edbyu

I recently booked my trans-Pacific flights to/from SE Asia and am feeling a little overwhelmed with planning the logistics of in between (hotels, where to visit, how to get there). Please help. So far it's just me and my sister; I could see other friends tagging along as details firm up. I'm AA EXP, HH Gold, and Hyatt Diamond as of right now (expect to maintain said status during the trip). I booked this using BA miles (no status). I've got points in most US domestic hotel brands and have a friend who works for Marriott (MMF rate access.)

International Arrival Flights
Flight 1 - SFO-HKG - CX F
Depart - May 7 1:20 AM Arrive May 8 6:25 AM
Flight 2 - HKG-BKK - CX F
Depart - May 8 8:55 AM Arrive 10:35 AM

International Departure Flights
Flight 3 - KUL-HKG CX F
Depart May 20 9:25 AM Arrive May 20 1:10 PM
Flight 4 - HKG-JFK - CX F
Depart May 21 6:30 PM Arrive May 21 8:25 PM

Desires - ride an elephant (possibly in Chiang Mai), see Angor Wat, visit Ha Long Bay in Vietnam. My sister wants to go to Laos, but I'm not sold on it as getting in and out seems a but more difficult.

I'm not sure on transportation to and from the sites I want to visit. Flights on Air Asia are really attractive right now, if flying is the way to go.

I don't necessarily need to spend much time in KUL at the end. Just booked that as the exit point as it seemed Air Asia sends a ton of flight there. I figured it would be somewhat easy to end up there at a reasonable price. We'll also have a day-ish in HKG on the outbound (by design to explore HKG).

What about a few days in BKK, getting over to Angor Wat for a few days, riding elephants some where after Angor Wat, and then making it over to Vietnam? Too much or too little?

I realize it'll be May and hot, but hopefully living in Dallas will help (a little) for our tolerance for the heat. I'm not too terribly interested in the beach scene, my sister loves it. I prefer the mountains. Although a few beach days could be nice as a way to relax. We'll see what I can come up with and then bargain with her from there.

Thoughts?

traveling_consultant

In my brief experience, I think a day or two in Bangkok would be enough. I wouldn't recommend extending beyond that, many other great places to stay.

5khours

Really depends on what you want to do. From BKK it's very easy to get around. I was in Hanoi last week and went over to Halong Bay. I had been thinking about Laos as well. A little disappointed by Hanoi. Halong Bay was very pretty and better than expected, but given the choice I would go for the beach in Phuket. Bangkok doesn't do much for me. Never been to Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai, but hear they are nice. Rural Thailand is really nice - easy to get around and good food, but you probably need a local guide.

Chiang Rai, Phuket and Ankor Wat might be a good trip. Another approach might be to just pick your first destination and then decide on the rest of the trip after you get there.

Daawgon

That's quite a wish list for such a short trip! May will be broiling in the area - better you than me. Your sister is right to want to see Laos - Luang Prabang is one of my very favorite places. Unlike 5khours, Hanoi is probably my favorite place - I'm a city lover and Hanoi is really interesting. Sapa is also one of the most interesting stops in Vietnam.

My suggestion - lengthen your trip - you desperately need more time to see this area!

(you can fly into Luang Prabang from Chiang Mai, and fly out to Hanoi)

5khours

Daawgon - What did you like in Hanoi. Maybe I did it wrong or had the wrong expectations. I was thinking it would be little quieter and more relaxed.

jiejie

Weather concerns: It will be hot but as this OP is from Dallas, not a problem. In fact, it might actually be a bit better than Dallas in May.

However, way way way too much on this plate. You only have from May 8 to May 19 to fill and that’s very short. This assumes the KUL-HKG is ironclad and you need to get to KL on the 19th and do an overnight, in order to connect up with that segment on the 20th. Lengthen the journey if you can (I'm presuming trying to fit it in a typical USA 2-week vacation time frame). Even a few days helps tremendously.

My thoughts based on what we know for now:
--Eliminate Vietnam. It makes no sense to deal with visa and transportation issues just to see Halong Bay. It makes more sense to see this as part of a larger Vietnam trip module. So put it on a future trip. It also makes thread arguments about Love Hanoi vs Hate Hanoi moot. (I personally find Hanoi very interesting and worthwhile, but it’s another trip). See comments below about my karst scenery alternative for you.

--If Chiang Mai is a must (which I question), then choose either Laos/Luang Prabang OR Siem Reap/Angkor. The premier famous site is Angkor so the tendency is to favor that as the priority. However, much of the build-up of town and infrastructure for tourists at Siem Reap (which irrevocably changes the town atmosphere) has already happened, so putting it off for a future trip is likely to not be a big deal. LP on the other hand, has already started the inevitable slide towards mass tourism, and a case can be made that if one wants to see it, sooner is better than later.

--If Chiang Mai is NOT a must-do, then both LP and SR are possible. I’m actually beginning to favor this plan for you, if you are willing to entertain the idea of having a slightly atypical tourist itinerary. There are aspects and a "feel" to LP that are very similar to what Chiang Mai used to be 30-40 years ago (I should know, I was there), and you can have your elephant experience in LP. http://www.elephant-park-project.org...D-B12CC55E3EA1 Make sure in advance that elephants will be accessible: in the Chiang Mai area, in the March-May hot season, they elephants are often given a holiday, and many of the ride opportunities go off-line. Not sure about this place.

--Ideally, you’d have 3 full days in Bangkok either split or consecutive, but not sure it is doable on this trip. At any rate, sooner or later, everybody ends up going through Bangkok more than once in life so it will still be there and is easily accessible.

