Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mineybhoy]

Feel free to criticise my route if I am being mad as I know nothing about S.E. Asia. I work in Seoul and finish June 1st and have only ever been to the Phillipines. I plan in mid June to fly from Incheon to Sumatra or if I have to Kuala Lumpur and work my way by land up through Phuket into Bangkok then travel through Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam before flying back to Korea. I have no idea what to see along the way and am only basing the trips credibility on the fact I would get to see Indonesia,Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and maybe Burma and Cambodia on the way. I have no idea what is worth going to apart from Phuket!

Thanks very much in advance!
An inexperienced traveller.

[thrylos]

Skip Phuket altogether especially in rainy season. Plently left to see and do. Definitely possible, depending on your time and budget. Travelling it all by land will be a tuk-tuk nightmare, consider a couple of night sleeper trains, esp in Thailand, and possibly a short hopper flight or two.

[Drew345]

Here's a great website that puts together the route, not just the places.

http://www.passplanet.com/

The author on that sight also likes fast paced travel, like you seem to be looking for.

[wishfullthinkng]

i'd suggest flying into a big hub city to make it cheaper and more convenient like bangkok or kuala lumpur. bangkok is a good choice because it links many other capital cities by rail and also has the best airport to fly out of in the area. while laos was merely "meh" in my opinion, cambodia is a riot and vietnam is okay. malaysia irritates me every time due to it's inept public transportation system (plane, train and automobile), and you'd be doing yourself a major disservice by not going to myanmar (my favourite SE country, which i've been to all of them multiple times).

my 2 cents.

[mineybhoy]

Thanks a lot guys. some good advice there I am sure. Its hard travelling Asia for me as nowhere seems to get really bad reports about certain places like you would in Europe or America. Everywhere seems decent at least.

[ttompatz]

There are a few places to watch out for.

Southern Thailand (4 southernmost provinces) along the border with Malaysia) are a battle ground (Muslim separatists). They just blew up the train line today.

Government complex and the parliament in Bangkok are not good places to go due to the protests. The rest of the city is no different than any other megalopolis.

There are some (NOT ALL) border areas with Cambodia that are dangerous. (the legitimate border crossings are fine).

There are areas in the golden triangle that you don't want to be unless being shot at as a drug smuggler are in your travel plans.

There are places along the Thai/Myanmar border that are dangerous.

I'd also be careful along the Chinese/Vietnam border right now.

.

[augustine]

I did that same trip some moons ago in my jetsetting days. Started in Singapore, ended in hanoi, took four months. And I wasn't a backpacker, never have been-- duffel bag. Only flew from Laos to Cambodia out of laziness and don't recall taking any trains, all buses, unless I'm subconsciously blocking out some train rape incident. Go to krabi instead of phuket. 1) go to siem reap, rent a bike, purchase some weed, smoke it, then ride the bike around ankor wat, repeating for two more days. I liked everything about SE asia, from the ninja surprise handjob bars on soi cowboy to the handjob massage huts near the beaches. Everywhere you go man, chicks are trying to beat you off, it's nuts. Laos is beautiful. My favorite cities were chiang mai and Phenom Penh. PP is a bit rough though. You'll appreciate the overland route if you've never done anything like that before, but with at least three months time I'd say. The Thailand/Cambodia crossing used to be fucked but I didn't go that way and don't know if it's changed. Vietnamese people are kind of crazy but I thought everyone else was nice. And watch out for kathoey snakes, they'll put an end to those beat off sessions.

[mineybhoy]

Haha Augustine I loved your story. You mean there is prostitutes everywhere giving hand jobs? haha thanks ttompatz too because no one ever really tells you the bad stuff

[bucheon bum]

Maybe I missed it, but how long are you planning to travel for? That will help in giving you advice.

If you want to see Indonesia, probably the cheapest way to get there is via KL on Air Asia or via Singapore on Tiger Air (so maybe get a ticket from Korea to one of those two cities, then a seperate ticket to Indonesia).

[mineybhoy]

[bossface]

3 weeks for Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, and Indonesia? It may technically be possible, but certainly not enjoyable since you'd be on a bus or at the airport most of the time. I'd suggest picking two, three max. You could easily spend 3 weeks traveling around any one of those countries without running out of things to see.

