Thailand Cambodia Laos

SoFreshSoClean

Hey

Im travelling to bangkok for a 6 week holiday next week. Im hoping to travel north thailand first then move onto laos and cambodia then hopefully island hopping. I have nothing planned yet and was looking for some advice on places to go, things to see, accommodation and maybe some general advice. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

the_god_swan

To be honest with you 6 weeks is very short for the amount of ground your looking to cover. I did S.E. Asia about 6 years ago, it’s worth ever penny getting there and you wont be disappointed.

1 or 2 days in Bangkok is more than enough, if you spend any longer you'll be kicking yourself once you get on the road to the smaller towns and islands. If you travel north in Thailand, you will no doubt come across Chiang Mai, this is a deadly little city, far more relaxed and friendly than Bangkok.

You can cross the Thai/Laos border on land into northern Laos; I can’t remember exactly how long this took by land, but probably the best part of a day. Northern Laos is amazingly beautiful and remote; Vientiane the capital of Laos is not worth more than a day or 2. Again longer stay times id recommend to the smaller towns. Their pretty much is only 1 route for the average backpacker up or down Laos and it follows the Mekong River; hence the little towns dotted along the way are more interesting.

I travelled from Phnom Penh to Vientiane by land also, again this the best part of 2 days. You might to look at taking a flight in a situation like this to save you some time. Now, Cambodia for me was my favourite part of the trip. If you take only one piece of advice from me it is to stay in one of the guest houses on the 'lake side' in the city, this is where you'll find the quantities of sound travellers and meet people to head out in the city with. I loved Phnom Penh; spend 2 weeks in this city alone, mainly because of the nightlife and the atmosphere around the guest houses at the lake side. And you can’t visit Cambodia without seeing Anker Wat, but you'll find plenty online about that.

Thailand has the best islands from the those countries; Ko Samui is a bit busy, Ko Pha Ngan is a party island and Ko Tao is practically dedicated to diving courses. These are just to mention a few off the east coast but all are beautiful.

Enjoy your travels…

vixenbees

I did a similar trip around 2 years ago. Definately agree with the above post to try to fly into Laos if possible. Like yourself, I had a short space of time and unfortunately we wasted much of it doing it the cheap and long way! To get from Bangkok to Laos took 5 days in total. This comprises of 1 14/15hour night train to Chaing Mai, 1 bus from Chaing Mai to the border for an overnight stay, then a 2 day slow boat along the Mekong river that brought us to Luang Prabang. Laos is gorgeous but to save some serious time, try fly to Vientiane and get the bus to Vang Vieng or Luang Prabang...wherever you're off to. Definately try the tubing in Vang Vieng, it was a major highlight.(think theres some videos of it on youtube)

I wasn't so keen on Phnom Penh but absolutely loved Siem Riep. It has some amazing backpacker bars that you'll meet shed loads of new mates in, as well as brilliant markets(cheaper than thailand i found) and a lot safer than Phnom Penh in my opinion. You can get a driver to take you to Angkor Wat for sunrise, its meant to be class...I never made it but heard of a few who stayed out drinking till 4/5am and went up there n were delighted to find out they even sold cans

Rhianna83

SoFreshSoClean wrote: »

Hey

Im travelling to bangkok for a 6 week holiday next week. Im hoping to travel north thailand first then move onto laos and cambodia then hopefully island hopping. I have nothing planned yet and was looking for some advice on places to go, things to see, accommodation and maybe some general advice. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Hey I am in Laos at the mo and have done Cambodia & Thailand, have been away for nearly 3 months now but that's cos I spent ages on islands, you wouldn't need that amount of time but imo 6 weeks isnt enough, its a pain in the arse when you get to somewhere you love and then have to leave.

I loved Cambodia, Pnomh Penh is a bit of a kip but the killing fields are there which are a must see but 2 nights maximum there would be enough.

Siahnoukville which is about 4 hours bus from Pnomh Penh is fab and one of my favourite places I've been, its on the coast of Cambodia so has beaches but its a little town really relaxed and good nightlife.

