idriveuride

This started in the Delta Forum and with a destination set, the time has come to solicit the experience and knowledge of the Asia Forum.

In short, I will be homeless for the Month of May. Between leases and a gap before my next tour, so instead of burning through little cash reserves and treading water Stateside, I have taken the advice of several FT'ers and heading to SE Asia.

Initial thoughts are to start my journey in Ho Chi Min City or maybe even Hanoi and somewhere South, maybe Southerh Thailand. This will be the entire month of May 2011 and must be back by June 11th, so 5-6 weeks. Star Alliance or SkyTeam (hopefully) award will take care of the air.

I am a blank slate and open to all suggestion. Transport, sights, routes and accommodations knowledge would be greatly appreciated, and CHEAP being the word of the day. Not just cheap by western standards, I mean CHEAP and enjoying the hidden gems as I go.

I will toss some destination ideas as they are posted and I would appreciate input regarding their order / transport, etc.

So, let's start a lazy itinerary! No dates; just, places, sights and means.


Hanoi



Luang Prabang
Just Read a few great trip reports on a few different sites regarding the slow boat from Chang Mai to Luang Prabang. Sound slike fun!



Chang Mai



Angkor



Koh Rong



Ho Chi Min City


Only on FT is a trip through SE Asia a way to save $$$$ while homeless

Thanks in advance for all the valuable sharing of your knowledge and experience!


.

hiyo

First, Vietnam is worth a month by itself, as is Indonesia.

That said, you could arrive in Hanoi, buy a Sinh Cafe Open Bus ticket and work your way down to Saigon. Then take a Sinh Cafe "Exit to Cambodia" tour of the Mekong Delta ending in Phnom Penh. Take a bus to Siem Reap for Angkor. Save Laos for another trip. Another bus to Bangkok. You have now been in the region two weeks at least, if you don't hang around Bangkok for too long. Koh Samui will be better than Phuket at this time of year, take a bus or train and ferry there. After Samui head down to Ko Phangan by bus or train. You are really running out of time now, so fly Air Asia to Kuala Lumpur from Krabi, no time even for Penang, let alone Perhentians, so goodbye Malaysia, catch a bus down to Singapore. You have been in the region more than three weeks and you need to keep moving to see it all. Fly to Denpasar and spend the last few days in Bali, no time for Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, etc. Whew.

Seriously, you should just fly in somewhere and go where you feel like going, stay as long as you like, try to get to an Air Asia served city where you can get a flight to your return gateway at the end of your time in the region.

If Bali is a must, fly into Bangkok and move around Thailand, then travel down the peninsula to Malaysia then Indonesia. That's a month's worth, easy.

If Vietnam is a must, then end your trip in Bangkok. Explore Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Even that is rushing it for a month.

Feel free to PM me if you want to ask about specific places, or about modes of transport. It's a wonderful part of the world and you will enjoy it best if you can take it slow.

dsquared37

Something's amiss in the above. A bus or train from Samui to Ko Pha Ngan would be very wet.

Anyway, if you're looking for super cheap I'd definitely include Laos on your itinerary.

From HAN you can get to Sapa or another hill area of northeastern Vietnam. Look to see if the border west of Dien Bien Phu is open to foreigners, I believe it is, and make your way to northern Laos. Hit Luang Pabang, Vang Vieng (beautiful, but rather over touristy) and Vientiane. There are other places to linger and hike, if that suits you, in the north. Make your way down south to Pakse, Tat Law, and Champasak. Check out the Khmer ruins at Wat Phu. From Pakse you can take a bus (250B +/-) to Ubon Ratchatani. From there you can onward transpo to Bangkok either by DD or FD or train or bus. The latter two will be overnight which will save on hotels. You can easily work a month on that stretch.

One warning is May/June is around the start of monsoon. But if it hasn't started yet you'll be risking hazy and smoky air. NB A thunderstorm moved though Ubon Ratchatani this afternoon.

May/June should be (this year has been odd) weatehr on the Gulf of Thailand side. So the eastern regions of Thailand and Malaysia will be in prime time for visiting. So will Bali and the regions east of there.

Which is another possibility.....

Just get to Bali and head east to Lombok, Sumbawa, check out Mt Tambora, Komodo National Park and Flores. That could easily fill 3 weeks.

jimbo99

In 1993, I did Hanoi to Saigon in 3 weeks. Still felt a bit rushed! (Packed alot of places in.)

Good advice so far - but if doing Vietnam, I always feel going north to south just "feels" like the right way around.

Hanoi will be hot and getting hotter in May.

idriveuride

Taking in some of the PM's and Posts. I have decided to chop off Malaysia & Indonesia. Do that next time.

Maybe an egg shape itinerary (if possible) arrive Ho Chi Min City, train/bus (w/stops) to Hanoi, cut over to Laos, work south through Cambodia (Koh Rong, Angkor), then slide over the Ho Chi Min City for the flight home. Possibly incorporate Thailand into this "egg" shape itinerary.

hiyo

Haha, not sure what I was thinking when I advised a bus or train from Koh Samui to Koh Pha Ngan...thinking I meant to say bus or train to Surat Thani then boat to Samui and/or Pha Ngan.

dsquared37

Getting from the train station in Surat Thani to the ferries can be an endeavor if you're not familiar with the area or cannot speak some Thai. Even some Thai's I know have had problems getting reasonably priced transpo for this minor 15km +/- stretch. YMMV.