do you think?

Then from whatever destination we choose for an entry point, we would head over to Vietnam, where I?m thinking about primarily staying in the north/north central?Hanoi, Hoi an, Sa Pa. We?re interested in doing a bit of trekking, see cultural sites (and see Vietnam war sites) and doing a bit of shopping. At some point, I?d like to fly to Angor Wat for only two days to see the temples.

Thailand, we would be interested in seeing thai kickboxing. I know Bangkok is probably the best place for that. Any other suggestions? Then we might spend more time at another beach. Bali?

I?m grateful for any suggestions as to how we might spend our time. We do like to travel slowly, staying in each place for three or four nights. As for accommodations, I?m looking for mix of mid range places ($60/night), some great budget places, and some places to really splash out (maybe at the beginning and end of the trip?) (Although I can?t see us splashing out much more than $200/night). We love to eat, we?re active, and we?re looking for a mix of must see places and some off the beaten path. Thanks for any tips. Each time I look at a guidebook, I get more confused.

I would not start in Phuket. It's so tourist oriented that it does not provide a balanced intro to Asian/Thai culture. I suggest Bangkok as an initial stop. Somehow it's both Thai and westernized at the same time. You can certainly find a hotel in your price range. Also, you can travel to almost everywhere from BKK.

I would agree that you will probably want to start your SE Asian sojourn in Bangkok. Note that even though you have a "direct" flight from London to Phuket, you still will change planes in Bangkok. If you like cities, Bangkok is a fabulous city, with lots to do and see.

VN is an interesting place, but is a more difficult entry into SE Asia than most other countries. Realize that things just won't go as smoothly as they will in places like Thailand or Malaysis (or even Cambodia or Laos at times). If you can be flexible and can gloss over the glitches, you'll be fine in VN. If slips in service, occasionally harassing touts (VN is the only place I've ever visited where some street sellers will become verbally abusive of you if you don't buy!) bother you a lot, then don't start your exploration of Asia in VN.

You note that you only want to spend two days at Angkor. I hope you are aware that Angkor encompasses many dozens of temple complexes. It is generally considerd that it takes 3 days to see the so-called major temples, and six to see many minor temples as well.

Bali is a wonderful place, but decide if you want to spread yourselves that thin. In a month, I would choose perhaps six places to visit (Bangkok, Angkor, you've listed at least three places in VN, and a beach.) The reason to go to Bali isn't the beach, you go for the culture. So if you want a relaxing beach, I'd suggest choosing a place in Thailand or Malaysia.

First off I would say WOW - 30 days for the fifth! How are you going to top that for your 10th! (Just kidding!)
You may want to consider getting one of those Asia passes from Cathay pacific (allows unlimnited travel to 17 destinations in SE Asia over a 30 day period)and I believe it may be offered by a few other Asian airlines- that way you can be very flexible on where you want to go and when.

You are not starting too soon- this will take a lot of planning and research to get it right!

While we have not been to Angkor Wat, be careful you do not get "Templed Out".
My wife can only take so many temples and then they all look alike- you know yourself and your travel partner so plan accordingly. Remember- its not like you will never return again in your lifetime!
If you decide to go with cathay Pacific's All Asia pass- Hong Kong will be your base from which to explore. They may not serve all the cities you mentioned.

Another observation- if you are not a shopper then ignore this warning. But if you are a shopper and like to collect interesting crafts from your visit- know that for a 30 day journey you may not have much room in your allotted luggage for such things-when we came back from a week in Bangkok we filled up 1 1/2 full size suitcases of stuff!

Cathay Pacific's "All-Asia Pass" does not include Vietnam, even though CX flies there.

And from the US to Thailand, you'll probably find the fares lower when flying across the Pacific. Fare via Europe are higher because the airlines can sell those seats seperately more for US-Europe, and Europe-Thailand travels.

Hi

I have some experience from South East Asia because I have been on vacations to Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. I have posted trip reports and pictures from my trips on my personal homepage gardkarlsen.com :-D Maybe you can find some useful information there.

I'm going to New York City in a couple of weeks by the way. Feel free to get in touch if you have some great inside information to share with us :-)

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway

Take a look at www.bangkokair.com for flts. They used to have a mekong Pass which was quite cost eff. Don't know if it still exists. There are many low cost carriers in Asia now - check past threads for some details. IMO Bangkok plus a beach, Angkor Wat, Vietnam and Bali are doable in 30 days. I would fly into Bkk as it is a great hub. I agree that Angkor Wat u need 3 days min to enjoy the exp. Best connections to Siem reap (Camb) are from Bkk. Factor that into your thinking. Ideally u should route your tkts in to Bkk and out of Bali. I would also suggest u take a look at round the world tkts which are generally cheaper than return. Offhand the Virgin RTW may work for u.

Bob, I don?t know how we?ll top this for the tenth! But, one of the reasons, I?m attracted to SE Asia is that I think we?ll be able to make our money stretch further there, than we would be able to in Japan , Europe, or anywhere else.

It seems that the consensus is that I should begin my trip in Bangkok, and that I should spend more than 2 days at Angkor. BillT is right. I was a little worried about overdosing on temples, but I trust your opinions, so three days, instead of two.