Siem Reap which is 6 hours from Pnomh Penh and 10 hours from Siahnoukville is also cool and Angkor Wat is a must see, there's also a cool floating village and some war museums here, you'd want prob 3 days at least here, great nightlife aswell, check out the angkor wat bar.

Laos have only so far been to Vientenne which is very very quiet wouldn't recommend it unless you have to fly in here.

Thailand I loved, I did all the islands in Thailand over 8 weeks but you could do them all or even a few in less then half that, my fave's were ko tao, phi phi & ko phangan (full moon) I actually didnt mind Bangkok too much whereas a lot of people told me it was a filthy hole but the most you'd need here is 2-3 nights and the grand palace is a must see, cool shopping place too.

Hope this helps.

Doc

Dont fly into Laos get the slow boat down the Mekong from the north of Thailand its well worth the time to do. I meet so many people on that boat and ended up traveling with some and meeting others again all over SE Asia. Its also a really nice way to travel and a much better story then flying, but buy drink to bring with you.


P.S. I had the best times of my trip so far in Laos

darrenh

www.travelfish.org

its brilliant

CountryWise

Dont fly into Laos get the slow boat down the Mekong from the north of Thailand its well worth the time to do. I meet so many people on that boat and ended up traveling with some and meeting others again all over SE Asia. Its also a really nice way to travel and a much better story then flying, but buy drink to bring with you.

Dodgiest boat ever was happy to arrive in luang Prabang alive after that trip! some of the scenery was amazing and its one od those stories il tell forever but jeez i got some frights on that boat....overloaded on a raging river dodging rocks :eek:

kraggy

Hey Rhianna, or anyone who has been in Laos this year, can you give me the prices of accommodation, a beer, a meal, pack of cigs in Laos (in kips not euro)?

Thanks a million.

Also, is Cambodia cheaper or more expensive than Laos?

Assuming I had all the time in the world, how long could I spend in each country before I'd get sick of them?

Finally, could you get by on 150 euro per week in both countries?

Thanks folks.

Rhianna83

kraggy wrote: »

Hey Rhianna, or anyone who has been in Laos this year, can you give me the prices of accommodation, a beer, a meal, pack of cigs in Laos (in kips not euro)?

Thanks a million.

Also, is Cambodia cheaper or more expensive than Laos?

Assuming I had all the time in the world, how long could I spend in each country before I'd get sick of them?

Finally, could you get by on 150 euro per week in both countries?

Thanks folks.

Hi,

Sorry been dealing with so many currencies that I forget the prices in kip but I do remember Laos being one of the cheapest, a beer I think works out about 50-70cent, cigs are roughly the same, a meal you can get for 2-5 euro depending on what your getting. Accomodation I found the cheapest in Laos and everyone I met said the same, I got an air con room with tv & hot water and clean for 5-6 euro, cheapest I've paid yet, if you wanted you could find a crappy fan room for 3-4 dollars, just depends what your after.

I spent 2 weeks in Cambodia and 1 week in Laos as I was pushed for time, it really depends on the person, I met people who were spending a month in each personally while I loved the countries I think a month in each would be too much, Cambodia is amazing you could probably spend 2-3 weeks there and in Laos maybe the same, again other peple may say different that's just my opinion.

You could easily get by on 150 euro a week in these countries and have plenty of change left over, it all depends on what your looking for, if your going to be drinking every night, staying in top notch accomodation etc. I think Cambodia was a little more expensive but all in all it was roughly the same, for food and drink anyway, accom was cheaper in Laos.

