South East Asia trip

milkado

Hi I'm in the very early stages of planning a trip to South East Asia and was wondering if anyone could give me any opinions on the following route.. I have been looking up prices for Air Asia flights and was thinking of flying London to Kuala Lumper and then from there straight to Bangkok, spending a few days there then flying to Chiang Mai then over to Luang Prabang (does anyone know the best way to do this?!), down to Vang Vieng then Vientiane. I then want to get a transfer flight from Vientiane to Siem Reap via Kuala Lumpar from there to Phonm Penh and then fly from there to Bangkok and from there down to the islands. Sorry if that seems very confusing! I was wondering if this route makes sense, if Air Asia are any good and if it would be a lot of hassle with visas?! Thanks!

otron

Your route is generally well trodden and shouldn't be too much hassle .. in reality travelling in that part of Asia is dead easy.

Specific points - Chaing Mai to Luang Prabang - very common and very easy. Usually people buy a package route from one of the many many travel agents/guesthouses etc in Chaing Mai. The choice is between fast boat or slow boat... we took the fast boat but had to pay extra as a result of there not being an exact multiple of 6 people. The boats take 6 people and the Laos drivers are reluctant to lose money on empty seats. I would say that you should check about this when buying your tickets, but theres no point as the ticket seller will tell you what you want to hear and it'll make no difference. To be honest if your not in a hurry the slow boat is a better way to go.. its 2 days rather then 6 leg numbing, extremely fast and loud hours. The slow boat also has a social aspect.. people tend to get to know each other on the journey and typically hang out in Luang Prabang as a result.
Regardless of fast or slow boat, you take a 5-6 hour overland journey from Chaing Mai to the border as part of the single ticket you buy in Chaing Mai.

Travel within Laos is also easy to organize, although don't believe the journey times they tell you.. We went along the typical trail of Luang Prabang->Vang Vieng, and all the agents in LP said it was a 4.5 hour journey when in fact it was more like 8 hours or so.

In terms of Vientiane to Siem Reip... going via KL is a long way out of the way... about 3-4 hours in each direction. If I were you I wouldn't book your tickets until you are already in Laos.. getting something more direct from a travel agent is a better idea I think... especially as staying overnight in KL (likely) is going to cost something like 40Eur, esp if staying near the airport which is fairly far from town.

We flew from Vientienne to Phnom Penh, which I'd recommend. PP is an interesting city with some good stuff, most obviously the killing fields and s21 prison. From PP to SR it's 6 fairly comfortable hours. The terrain is flat and easier then Laos. Don't book accommodation in SR in advance... there is LOADS and all of it cheap and fairly high quality.

When visiting Angkor... give it the 3 days it deserves. You won't get bored. We took the lonely planet recommended order of the various temples, only seeing Angkor Wat at sunrise on Day 3.

From SR we flew to Bangkok, via Siem Reip Airlines who are a subsidiary of Bangkok airways. The road between SR and Bangkok is notoriously bad, and the rumor is that any improvements are being delayed by airline bribes.

If I could make one more tip: In our experience, flying Air Asia is perfectly good but not the only option. Booking well in advance doesn't necessarily bring much better prices, but reduces your flexibility. When booking flights, keep an eye on Air Asia, but also make your way into a few travel agents 1-2 weeks ahead of time to check options and prices. You shouldn't need to go well out of your way thru KL.

rakmator

Some tips:

1) I think once you are in Kuala Lumpur, you may as well stay there for a few days.

2) Bangkok to Chiang Mai: this is easy. It is not expensive to fly between these two cities, the cheapest I have ever paid was about 300 baht (6-7 Euros with all taxes in) for a flight with AirAsia.

3) I have also taken a flight from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang. I took it about two years ago, and at that time the airline (Lao Air) did not sell tickets on this route online, but we got them from their office in the downtown of Chiang Mai. The flight was not too cheap as I think we paid about 100-150 dollars each for a one-way ticket. The flight was easy and actually it was better than I expected. Lao visa on arrival, the price will depend on your nationality and the duration of your stay, I think it ranges from 25 dollars to 60 dollars. It is easy and takes about 15-30 minutes all in. I think you are also expected to pay in US dollars.

