1 month of travel, in 2013

I am going to post my plans here on this thread, for my month long trip of next year, and anyone who has any advice, comments, suggestions... can post them here.

Here are the options I am considering. I will chose one, for next year, and maybe go on the others some other time.

1. Fly to Buenas Aires and take a boat to Uruguay. Then travel around there for a while and go back to Buenas Aires and fly back. I like this plan, because as far as I know, I dont need a tourist visa for either Argentina or Uruguay. And, I havent been to S. America for a few years.

2. Vietnam. I want to go meet some of the Vietnam war veterans who work there as tour guides and tell you about the war.

3. India. I want to travel around there by train for a month.

4. Fly to Bangkok, get visa for Cambodia there and travel overland to Cambodia, then get the visa for Vietnam there and travel overland to Vietnam and then all the way back to Bangkok overland again.

The disadvantages of 2 and 3 are that I would need to get visas in advance, and I generally worry about putting my passport in the mail and sending it to a consulate. Also, I worry about them turning down my visa application, even though it has never yet happened. The visas arent a big problem, but I just dont like the extra pressure they put on things. Reply to this

Mell, I have to say that the Argentina trip would be incredible. The country is beautiful and since it is so large, there are many climates and different areas to see. Patagonia just became my favorite place I have visited. I could see you hiking glaciers and walking with penguins. So, my vote would be for Argentina. Uruguay, well, not so much. It would be a nice side trip from BA. Just my thought. Reply to this

Mel, you can get a Vietnam visa without sending your passport away. You arrange a letter of invitation from a company (my folks used myvietnamvisa.com) and then show it at immigration and get your visa there. You pay for the letter and for the visa.

I like your Vietnam/Cambodia trip idea. Reply to this

I totally agree with Shane, but I would do it in the following way:

Get your pre-approved letter for your Vietnam visa online. Fly to Bangkok then fly to HCMC with Air Asia who are generally the cheapest operator on this route. Once you are done in 'Nam, take the bus from HCMC to Phnom Penh (I'd recommend SAPACO) and then a further bus to Siem Riep before jumping a flight back to Bangkok. Bangkok Airways looks to be the cheapest option for this route at present.

Oh and if you do decide to come this way, don't forget to tell us when you are coming so that we can arrange to get together for a beer or six 😊 Reply to this

Here are the lowest prices for each flight, that I can currently find, approximately.

Buenas Aires - around 900
Cambodia - aroung 700
Hanoi - around 650
Bangkok - around 550
India - around 450

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Ill be buying the ticket, when I get back from Israel in the middle of this October, so plenty of time to keep searching. Hopefully, by then the tickets for the end of next year to Buenas Aires will be available, and at hopefully at a much lower price. Last time I was going to south America, they cost less than 500 return from Munich, Germany. Buenas Aires will be getting scratched off my list, if I dont find better flight prices.

Vietnam: That 'letter of invitation' looks like a great idea, so flying into Vietnam is definately an option. Does anyone know how much the letter costs, and is the visa I would get a tourist visa or a business visa?

Bangkok and Cambodia are also options: So far, I tend to agree with those who say just fly to Bangkok and then go overland to Vietnam. I always like Bangkok, so a few nights there is a good thing. And, seems like the easier option for visa getting too.

it's really easy now with no visa scams ...

That is good to hear. It was another thing against the flying into Bangkok idea, that I now no longer need to worry about.

Does anyone know if the visas at the Cambodian border and the ones for Vietnam at the Cambodian guesthouses can be payed for with Euros?

India: This at the moment is also still an option.

At the moment, flying to Bangkok or India are at the top of my list, but that could change. 😊 I really like the Bangkok one, because I get to go to 2 countries I have not yet been in. And, I like the India one because the ticket prices are so good, and as Mike points out, I love India. The only thing I am not going to do for sure from the suggestions is get on another plane after I get to Asia. Airports are the last thing I will want to see for at least a month, so overland travel it is going to be while I am there.

We were in Montevideo and Colonia del Sacremento in June and it was all a bit grey and bleak if I'm honest.

Normally, id like warm sunshine to be part of a trip, but with recessions etc pulling on my finances, I am going to make bad weather part of the experience that causes travel variety, if this is what it takes to make it cost less. At least grey weather wont be the worst I have encountered. As long as cyclones, floods... dont happen, I will be happy enough.

Hang out in Cambodia, see temples of Angkor before they get too renovated or start to fall apart from the sheer weight of Korean tourists hanging off them getting their pictures taken doing the peace sign and then head south to the beaches or wherever takes your fancy.

Ill have to give that one some consideration. I dont know enough about temples to have a real interest in this, and I think those Korean tourists might make it a not great experience if I have no intellectual interest in the place to distract me from them. There are likely lots of nice and peaceful places to hang out in Cambodia, even if they dont have the fame and prestige of Angkor Wats.