Hope this helps

Doc

CountryWise wrote: »

Dodgiest boat ever was happy to arrive in luang Prabang alive after that trip! some of the scenery was amazing and its one od those stories il tell forever but jeez i got some frights on that boat....overloaded on a raging river dodging rocks :eek:

Did you get the slow boat or the speed boat because Im talking about the slow boat

kraggy

Rhianna83 wrote: »

Hi,

Sorry been dealing with so many currencies that I forget the prices in kip but I do remember Laos being one of the cheapest, a beer I think works out about 50-70cent, cigs are roughly the same, a meal you can get for 2-5 euro depending on what your getting. Accomodation I found the cheapest in Laos and everyone I met said the same, I got an air con room with tv & hot water and clean for 5-6 euro, cheapest I've paid yet, if you wanted you could find a crappy fan room for 3-4 dollars, just depends what your after.

I spent 2 weeks in Cambodia and 1 week in Laos as I was pushed for time, it really depends on the person, I met people who were spending a month in each personally while I loved the countries I think a month in each would be too much, Cambodia is amazing you could probably spend 2-3 weeks there and in Laos maybe the same, again other peple may say different that's just my opinion.

You could easily get by on 150 euro a week in these countries and have plenty of change left over, it all depends on what your looking for, if your going to be drinking every night, staying in top notch accomodation etc. I think Cambodia was a little more expensive but all in all it was roughly the same, for food and drink anyway, accom was cheaper in Laos.

Hope this helps

Hey Rhianna, that's a great help, thanks.

Jeez, Laos seems really cheap. And it's probably the country in SE Asia I want to go to the most. I've only been to Thailand, a few years ago, and so probably gonna head back that way in a few weeks and see Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and maybe South China or Indonesia too.

Out of interest everyone, which order would you put Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand in, in terms of enjoyment. Thailand first? Or one of the others?

Doc

kraggy wrote: »

Out of interest everyone, which order would you put Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand in, in terms of enjoyment. Thailand first? Or one of the others?

1: Laos
2: Thailand
3: Vietnam
4: Cambodia

Jugs82

Personally, I loved Vietianne in Laos, nice restaurants and bars, stayed in a cool guesthouse with really cool owners

One place i would receommend is the 4000 islands down in southern Laos, its a long bus journey from Vietianne (approx. 16 hours) but it was great. Don Det is the best island - no electricity except for 2 hours in the evening, beautiful scenery and great for cycling around - honestly, I cant recommend it enough

Also, on the way down to or back from the islands, there is a place called Champasak which is beautiful with lots of old temples, not on a par with Angkor Wat but certainly worth 2 days or so...

I wasnt a huge fan of the Tubing but lots of people loved it - the town itself, Vang Vien wasnt for me, just drunken idiots and lots of bars showing Friends over and over...

Luang Prabang was great, really chilled out and a crazy amount of monks - went on an elephant safari and really enjoyed it but do some shopping around and go with somebody who actually cares for the elephants, lots of places seemingly abuse them terribly.

I flew from Luang Prabang into Chiang Mai as the boat wasnt really an option at the time - i think most people go from Thailand to Laos on the boat and not the other way around

Chiang Mai was one of my favourite cities, great fun, lots to do, seedy in places but i got over that - went on a quad bike up over the mountains, did a bungy, cooking class, white water rafting & 4x4 driving

As for accomodation, as another poster said, travelfish is go as are the Lonely Planet forums - http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa

The Libra Guesthouse in Chiang Mai is one i would recommend, the ladies that run the place were a great help and great fun too

Also, in Ko Samui we stayed at the Lolita bungalows in Mae Nam which is a small town away from the madness in Chaweng - beautiful place, great food and relaxing

DTrotter

Kanchanaburi in Thailand is worth seeing, it's about an hour and a half from Bangkok. It's where the film The Bridge on the River Kwai was set and there is a monastery where you can see tigers up close.

vixenbees

it really depends how off the beaten track you wanna go... thailand is the most western influenced of the 4 by far and is very easy to travel through. if you like a challenge then you should probably head to some of the places the above posts suggest. everyone is going to have different experiences and opinions about these places so a top 4 mightn't be the best reflection..

i wouldnt be able to put into words how much i loved Vietnam. a lot of people underestimate how big a country it is. when i first went to south east asia, i had only 6 weeks, so didnt manage to hit Vietnam at all. I went back at a later date and spent a full month there alone and it was absolutely amazing. i much preferred it here over thailand.

get yourself a lonely planet for south east asia which has small sections on all the countries you want to see..its really handy and better than having to get a guidebook for each separate country you want to visit.

