Will be in Thailand July/August time and would appreciate some guidance on whether there is a more 'ideal' travel route to follow as I need ongoing travel plans booked or I gather they won't let me in the country!
My main issue is with the weather and is it better to stay in the south of countries such as Cambodia/ Vietnam and indeed Thailand itself while I'm there or is it much of a muchness no matter where you go?
Looking at the map my plan was to get a train to Cambodia and then probably another train from there to Vietnam a few days later and then travel up the east coast and cross over into Laos then down through the north of Thailand down south check out some of the islands then onto Malaysia.
Has anyone done this and if so is it a good path to follow bearing in mind the time of year it will be?
Reply to this Hey
This is probably the most popular route through South East Asia and there are literally hundreds if not thousands of people doing it every day, either the way you are talking about or the opposite way. Check out the Asia blogs on here and you will see lots of people doing this trip.
Although you can't get trains over the Thai/Cambodian/Vietnam borders. You'll have to take buses and other forms of transport for some of your trip. As this is a popular tourist route there are both local and tourist buses.
In terms of weather, it won't make that much difference where in Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos/North Thailand area you go. In July/August it's rainy season most places. We went to Hoi An in August last year for a relax because it's supposed to be the least wet and then there was a tropical storm! Basically, it won't rain all day every day. It's not like the Indian monsoons you see on the TV. It will usually be bright in the morning, get more overcast during the day and then torrential rain for a couple of hours in the late afternoon/evening. It can rain all day when tropical storms come in from the Philippines but it's not so common.
Reply to this Brill that's really helpful thanks RotR, and I'll check out the blogs too - prob should have done that in the first place!
Reply to this I've just done a similar route with my wife for the past few months. After travelling in the past to more remote places, i was amazed at how easy it is to travel in Asia and how many people are doing similar trips. I wouldn't worry about not being let in to the country. So many people turn up with little idea of their next location.
The only problem i could see with your proposed route, is that if crossing in to Thailand by land, you only get a 15 day visa. So you would have to leave the country and go on a visa run, if you wanted to see all of Thailand including the islands, as i don't think 15 days would give you enough time to do this. I did this, crossing in to Thailand from Cambodia, and then going in to Laos before my 15 days were up, before coming back in to Thailand after Laos.
I would keep the plans pretty relaxed anyway. Once here, you find them changing more or less every day!
Have a quality trip!
Reply to this I travelled that region in 2009. The best web site I can recommend is this: www.travelfish.org It is really excellent, there´s a forum, people who answer are also living in that region. It´s a MUST, believe me. Enjoy your trip. Do not forget to visit the ODA NGO which takes care of disabled children in Siem Reap. Please DO go and visit them. They are inside the Angkor Wat area. Love from Argentina, Graciela.
Reply to this Hi all,
just read the above and I am so surprised about the visa lenght?? is there any other way to get longer visa to Thailand??
thanks,
Beata
Reply to this Yes, you get 30 days if you enter Thailand by air. If you need longer by land you can apply and pay for a visa at a Thai embassy or consul in your country or another one.
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arrrh yes i have found myself in that position and now dont want to leave so soon but i must!
For anyone reading this you can only get a 7 day extension on a 15 day borderland entry visa from Samui and it costs about 1920 baht!
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