Medan is the main city in Sumatra. You could fly there via BKK, KL, Singapore, but I doubt there's a direct flight from ICN.

I did a similar trip to what you are describing, and it took 5 months. I flew to KL from here, worked my way up to BKK, flew to Burma, flew to the Phils, flew back to BKK, went north to Laos, south through Laos to Cambodia, then north through Nam from the delta to Hanoi. It was definitely the best time evar.

There's a lot you can do in 3 weeks. Like Thai beaches + BKK + Cambodia, or BKK + northern Thailand + northern Laos, or Cambodia + southern Vietnam, or BKK + Burma. Anyway, just my 2 baht.

[actionjackson]

I'm going to second what bossface said, that is way too many countries to do in that amount of time, unless of course you're just looking to brag and say that you've been there. I used to live in Thailand and I took four weeks to check out Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, and even that felt rushed. To give you an idea of what that was like, one day was spent on a bus or plane. Then trying to find a place to stay. Then it'd be two or maybe three days checking out the sights and then it was a travel day again. If you do planes, then those travel days can become checking stuff out days too, but I went by bus and with the ride and then trying to find a place to stay, it eats up a lot of time.

I would also suggest since you're only going to be in China, all those places are still there. Save the ones you don't see for when you want a break from China.

[korea.teacher]

Here’s a suggested itinerary and a shorter list of countries to visit.

It will also give you an idea of how tight your travel schedule will be. Try not to cram too much in and enjoy the moment. Alternately, you could eliminate a couple of the side trips and use the extra days to travel more leisurely. In this case, “less is more.”

Bankgkok/ Laos / Cambodia

Bangkok

Day 1: Fly into Bangkok and check into guest house.
If you book a guest house near the Sky Train you will find it easy to tour the city.

Note: Try to take a bus (cheap and safe) from the lower level of the airport to a guest house near the Sky Train. Avoid airport taxis (tourists still having problems with illegal taxis, however, the more expensive limousine taxis you can arrange inside the airport are okay).

Day 2: Skytrain down to riverfront / see palace and temples / take a river cruise

Day 3 (optional) – train to Ayuthaya (you can rent bikes across the street from the station, ferry across the canal, and bike to ancient temples

Day 4 (optional) - train to Lopburi / see monkey temple

Note: skip beaches; it’s rainy season

Note: use official tourist office information centers (also Sky Train) and guest lodging for precise travel information

Note: guesthouses have storage, so if you set up your trip so you can arrive and depart from the same guesthouse, you can leave some of your luggage behind

Day 5 - Night train to Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai

Day 6 - Rent motorbike and tour city or countryside (options) - inner city temples / Doi Suthep / zoo / shopping markets

Day 7 – excursion to countryside / ride an elephant / go river rafting (can arrange at guest house)

Day 8 – bus to Chiang Mai/Laos Border / overnight (package tour you can book through local travel agency)

Laos

Day 9 – 10 - 2 day longboat cruise down Mekong River to Luang Prabang

Day 10 overnight

Day 11 spend day relaxing in Luang Prabang

Day 12 Bus to Vientiane / option to stop midway and do the inner tube rafting trip

Day 13 Overnight in Vientiane

Day 14 Bus back to Bangkok / check into guest house

Bangkok

Day 15 Rest day or bus to Thai/Cambodia border crossing and continue on to Siem Reap / check-in to guest house

Cambodia

Day 16 spend day at Angkor Wat

Day 17 take boat trip, see floating village, catch sunset

Bangkok

Day 18 –return to Bangkok /check into guest house

Based on this suggested itinerary, you have three free days. Some days are long travel days, and you might use the few days to rest up and hang out with fellow travelers at the guesthouses you will be staying at. Before leaving Bankok, you might check out the bargains at the electronics market in Bangkok.

Note: mini vans depart from the Victory Monument Sky Train Station, suggesting possibilities for 1-3 day trips to locations likeKanchanaburi where you can see the Bridge over the River Kwai and take day trips to the Tiger Temple or Ewaran National Park.

Note: Allow flexibility, you might meet up with other travelers and decide to travel together.

Note: Wikitravel.org is a good resource for travel information and avoiding tourist scams.

[fezmond]

Not to rag on korea.techer too much but that's a brutal schedule. You'll be screwed from the travel fatigue and unable to enjoy anywhere properly.

[bossface]