trying to get ideas and suggestions for a 10 week journey round south east asia....
I am currently trying to plan a trip with two other friends round South East Asia, however, I know virtually nothing about the region... we have about 10 weeks and our vague plan was to fly in Bangkok, travel north through Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos to Hanoi. From Hanoi flying (or boat?) across to Manila and explore the Philippenes, round through Indonesia and Malaysia finally to Kuala Lumpur and either flying out home from either Singapore or carry on north to Bangkok again.
Firstly, does this sound like too much to do in our 10 weeks or so?
Secondly, places/cities/towns that should be visited on our way?
also, travelling through the Philippenes, Indonesia, etc, means travelling over considerable amounts or water.... is this easy to arrange once out there and how expensive would ferries across to various islands be?
thanks soo much any help, advice and suggestions! Harry.
Reply to this Hello Harry 😊
The following thread might give you some ideas.
Travel route Thailand, Laos, Cambodia & Vietnam
Firstly, does this sound like too much to do in our 10 weeks or so?
Most of those countries you want to visit are quite close together, so timewise it does not matter much how many you visit, as long as you dont expect to see every part of each. But bear in mind that the more countries you visit the more visa expenses, and the more you move around the more transport expenses.
Mel
Reply to this Hey
10 weeks does sound a very short time for these countries, bearing in mind that the likes of Indonesia and the Philippines are huge with many islands, and travel within many of the countries can be slow.
Of course, if you just want to see one or two places in each country, then it will be ok. But it seems a shame to miss out on some of the other 'must sees' for the different countries. But then, that's just my opinion!!
Have a look at some of the blogs for other folk who are doing similar routes, and see what their timescales are like. And have a look in a guidebook for the travel distances between the various countries.
Kate
Reply to this brilliant thanks everyone. Came up with a new idea... think it maybe better? Fly into Bangkok, travel through Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam to Hong Kong, fly from Hong Kong to Cebu explore the Philippenes for a while then fly out of Manila to kaula Lumpur and travel down to Singapore to fly home.
Got the Lonely Planet travel guide on order at the moment as well so hopefully that should help.
also is train the easiest way to get from Bangkok to Hong Kong? and what would be a good route?
thanks!! Harry.
Reply to this Hi
Glad we've been a help.
You're journey between Bangkok and Hong Kong seems to involve a lot of different stops, so you will probably use a million different forms of transport, from train, bus, ferry, tuk-tuk, taxi and random local forms of transport. The right form, if there is a right form, will depend on the particular leg of the journey.
So you are going from Cambodia into Vietnam? Are you coming over the border from Phnom Penh to Saigon, or into the Centre of Vietnam (can you do this from Cambodia? Or only from Laos)? Vietnam is very long, and people recommend about 2 weeks to travel North to South. That's without really seeing anywhere. You can get a train from Hanoi into China and then several trains up to Hong Kong. It would take a couple of days without stopping. China is pretty big too. Do you want to see China or simply get to Hong Kong? If you just want to get to Hong Kong then you would be better flying from somewhere, as you would avoid the cost (and hassle) of the Chinese visa.
I think when you have the travel guide you might have some more idea of distances and forms of transport. But let us know if we can be of more help.
Kate
Reply to this I think 10 weeks is very short for all the countries you want to visit. South East Asia is a fascinating area and if you cannot extend your stay longer a suggestion would be just covering Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam.
Maybe you can start in Thailand and then to Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Vietnam, South of China and Hong Kong. I heard bus trips are not reliable in Thailand (just heard about it). A flight ticket from Bangkok to Phnom Penh costs around USD 120. Going from Phnom Penh to Saigon takes around 6 hours by bus through Moc Bai border and from Saigon to Hanoi it takes over 30 hours by train, but in the midway there are several places to visit like Hoi An. Flight tickets from Saigon to Hanoi cost around USD 100.
From Vietnam to China you can go by bus from Hanoi to Nanning. The bus takes around 8-10 hours. From Nanning you can take the bus or train to Guiling, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong. Long distance bus services in China should be one of the best in the world and cheap. Train service also is very good in China. From China to Hong Kong there are plenty of buses and trains from Guangzhou or Shenzhen.
Reply to this Ten weeks is very short for all the places you want to visit, but still doable, if you choose to fly rather than go overland. Singapore to Kuala Lumpur over land is ok, but crossing the border from Cambodia to Vietnam , Laos, may take a lot of time and even backbreaking!