4) I took the bus from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng (VV). VV is not too popular, and not many people mention it. Some refer to it as a hippy village where people watch the Friends series all day long in every single cafe/resto/bar... Anyway, the ticket was about 5 dollars per person, the bus was really bad, and even though there was supposed to be aircon (which we also paid for, there was none).
We loved the place though, the views are stunning. Take your time, do take this tubing trip (about 2-3 hours and 4 dollars) but do apply tons of sun lotion. Some drunk idiots there went tubing and burnt completely.
Maybe also take a motorbike, and drive around. A really beautiful place. A real surprise. The food in VV is just so so.

I also took the bus from VV to Vientiene, stayed in Vientiene for about a week. A really quete place, some good affordable restaurants there. Nice coffee places.

5) It might be cheaper for you to take a train to Bangkok, and fly from Bangkok to Phnom Phen. When deciding where to go first, PP or Siem Reap, I think the contrast is so great, that you will be nicely surprised when you arrive to Sieam Reap after a few days in PP.

When in PP, go and see the Killing Fields, the rest is somewhat optional, depending on how many days you have there.

From PP you can fly to Sieam Reap, the flight can be expensive. Alternatively, you can take a boat (about 20 dollars) or a bus. A local bus which leave from the main bus station at the Russian market leave early in the morning, and it will cost you about 5-8 dollars, and the trip takes about 6 hours. The bus trip was not bad. Some years ago I also took the boat and really enjoyed it, especially that we got to go by some of the floating villages in Tonle Sap lake. Some really exotic views!

6) I also have taken the flight from Siem Reap to Bangkok. It is pretty adequate but generally expensive for Asia. You will also have to pay additional 20 or 25 dollars departure fee when leaving Cambodia by air.

7) Flying from Bangkok to the Thai islands (I guess you mean Koh Samui) is easy but also is not the cheapest way of getting there. They really do not have much competition on that route. There are also buses/trains/ferries alternatives, but depending on your time and budget you might prefer to fly.

8) Visas are all easy. Assuming you are an Irish national (or a UK national) you will not have to pay for your Thai visa, as you are exempt from it for 29 days when you fly into Thailand, and for 15 days if you cross into Thailand over land.

Visas to Laos and Cambodia are also available on arrival. Do have US DOLLARS with you for this purpose. A Cambodian visa is 20 dollars, but if you only have 20 euros on you, you will get no change back

When crossing overland into Cambodia, their immigration officers expect to be paid more than 20 dollars, I had some really nasty experience when I was crossing into Poipet from Thailand. It much easier to fly into Cambodia, no hassle whatsoever.

9) For all my budget airlines in Asia I use the www.skyscanner.net
You will get an idea of what the prices are and which airlines fly there.

milkado

Thank you so much for the replies!! I really needed all the info, I'm gonna look up more airlines and the alternative routes! So there's def no need for visas in advance? I'm Irish btw! And would there be any problems with leaving and re-entering Thailand a couple of times?

rakmator

In the recent couple of months the Thais changed their visa rules.
According to the new ones you as an Irish national when entering Thailand through one of its international airports will get a 29 day stay stamp (for free). It is different if you enter Thailand overland, like if you decide to take a train from Vientiene to Bangkok. In this case you will only get a 15 day stamp. In both cases (airport or overland) you might be required a proof of your ticket from Thailand. I was recently asked to show my electronic ticket when entering Thailand.


Alternatively, if you would like to spend more time in Thailand, you could just apply for a multiple entry visa from the Thai consulate here in Dublin. Their tourist visas are free until March 2010. These visas would allow you to stay in Thailand for 60 days at a time. They are also generally easy to get, you will be required to fill a simple form, maybe a photo, and post it to the Consulate. The Consulate generally takes about a week or less to process it and to send it back to you.