I?ll look into the airline passes mentioned. Thank you for that. Does anyone have any beach suggestions? I still love to hear from Cicerone about how to best organize our time. I like Sameera_Anand suggestion of Bangkok plus a beach (which beach for us??no partying, midrange budget, fifth anniversary or not, we can?t afford the $600+ price tag of the 5 stars), Angkor Wat, Vietnam and Bali. Should it be in that order?

(Gard, I?d be happy to help you plan your NYC trip. Let me know what you?re interested in doing. You can send me an email at [email protected].)

Beach options in Thailand - Hua Hin (driveable from Bkk - not a great beach destination but convenient and lovely hotels in your budget - take a look at Anantara, the Hyatt), Koh Samui, Phuket. Bali u could consider a mixture of a resort (The recently opened Conrad has some great offers on - www.conradhotel.com) and Ubud (the mountains). Spend your last week in ubud. It will be a great place to completely chill out.

just by qucicly checking your post i'd say give the malaysian airlines access asia pass a look it include vietnam most of the major beeach distination including the MAldives. and from newark it includes Dubai.

the asian hip hop pass also looks good.

of course ther are many passes now a days offered by most airlines

this is a pritty good site that gives you lots of info on air passes and budget airlines..
http://www.leisuretraveler.net/airpass-asia.htm

Thanks everyone for your responses. I've been doing a lot of research, but the more reading I do, the more questions I seem to have.

I'm still need help on developing an itinerary. A lot of you have given me great airline recommendations. Are you suggesting that the best option is to be more flexible about which city to fly into based on the airline fare? I'm tempted to scrap the Thailand beach idea just because I can't seem to figure out which beach to go to in November. (Yes, I've done a million searches on this site). So, I'm just reaching out one more time to ask for suggestions. Should I scrap the beach?

My recommendation is to focus on what you want to experience, then decide where to go. You've thrown a lot of great destinations together, but you only have 30 days. Each time you fly, you lose a substantial part of a day. So I recommend resticting yourself to a particular area (such as mainland SE Asia) and choosing perhaps 5 places to visit.

So while I love Bali, I'd say to save it for the next trip. You could do a nice combination of Bangkok, a Thai beach (several suggestions are given above), Angkor Wat and northern VN. Just don't try to do too much in VN. I think the most common error most people make is trying to cram too much into their trip, SE Asia is absolutely addictive - you'll be back. And you'll enjoy it so much more if you slow down and experience the pace of SE Asia.

The one airpass that may may sense for you given your interests is one through Bangkok Air. They do fly to the destinations you are interested in.

Thanks Kathie, I began to realize that I was talking about a lot of flying, which is why I thought about cutting out the Thai beach. I'm actually leaning toward cutting out the beach and keeping Bali. So maybe four days in Bangkok (or Hong Kong or Singapore--depending on the airlines) two weekes in Vietnam with a three day side trip to Angkor, then a week in Bali. (I'm not counting the days lost in flights to and from the US in my itinerary)

My husband and I went to Thailand and Vietnam in 2000. We loved Vietnam-- stayed in Saigon( the real south Vietnamese call it Saigon, not Ho Chi Minh); DaNang ; and up for a short visit to HaNoi. Of the 3 cities, HaNoi was my least favorite. I am usually very culturally open, but the military museum there hit my limit-- a lot of anti-US propaganda; the comments about the "favorable" treatment of US prisoners in the HaNoi Hilton about made me gag. There is a lovely French era hotel there-- name escapes me but it is sure to be listed in the guide books. Have dinner at the Press Club. The ex-pats all hang out there. DaNang has a wonderful resort called the Furama. A beautiful, hand groomed ( and I'm not exaggerating) beach and lovely rooms and amenities. There is Hue and Hoi An nearby for day trips.
I would definitely plan to spend at least 3-4 days in Bangkok. It's drty but there are gems there to see. I would avoid Pukek. Danang beach ( you may know as part of China Beach) is beautiful and almost no crowds at all. For most of our trip, maybe 5-6 others were at the beach with us.

traveljunky, please tell me you're not serious. Did you expect that the Vietnamese would have exercised some form of mass amnesia and excised all memory of the War from their minds?

It's a matter of historical record that in the 1950s your country, having surreptitiously aided the French in their doomed attempt to retain their colonies in Indochina, deliberately sabotaged the nationwide general election envisaged by the 1954 Geneva Agreements, made the temporary north-south divide a permanent border and installed a puppet government to rule a fictitious southern republic. Over the next 20 years an estimated 3.4 million Vietnamese died as US forces sought to put down the resultant insurrection by massive firepower, napalm and poisons, the long-term effects of which are still evident today.

And you "gag" at the Hanoi Hilton? I hope that you're also "gagging" at the Abu Ghraib abuses, but somehow I doubt it.

Please remember that the United States and its allies (my country included) were the aggressors in that war. There is nothing, nothing, that can be said in justification of the suffering needlessly inflicted on Vietnam. Even Robert S. McNamara has admitted that America would not have intervened in that civil war had its decision-makers had even an elementary knowledge of Vietnamese history.

What did you expect to find after only one generation - a grateful people strewing flowers in your path? Think yourself lucky that you were treated, as I'm sure you were, with traditional Vietnamese courtesy.

The level of your curiosity about Vietnam is perhaps illustrated by the advice to eat at the Press Club because it's an expat hangout.