Thailand/Laos/Cambo - 25 Days

Arrive : June 3rd

03 - BKK
04 - BKK
05 - Patong (By bus?)
06 - Patong
07 - Patong

08 - Patong/BKK
08 - Laos / Cambo

20th - 29th June : Koh Tao / Samui or Phangan

30 - BKK

Thats what Iv figured out till now. Earlier Id tried to keep this strictly budget and hoped there would be no FLYING between regions. Iv sort of wizened up to the fact that if I dont fly Im not going to be able to see too much either.

My visa only allows for me to enter Thailand twice. (First time on entry to BKK and then one more). So Id have to avoid backtracking.

http://www.canbypublications.com/cambodia/overland.htm#Hadlek
http://www.seat61.com/Cambodia.htm#Siem%!R(MISSING)eap

^^Been reading on here. The BKK-Cambo overland travel seems to be a picturesque journey if done during the day... Id like it if I could do this atleast one way. So Id prefer to goto Laos from BKK, then proceed into Cambo and return by the land route to BKK.


In Laos Im mainly keen on spending time in Luang Prabhang and any other villages of natural beauty..

Cambo is mostly to see Angkor, if I can then Sihanoukville (but I realise its a fair distance from Siem Ream)

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Spending a few days in Bangkok is a good idea, also spend the last night there prior to your flight home. A few days in the beginning of your trip will give you a chance to get used to the heat and time changes and see the city. My preference is the Sukhumvit Road area where you can find many low priced hotel rooms. Best reason for the Sukhumvit area is so you can also use the Skytrain. The Skytrain can connect you with bus stations and the subway. Lots of restaurants, bars, travel agencies, small shops, street vendors in the Sukhumvit area. (Lower number end, near the Nana Skytrain stop is best.)
http://www.travelfish.org/map_detail/thailand/bangkok_and_surrounds/bangkok/sukhumvit_soi_1_to_asok/8
http://www.thaiwebsites.com/hotels-sukhumvit-bangkok.asp
http://www.suk11.com/

http://www.guidetothailand.com/pattaya-thailand/map-pattaya-city.phpIf you are really, really young then you might want to go to Khao San Road for your hotel. No Skytrain there.
http://www.khaosanroad.com/

If you need a recommendation for a hotel mention how much you want to pay per night, don't say cheap or budget - state a baht figure to narrow down the recommendations. (Cheap or budget doesn't mean the same for everyone!)

Itinerary suggestion.

Why Phuket? Thailand is warm all over, you can even get a tan in Bangkok or Chiang Mai. It's a long ride down to Phuket and back to Bangkok!

If you want a beach town with lots of nightlife (like Patong, but cheaper) you can also check out Pattaya. Pattaya is only around 2 hours by bus from Bangkok (Ekamai bus station, on Sukhumvit, off a Skytrain stop.) The bus fare for the ride on the VIP bus is around 120 baht. Pattaya has lots of hotels that are cheaper than Bangkok and Phuket! There is a long beach front that is good for walking, gawking, shopping, restaurants, bars and malls but only good for sunbathing! Most Farangs (foreigners) usually swim at nearby Jomtien Beach. Many cheap hotels have pools anyway! Transportation in Pattaya is only 10 baht for Farangs on the baht bus. Get a hotel near the Pattaya 2nd Road area. http://www.guidetothailand.com/pattaya-thailand/map-pattaya-city.php


From Bangkok you could take the overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai (saving paying for another hotel in Bangkok) and take some tours around that area, Long Neck Villages, Golden Triangle area, etc. A couple options open up here. You can take a boat down to the Nong Khai area if you want. Sample info: http://www.eastravel.co.uk/theorient/chiangmai.htm Or http://www.bkktravel.com/nongkhai-how-to-get-there.html

From Chiang Mai you can decide where to go from there. http://www.asiarooms.com/travel-guide/thailand/popular-thailand-destinations/nong-khai-thailand.html
http://www.northernthailand.com/cm/daytrips/daytrips.html

http://www.worldtravelguide.net/country/143/top_things_to_see/South-East-Asia/Laos.html

Fortunately bus and train travel is cheap in Thailand.

