Hi everyone,
(third time I post this message - somehow it always gets into the Europe forum - not really the place!)
With my fiancé, we would like to discover South Asia (especially Vietnam, Thailand, India, Nepal) or South America (perhaps Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Peru... Loads of things to see in South America) - perhaps both?
We would like to spend three weeks to a month travelling around - but I do not know where to begin!
How to get to Asia and South America for very!! cheap? how is the transport system there? What must sees are there? Any advice welcome - I've been to some places in Europe but not much outside - and never been backpacking before!
The trip would be summer 09 or 10.
Thanks a lot for any advice or suggestion
Reply to this Roads in Thailand compared to other SA countries are good. I travelled by bus which was cheap definatly withstandable if your looking for budget travel, although long trips may get uncomfortable as they like to crank the AC all night long so you go from sweating to shivering. Vietnam was sketchy in terms of bus travel, the roads were okay but the driving was scary and they use their horns constanly (I heard it was against the law not to use their horns) so sleeping on 12 hr bus rides is impossible even with ear plugs. I took an overnight train with a sleeper and it was good although not as cheap as bus.
Reply to this Thank you so much for the advice - Thailand is definitely on our list, as well as the neighbours Laos, Cambodia or Vietnam. Do you know anything about the cheapest way to get there (from Europe - France)? And what is the best way to cross the border - by train, bus, airplane?
Reply to this If you're going for South America then the best way to travel around is by bus. Very cheap and some of them are amazingly comfortable for long haul or overnight journeys. The Panamericana goes right down the west coast of South America so travelling in Peru and Chile is relatively easy and very quick as the road is generally very good. As for what to see, Machu Picchu is one of the obvious ones and I would definitely reccommend a trip to the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. Have fun!
A pinch of salt
Machu Picchu (in the mist!) Reply to this Ya I dont have much info on the cheapest flights from Europe to SA as I came from Vancouver Canada. But in terms of border crossings I crossed through northern Thailand (up by Chang Mai) into Laos via a slow boat ride down the Mekong River. It took 2 9hr days on a packed boat with wood bench seats, it was uncomfortable but the scenery was very nice and looking back on it, it was well worth it. Not too sure what the price was but im sure it wasnt expensive, nothing really is. I also took a flight from Vientiene the capital of Laos to Hanoi in Vietnam, that was about $100 and was well worth it and I would recommend it as I heard numerous stories from other travellers about the hellish 24hr bus ride from Veintiene to Hanoi.
Reply to this Thank you to you both - very interesting suggestions, I will check the details on the internet (Panamericana, flights and so on). Thanks anyway!
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