We are currently travellin in Sout East Asia. We are just finishing our trip in the Philippines, before heading over to Indonesia and visiting a friend in Kuala Lumpur.
In the first week of August we will be leaving KL to start our trip over the mainland of SE Asia, covering Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myrmar before countinuing to India.
We are looking for recommendations in what order to tacke the countries listed above considering that we can fly / road from KL.Visas should not be an issue as we can sort them out while staying in KL.
We would like to adjust our plans in a way to miss the high seasons in order to cut down on costs and avoid big number of other tourists. Our original plan was to start in North Vietnam, heading South, entering Cambodia, Laos and then Thailand. Just recently we learned that August is a peak travelling time in Vietnam, both for foreign as well as local tourists so we are trying to come up with a new plan.
Any suggestions are welcome. We are not very limited with time as we can spend between 4 to 6 months in the region.
Thanks!
Reply to this Hello Rice 😊
Hopefully, some replies will still happen on this thread, but in the meantime, I recommend the SE Asia on a ShoeString, by Lonely Planet book. It covers all the countries you mentioned in one book, except India. It also has suggested itineries, and recommendations about when the best time of the year to visit each country is.
...in order to cut down on costs
My main tip for cost cutting and saving time is to take night busses, to save a nights accomodation and to prevent a long day on the bus.
I wrote a few blogs about Thailand, Malaysia and India. If you want to ask specific questions about any of the places featured in the blogs, just post them here.
Mel
Reply to this If you are planning on touring the northern part of the Philippines... you can check out my travel blog on the Philippines. I included a few pictures in there to give you a view!
Enjoy!
<snip>
nomadNIV
[Edited: 2011 Jun 25 10:13 - Jabe:6222 - Please - no self-promotion on forums.]
Reply to this Thanks, we do have the LP for SE Asia. Its OK, but a bit short on info which makes sense considering it covers so many countries. All the suggested routes include flights which we want to avoid.
We are mainly thinking about what order to tackle the countries, not so much specific cities. We are now thinking:
KL - bus/ train to Thailand, enter Laos from Thailand, then go to North Vietnam from there, go down south, enter Cambodia (maybe re-enter Laos and check out the SE part of the country) and then back to Thailand. This way we don't have to fly and have all the freedom. We are skipping south of Thailand first time around as we will be in Indonesia just before and leaving it for the end.
NomadNiv: we are just in Manila but because of the weather we are not sure if we will be going to Banaue and Sagada. Will decide tomorrow.
Thanks for your help!
Reply to this I did hear from friends and family that it has started raining. I'm not sure if it's been flooding. Goodluck with the rest of your trip. I hope you will be blessed with awesome weather!
Take care.
nomadNIV
<snip>
[Edited: 2011 Jun 25 10:13 - Jabe:6222 - Please - no self-promotion on forums.]
Reply to this Hi there,
Just a word of advice from experience-maybe end in Laos-it is slow and sleepy and beautiful-what you might welcome after some of the crazy places. We just got home from our 4th trip to se asia. If you have any specific questions would be happy to help.
Happy Travels,
Suzie
[Edited: 2011 Jun 26 03:24 - SuzieQnSteven2:160291 ]
Reply to this TheRoadIsCalling blog provides good details for getting from one place to another and where to stay and eat cheaply. They are currently on the road and have stopped at many of the popular destinations in each country you will be visiting. Check it out.
Reply to this I am a Malaysia and I strongly suggest you to come Malaysia at the end of August. 31st August is our National Day. Come and celebrate with us!
Reply to this Hi ThamSoon,
we already covered Malaysia. We are coming back to KL in August but at the start of the month 😞
Reply to this Take Bus from KL to Penang.Spend a day or two there.Good Food.From there take train to Hatyai.From there you can decide to Krabi or to Koh Samui or both they are just opposite of each other.From Surat Thani you can take the Train to Bangkok.Happy travelling
Reply to this Mell,
Ramadhan is started at 1st of August till 29th of August this year for Muslims . Even though if it`s fell on 31st of August, it wont affect any kind of celebrations happen in the country. National Day (also known as Independent Day) is a "national thing" which covers Muslims and non-Muslims in the country. I as a Malaysian Chinese is proud and excited for this event.
Welcome to Malaysia again Mell. The event will be celebrated in all states and towns in the country at the same time. But the main celebration will be held in Dataran Merdeka( National Day Parade).
[Edited: 2011 Jul 02 15:32 - ThamSoon:202318 ]
[Edited: 2011 Jul 02 15:36 - ThamSoon:202318 ]
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