In Phnom Penh I took a ferry boat up to Siem Reap, interesting boat ride.

Good luck.




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if you travel south from bkk to chumpon, you can catch the seatran ferry from chumpon to koh tao then to koh pha ngan and finally on to koh samui. don't forget to visit angthong national marine park while you are here. from koh samui you can take the seatran ferry to don sak pier in Surat Thani and make your way to the airport and catch the air asia flight back to bkk , alternatively you can get the night train or vip bus if you are on a budget.

have fun.

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HI, I hope this might be of help to you...I went to Ventianne, Laos in 2003 and i took the overnight bus trip from Bangkok to the border...be sure to bring with you a map of Laos and Thailand. When we went to the Bus Station in Bangkok, the lady at the counter could not speak english, so it was really hard when we were buying the ticketss...good thing, i had with me a map and showed to her the location where we wanted to go and that saved us the day...inside the bus, the bus driver and the passengers do not speak English, so better show the map again to the bus driver so he would know the location where he could drop you safely... we left around 9:00 in the evening and arrived at the town in Thailand nearest to the border at Ventianne around 5:30, it was a little bit dark... a mini bus took us at the border. The immigration office was still closed...good thing, my friend had an extra pack of cigarette and befriended the border police...we were allowed to cross the border and seated ourselves at the nearest coffee restaurant and had our Laos' coffee. At 7:30 we crossed the border again and waited for the immigration office to open at 8:00 am...

For your Siem Reap trip, from Bangkok you may take overnight bus/van to Aranyaphratep, cross the border, and presto! by the smell of shit..you would know that you are in Poi Pet...i've read a lot of negative write ups in diffferent travel blogs before going to Siem Reap last year..but honestly, we survived our ordeal...it was actually fun and made us more appreciative of what we have in our own country...from Poi Pet, there is a public vehicle to transport you to the parking area where toyota camry cars are parked. This is the transportation Cambodians are using going to Siem Reap, cost you US$10 per person (4 persons can ride in 1 camry)...and in Siem Reap...you may stay at Baca Villa, owned by Mr. Yohann...a warm and good natured person ;0). His cook prepares great meals and the price is cheap (one meal costs US$3)... Have a safe journey!
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hi, you could fly from bangkok to luang prabang and work your way down south to siem reap via the laos-cambodia border. (you could fly directly from luang prabang/vientiane/pakse to siem reap if time is an issue.) after angkor wat, do an overland crossing from siem reap to bangkok and then head south to the islands. Reply to this

Hi. i did not had the opportunity to go to Luang Prahbang in Laos but only in Vientiane since there are a lot of things to do and to visit at Vientiane. We practically stayed in Vientiane for 3 days and it was really fun and exciting going around. Also, if you want to buy souvenir for yourself, but Lao gold in the market, its very, very cheap.

About baca villa, just search this at yahoo and you will not miss it. In fact, you can do on-line reservation without depositing any money. And Mr. Yohann will also reply to your email immediately. ;o) so, no hazzle!!! Better print the address posted at their website and show it to the camry driver when you crossed the border at Poi Pet. I remember, there is a gasoline station with convenience store found in the left side of the road if you are entering the town. Baca villa is located between secondary roads but a lot of vehicles would passed by the area since it is near the market area and other restaurants.

Lastly, you may first proceed to Cambodia via Pnom Phen, then take the bus going to Siem Reap, then bus/camry toyota to Poi Phet, cross the border, enter Aranyaphratep and then go around Bangkok first, then proceed to Laos. In Vientiane, they have international flights so, with this itineraries, youd be entering Thailand once one. Or if you want, after coming from Laos, you can return to Bangkok, this now solve your 2 visa entry to Bangkok.

Have a safe trip. Just remember, its rainy and stormy season now in the ASEAN region.
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Hi TCA

I live in Singapore and travel a lot around the region, lived in Malaysia in the eighties. Thailand is fairly day-to-day for me so I've not written up anything about time spent there (wish I had, really).

I plan to get my Laos trip up on travelblog soon. In the meantime for a brief overview and some photos of what you can expect there, take a look at my Laos galleries

You will have a wonderful time! Reply to this