South coast of Cambodia might be something that would interest me though. Would the Vietnam visa be as available in the guesthouses down that way as it would be in Phnom Penh. Does anyone know? Or maybe I can just go along the coast, and then go up to Phnom Penh to get the visa for Vietnam... Or maybe save the coast for my next visit to Cambodia, because as Mike points out, I like to have lots of time to sit back and soak up the atmosphere. And, the coast in Vietnam might be an option, so I wont be deprived...

Hang out in HCMC with Cockle and his Missus and Kris and Kate (I think you're in Saigon, am I right guys?) drinking ridiculously cheap beer ...

That makes it almost a pity that I never developed an alcohol tolerance. One is generally enough for me, but with Nicks beer blog ( null blog 662725 ), I can make sure it is the best one possible, and Nick will surely know the best place to enjoy it. And, Kris and Kate might come with us?

...miserable when you realise the price of one beer in Europe...

Yeah, lately I have been noticing a bit more the prices in Europe, because I am trying to save more travel money. So, I decided it was about time I tart up my garden and balcony and spend more time in them. Afterall, it is not any less relaxing than hanging out in bars and cafes and paying those European prices for everything, when I can do that lots while travelling once I get the money together to get me to those less expensive countries. 😊
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Yes, as Nick says, the visa on arrival letter is only valid on air entry points, not land crossings (as far as I know). The easiest place to get a Vietnamese visa is Phnom Penh. You can get it back within 24 hours (less probably). If you arrange it at a guesthouse, it may have to go back to PP so may take longer. Last time we got one in Bangkok it took 3 working days.

Angkor Wat is not the only temple in Cambodia. There are literally hundreds as part of the Ankgor complex. While the popular ones like AW, the one from Tombraider and the Bayon (the one with the big heads) might be busy, the outer ones will not. We spent a lot of time with whole temples to ourselves. It would be a crying shame to miss at least some of the temples at Angkor out, as they are incredible.

If you are intested in the South coast of Cambodia, we went to Kampot, Kep and Otres beach in Sihanoukville recently. Check out our last blog. I would recommend Jasmine Valley eco resort in Kep.

Nick, you're not wrong about the increase in food and drink prices here over the last year or so. Isn't inflation at 20%!?(MISSING) I know that the cheese we usually buy was 75,000 vnd two years ago and is now 125,000 in some shops. Fruit juice has doubled in price at least. The difference between the big cities and the outer areas isn't much difference to how to it is in any city though, in my opinion. You pay more in inner city places in the UK than you do in small towns and suburbs. Beer in the shops is still low even if HCMC - around 8,000 vnd a can if you buy it singely and less if you buy a crate. Plus, any backpackers reading this can find really cheap street beer in Pham Ngu Lao!

....Beer was free for an hour in our local on Sunday night! You should have said you were coming!!
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Has anyone crossed from Thailand to Cambodia at the southern most border crossing? If so, what was it like? OK, or best to choose a different one?

We did that border crossing from Cambodia into Thailand a few years ago and it was fine, no problems - it was certainly far better than the Aranya Prathet-Poipet crossing further north.

The southern one had a lot of regular transport going to and from the borders and we didn't have any problems with the Immigration officials at all. Reply to this

I commonly don't like that affectionate of place. I did the baiter ride the added way about and accepting in Buenos Aires by baiter is account the cruise alone. Uruguay is actual day-tripper friendly. Reply to this

Thanks Maria and Robert for your responses. 😊

To make the decision about where to go hard again, I have just been given a good reason to put India at the top of the list. But, I think what I really have to do is get saving, as fast as I can, so I can get to all the destinations on my list, because they all have a reason I want to go to them. But, at the moment, I think India is in the lead.

Sometimes when I travel I use Metal Travel Guide to find Heavy Metal clubs and bars to visit in the various destinations in Europe.

An Indian friend of my boyfriend, who travels a lot with her job so sometimes gets to Heavy Metal Festivals here in Germany saw a t-shirt I brought back from India for my boyfriend that says 'Delhi Rocks'. Her comment on it was, 'Delhi does NOT roc'. It is Bangalore that rocks'. I tend to agree with her about Delhi, as I was out in Delhi all night one night, at what is likely the coolest place in Delhi to hang out at night, and it sure did not rock.

I looked up Bangalore on the Metal Travel Guide. There is one Heavy Metal bar listed. My boyfriends friend said it was the Mecca of Heavy Metal in Bangalore, but it is now closed. She said there are other bars now that play Heavy Metal, and she will show me around, if I come to Bangalore. Checking out the infancy of the Indian Heavy Metal scene has to be a good reason to go to India in my opinion. Since it is fairly new, there likely is lots of freshness and excitement surrounding it and its fans. 😊

I have just finished making sure I have enough money for my trip to Israel in October. I will have enough for the next trip after that, by December if all goes well, so plane ticket will be bought then, and I will get to have some rest from my indecisive mulling over which destination I am the most eager to get to, because having the ticket makes it final. 😊




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