Rhianna83

kraggy wrote: »

Out of interest everyone, which order would you put Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand in, in terms of enjoyment. Thailand first? Or one of the others?

1. Cambodia
2. Vietnam
3. Thailand
4. Laos

kraggy

vixenbees wrote: »

it really depends how off the beaten track you wanna go... thailand is the most western influenced of the 4 by far and is very easy to travel through. if you like a challenge then you should probably head to some of the places the above posts suggest. everyone is going to have different experiences and opinions about these places so a top 4 mightn't be the best reflection..

i wouldnt be able to put into words how much i loved Vietnam. a lot of people underestimate how big a country it is. when i first went to south east asia, i had only 6 weeks, so didnt manage to hit Vietnam at all. I went back at a later date and spent a full month there alone and it was absolutely amazing. i much preferred it here over thailand.

get yourself a lonely planet for south east asia which has small sections on all the countries you want to see..its really handy and better than having to get a guidebook for each separate country you want to visit.

I see your point about the different opinions. But that's exaclty why I asked people to name their preferences i.e to get different opinions.

Good to hear you liked Vietnam. Many people on here didn't really like it at all. Still thinking of going there though.

the_god_swan

Rhianna83 wrote: »

1. Cambodia
2. Vietnam
3. Thailand
4. Laos

Fair play Rhianna83 i second your list above; i was starting to wonder why Cambodia was down on everyones party list. Its been about 6 years since i did S.E. Asia and Phnom Penh was probably the maddest spot i stayed in, out of 2.5 weeks in the city alone their was 1 day we spent doing the historical spots and although necessary are quite grim. It used to annoy me that people only spent 1 day in the city and spent it visiting the remains of the most devastating thing that could happen to a country.

'The Heart of Darkness', the 'Ginger Monkey' etc. these pubs/nightclubs are ingrained in my memory forever! If a 24 hour party is what you wanted the Cambodian youth/people delivered. And not the mention the Phnom Penh lakeside guest houses.

Actually the Cambodian people in general from north to south were lovely... for gods sake i was even invited to a local wedding in the countryside. Not just the only white man there but the only white man many of the country people had ever seen!

Happy times...

jank

Since I only spent a few days in Cambodia it would be the first on my list to go back

1. Cambodia
2. Laos
3. Thailand
4. Vietnam


Laos is class. Its so different to all the other countries. Thailand is great too but quite touristy.
Vietnam, I would go back but be prepared to be scammed....all the time...!

Travelfish is your best bet here

mazken

jank wrote: »

Since I only spent a few days in Cambodia it would be the first on my list to go back

1. Cambodia
2. Laos
3. Thailand
4. Vietnam


Laos is class. Its so different to all the other countries. Thailand is great too but quite touristy.
Vietnam, I would go back but be prepared to be scammed....all the time...!

Travelfish is your best bet here

I have to fully agree with Jank on everything. Loved loved loved Cambodia and Laos, you'll defs get the most authentic SE Asian experience here and they're such a breath of fresh air after coming from Thailand. I constantly felt like I was being scammed in Vietnam and the locals are very clued into spotting and ripping off the tourists. Watch the taxis as even though you insist on it being metered they'll still find a way to scam you. Also they mostly deal in the US dollar here so you don't feel as if you're getting such a bargain. While I really enjoyed Thailand it was just too westernised/touristy in places... (Chaing Mai in the north for some jungle trekking and great markets and Ko Tao for diving and relaxing were my highlights...can't understand the hype of Ko Phi Phi, didn't like the place at all)
Everyone has different favourites but ultimately it's what you make of it yourself. You'll meet so many people travelling that no matter where you end up you're going to have an amazing time - enjoy your trip