--A wee bit of beach time might be doable, and Phuket with accessibility to Phang-Nga bay and its karst scenery (very similar to Halong) seems like a good plan. And even though quick, is more cost effective than trooping over to Vietnam. Check out this company (which I've used) and this one. They aren't the cheapest but are the best and most eco-sustainably minded.

Itinerary using the No-Chiang Mai plan:
May 8—arrive in BKK and connect to flight to HKT. Yes I know you’ve travelled a long way but you can do a little more and it’s better to recuperate from jet lag and fatigue on the beach with cold drink in hand. Do not choose Air Asia for this, use TG or PG that can interline luggage all the way to HKT—it will make immigration and customs a lot easier. I personally would choose a nice and more upscale beach location like Bangtao (there is a Sheraton there), which is on the middle west coast of the island. Not the far north (too isolated i.e the Marriott) and not the Patong-Kata mess. Plenty of non-intl brand or regional chain options also, and prices in May will be low season. At any rate, afternoon at the beach or pool.

May 9, 10: Phuket beach one day and daytrip on boat/Sea Canoeing in Phang-Nga Bay.
May 11: fly HKT-BKK morning. Afternoon BKK sightseeing
May 12: more BKK sightseeing
May 13: fly BKK-LPQ (midmorning, Lao Aviation—and yes they are safe to fly). afternoon sightseeing in LP town
May 14, 15: LP area including elephant experience.
May 16: fly LPQ-REP via Pakse (midmorning, Lao Aviation). Still time in afternoon to start your Angkor temples and grab a sunset view.
May 17, 18: more Siem Reap/Angkor
May 19: fly REP-KUL on the Air Asia morning flight (good prices now)

--This is still really a fast pace, but if you are a “hit the highlights” kind of traveler rather than an indepth explorer, it could work for you and gives a wide variety of “stuff” to see and do. It would still be better if you could take one of these point destinations off the table and shove it to a future trip, and lengthen the time in the other places. Maybe depends on if you plan to be back in the area in the next 2-3 years.

--Also; before making any regional bookings, see if you can change your long-distance CX ticketing without too much drama or cost. Inbound: CX has a HKG-HKT nonstop segment so that would save hours and energy if you bypass BKK. Also leaves at 08:55 so connection with your TPAC isn’t a problem.

jiejie

Bingo. Sounds like the crux of your problems with Hanoi: expectations. It's not a small place and is the capital of a country. The only SE Asian country capital I know of that might properly be called sleepy and relaxed (relatively speaking) would be Vientiane.

edbyu

Thanks for everyone's input! It does seem like I am trying to cram a lot into a short amount of time. I think I need to re-think my plan of attack.

CrazyInteg

I agree with others about Hanoi not being so great. I agree with skipping Vietnam for this trip.

You have such a short amount of time. I really like jiejie's itinerary, but as he says, it will be jam-packed and busy. Always on the go, with little bits of relaxing time between the cities. Nice. This is my kind of itinerary.

Personally I don't like the sea kayaking, so I would recommend that you do some sort of island boat tour daytrip from Phuket. It's similar with Halong Bay except nowhere near as impressive.

Personally I would say two full days of Bangkok, minimum.
Angkor Wat needs two days (day flight,evening around Angkor, full day of Angkor, morning around Angkor, afternoon flight). You will be hot, dirty and tired. Very cool though.

Cambodia and Vietnam require a full page visa, Thailand uses one or two squares, not sure about Laos. The last time I had a Lao visa was years ago and it was a stamped full page visa. So make sure you have room in your passport.

It will be a fun trip. Very busy, but very interesting.

Feel free to ask questions here. There are many experts that post in this forum.

jiejie

1) I'm a she.

2) There are operators offering big boat tours exclusively, but what I was actually thinking of for this poster was not hard-core sea kayaking, but the "hongs" tours offered by the sea canoe companies. In these, they use big boat to take the group out from Phuket pier to the interesting parts of Phang-Nga Bay, and also as a staging place for a hot cooked lunch. Then once they get to the karsts, they break out the kayaks and 2 tourists per kayak + one guide at the back who does the actually paddling. The "hongs" (= Thai for "rooms") tour goes inside the karst formations usually through cave or tunnel access into the collapsed middle. The guides know the tides and how to get into/out of these places. Usually at some point, there is the opportunity to do a short self-paddle on the kayaks if you want--up to you. The Hongs by Starlight (afternoon and evening tour) usually gets raves from travelers.

I did not find Halong Bay to be more impressive than Phang-Nga, so maybe that's a personal judgment thing. At any rate, I don't change my recommendation that it makes no sense on this trip to just go to Vietnam for that. If Halong without substitution is the highest priority, then it makes more sense to change this trip and spend it all in Vietnam. (or North Vietnam + Siem Reap and that's it). And that is definitely would require OP's reconceptualization.

5khours

Great suggestions from Jiejie. From now on, I'm asking her for travel advice.

Only comments - if you can afford it, a day or two at Amanpuri in Phuket is a real treat.

Another option for Laos is to fly HKT to UBP on Air Asia, get a driver to get you to Mukdahan, then have a Loatian guide/driver to drive your over the bridge and up to Vientiane and Luang Prabong. Kind of a long drive, but IMHO very interesting countryside. You could also do a shorter trip by flying to Udon Thani (via BKK) and then going across at Nong Khai.

I just peal the full page ones out after leaving the country.

CrazyInteg

wow that's crazy. I would never tamper with my passport.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/pract...-passport.html

5khours

Who's tampering with the passport. I'm just taking stuff off that other people have put on the passport, I would never dream of altering the passport. FWIW, I got the big passport and added pages, but still am short. The stick on VISAs come off very easily. I read the other forum. People are really overthinking this one.

CrazyInteg

You are