Your plan to explore the Philippines by flying into Cebu is a good plan. From Cebu, you can take the Hoverferry to some of the islands like Bohol (Chocolate Hills, Tarsiers) which i highly recommend. PAL (Philippine Air Lines) and Cebu Pacific offer very cheap flights also from either Cebu or Manila to must see places like Boracay, or going North, to Laoag. Right this minute, PAL is offering international fares from Manila to Taipei (US$38 round trip), Shanghai ($108), Hongkong ($58)...........dirt cheap. Try checking the airlines for good deals. It will save you a lot of time to fly, so you may enjoy all the places you want to visit. And it may be a good idea to spend on airfares as you'd find that cost of living in many of these places is low. Food is cheap, but beware of the shopping bug!
Reply to this Hi
We traveled around Thailand by bus for a year, and never encoutered any problems. We usually took the air con local buses; they were clean and you sometimes got a meal provided, or at least a snack. There were toilets on the buses and there was a stop every four hours or so for the toilet and something to eat/drink.
The Thais on them were always really helpful and told us about breaks etc. We were often the only white people on the bus.
The tourist buses are a different matter perhaps. We have heard many tales of people getting their bags broken into on tourist buses.
Reply to this thanks once again everyone. we have extended our stay to 3 and a half months so we can get more in. Not sure on the exact route we're going to take from Bangkok to Hanoi but definately want to some places like Chiang Mai on the way.
instead of flying to Cebu or Manila from Hong Kong is it possible to fly from Hanoi? or would we have to fly from Bangkok? if so would it be better to fly from Hanoi to Hong Kong and then to the Philippines.... would this be cheaper than going by bus and train all the way to Hong Kong.
Kate: how easy is it to find the local busses and i'm guessing they're cheaper than the tourist ones too?
Sorry about all the questions!! thanks again everybody.
Harry
Reply to this Good question about the flights. We are currently arranging a trip to Manila (and we live in Haiphong, North Vietnam), so have been looking up flights. You don't seem to be able to fly from Hanoi to Manila, but you can fly from HCMC with PAL (and the Air Cebu website says it flies from HCMC, but then no flights are advertised - what's that about?) and it's a cheap and quick flight from Hanoi to HCMC with Jetstar Asia. You could also fly via Bangkok or KL; it wouldn't put that much onto the time and it's relatively cheap.
But perhaps someone else has some better information and get help us both with flights from Vietnam to the Philippines!! .......anyone??
Local buses are easy to find. Check out the travel guide for the locations of the bus stations, the buses go from there. Every town has a bus station. They often also go from the side of the road, but sometimes those ones take longer. Sometimes they are cheaper than tourist buses, sometimes not, but I think in terms of getting ripped off for being a tourist, the risk is a lot less on a local bus. We also like to travel with Thais rather than with tourists, but that's just a personal opinion.
Reply to this cebu pacific has a flight from saigon to manila but i guess they only cater the route during tuesdays i not certain if they already added new flights. as of now you can get as low as 99usd for flt to manila on 26may09 (tax not included).
Reply to this Cebu Pacific flies out of Hanoi Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Out of Ho Chi Minh, it flies Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Philippine Air Lines (PAL) flies out of Ho Chi Minh. You can check out their websites and do your online booking. I believe both airlines are running promo fares now. I just booked one (Manila-Taipei-Manila via PAL) for under US$50.
Reply to this hi, you may want to consider visiting this beautiful island from the philippines..
Reply to this In 10 weeks it is definently accomplishable. What you should do though is decide what interests you the most in travelling in the region. e.g. Do you want to see more natural environemnt, party, relax at the beach, sports, etc. Then you can make a better plan and just do and visit specific places in each country. Try to get as many visas as you can before you arrive in Bangkok if possible, that will save you a considerable amount of time. Otherwise, you might have your passport held up for a week at least. From Bangkok you can get the cheapest airfare to any city in S.E Asia. Becareful about deciding to take any ferries in the Phillipines, the accidents involving capsized ferries are phenomenal. Finally, Hanoi to Manila by boat? I would really re-consider that option.
Cheers,
Sum Lee
Reply to this thanks once again for all the advice... wasnt really considering going from Hanoi to Manila by boat! is it easy to get from the Philippines to Borneo and Malaysia? i guess the best way would be to fly... or can you take a boat from the south Philippines... i've read the region is unstable?
one of my plans in south east asia was to learn to dive, but there are so many places you can do this.... are there any recommendations.... places that are ridiculously expensive for example? thanks again. Harry.
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