South east Asia-Oz

Pauly086

Alright, im planning my route to oz and am looking for some advise. Starting early november, I plan to stop off in Dubai for a few days. Then I plan to fly into Hanoi in Vietnam. Im thinking of headin down to Laos and then on to Thailand. I hope to stay in these countrys over the space of three to four weeks. Just wondering can anyone give me advise on which of these places I should give more time to etc. Also im going on my own and have never really done proper backpacking before and just lookin for some pointers.
Cheers.

Pauly086

Any info at all would be a help!

cocoloca

I was in Thailand for 3 weeks and managed to go to all the main tourist areas (Bangkok, Koh Phangan, Phuket, Phi Phi and Chaing Mai) by spending 2 days in Bangkok and Phi Phi and 3-5 days in the rest of the places. I managed to see and do all I wanted to do during the times I was there. I wasnt in Hanoi but I was in HCMC for 5 days and I was in Luang Prabang for 3 days (which was long enough) if your going to Laos I would recommend going to Vietenne aswell (alot of people recommend me to go there but I didnt have the time). If you want to plan out our time you should start looking at things you would like to see in each place by getting a guide book or on the internet and then it would be easier to plan our your days.
Dont worry about going on your own I found the countrys to be very safe it you just keep some common sence!

Pauly086

I dont really have a time limit before I get to oz. And the more I read about south east asia the better it sounds so I might travel a few weeks more there than planned! Alot of people say Laos was the highlight of all these places and would love to hear if anyone agrees. Im not to bothered about traveling on my own but cause I havn't done it before just want to do some homework on where to go and what to do. Thanks for the info cocoloca! Cheers to all.

darrenh

I'm going through SE Asia now. You can check my blog if you like www.mytb.org/Wanderly-Wagon

I really recommend checking www.travelfish.org for tips and itineraries on SE Asia. Its an excellent site. You can ask loads of questions and they answer very quick.

ps Always carry toilet roll!!

Doc

Pauly086 wrote: »

I dont really have a time limit before I get to oz. And the more I read about south east asia the better it sounds so I might travel a few weeks more there than planned! Alot of people say Laos was the highlight of all these places and would love to hear if anyone agrees. Im not to bothered about traveling on my own but cause I havn't done it before just want to do some homework on where to go and what to do. Thanks for the info cocoloca! Cheers to all.

This is how I went about it and Laos was my highlight.

Dublin – London (By Air)

London – Bangkok (By Air)

In and around Bangkok I saw the Tiger Temple, floating market, bars / night life, Grand Palace, Temples, did some shopping for clothes for the trip, and saw a live Thai boxing fight.

Bangkok – Chiang Mai (By overnight train)

I did a trek to the hill tribes, saw temples, visited a spa and got a Thai massage (not the happy ending sort) and visited the night bizarre.

Chang Mai – Chiang Khong / Huar Xai [the Thai Laos border crossing] (By Bus)
Not much to do here besides crossing the border…

Huar Xai – Pakbeng (Slow Boat on the Mekong)

This was a great trip meet so many people on this that I would bumping into all through SE Asia.

Pakbeng – Luang Prabang (2nd half of slow boat trip)

Really beautiful old City, visit the waterfall which was really stunning, lots of temples, the bowling alley is the only place open late.

Luang Prabang – Vang Vieng (By Bus) this is a crazy trip the bus driver was nuts.

Saw the Caves, went Tubing, its a real party town and a lot of fun.

Vang Vieng – Vientiane (By Bus)

Not that much to do here but there is a park outside the town that has lots of Buddha statues that is pretty good.

Vietiane - 4000 Islands (By Bus)

One of the most chilled out places I have ever been. I really enjoyed my time here

4000 Islands - Vietiane (By Bus)

Went back to Vietiane to get my Visa for Vietnam

Vientiane – Hanoi [Vietnam] (By Bus)

Was going to fly to Hanoi as I heard that the bus was a hell of a trip. But the bus cost only 10% of what it cost to fly and I had more time then money so I took the bus. Hanoi was great I stayed in Hanoi Backpackers and did their trip to halong bay both of which I would highly recommend.

Hanoi – Saigon (By Bus)

We stopped off at cities / towns on the way down the country Hue, Hoi An, Mha Trang, Mui Ne, and then onto Saigon / Ho Chi Minh City I traveled this with people I had meet in Hanoi Backpackers.

Saigon – Phnom Penh [Crossing the Vietnam / Cambodian border] (By Bus)

Here I went to see the killing fields and genocide museum, the royal palace, the Russian market, temples, and the night life. It was pretty depressing

Phnom Penh – Siem Reap (By Bus)

Saw the temples of Angkor Wat It was one of the highlights.

Siem Reap – Poipet / Aranyaprathet [Cambodian / Thai border] (By Bus)

Back into Thailand don’t know if there is much to do here besides cross the border but open to suggestions…

Aranyaprathet – Bangkok (By Bus)

Did anything I missed first time round plus it was Thai new years…

Bangkok – Koh Tao (By Bus / Boat)

Beach and Scuba Diving

Koh Tao – Koh Phangan (By Boat)

Beach and Full Moon Party

Koh Phangan – Kala Lumpar (By Boat and Bus)

So I could get a cheap Air Asia flight to Oz.

KL - Melbourne (By Air)

Still here.

Pauly086

Thanks to Darrenh and Doc....thats a great amount of info and will take it all on board. Exactly what I was lookin for. Cheers to all!

juanace

Hi Doc, doing something similar myself...can i ask how long it took you to do all that travelling?? I have about 3 or 4 weeks..Thanks!

Doc

juanace wrote: »

Hi Doc, doing something similar myself...can i ask how long it took you to do all that travelling?? I have about 3 or 4 weeks..Thanks!

I took my time doing it and spent a lot of time in certain places that I really liked I spent about 3 1/2 months in total but you could do it a hell of a lot faster then that. It’s a pretty common route. You can do it really quickly but I was in no hurry. You could do it in 4 weeks but you would be pushing it so I would say to skip some stuff off my list and maybe fly instead of bussing everywhere.