Korean Job Discussion Forums

[juliebaas]

Hello all,

I am finally getting around to planning my world trip and find my biggest challenge is finding info on how to get around in each country.

We are starting in Asia, flying from South Korea, and looking at the map it appears the best way to do our trip is to fly into Hanoi, Vietnam and head down to Saigon, then over to Cambodia, then to Bangkok, down to Phuket (maybe making a side trip into Malaysia) and then over to Sri Lanka and up through India to Katmandu. I think. Again, hard to tell if you have not been there. Suggestions? We are also thinking of hitting Laos.

My question, is on the best way to get through each country. Should we fly from Hanoi to Saigon (looks like it, what airline should we take, do we pre buy tickets or do it when we get there?) How about from Saigon to Cambodia? Which is best, bus, train, fly? We are traveling budget, but also want to consider comfort, (if it is 24 hours on a bus or 2 hours on a plane, well...). For each leg these are considerations.

I know we have some world travelers out there, who have done this and can help. I would sooooo appreciate it. This is info that is hard to find.

Julie

[nick_shawyer]

I have recently come from SE asia i went to thailand laos and cambodia.

My advice would be not to use the budget airlines for 3 reasons:
1) safety - while i was in camdodia a plane crashed in cambodia between sihanoukville and siem reap killing a bunch of koreans, the budget aireoplanes tend to be small and old and the airports can be little more than a landing strip
2)although not really expensive it will be when you compare it to the overland options which are much cheaper.
3) probably what is the deciding factor for me is if you fly you will miss out on the VIEWS, it may take longer doing it another way but it is usually worth it.

THe cheapest option for travelling will probably be the local buses, but they can get very full and take longer because they stop much more, so if comfort is your priority book the VIP buses - but shop around/negotiate for the price as it varies between agentrs for the same service best bet is to head to the backpacker ghettos.

when in thailand take the train if you can, its cheap, comfortable and has the best view, don't think they have them in laos and avoid them in camdodia (they travel at a littlemore than walking pace)

take a boat if it is not too espensive, good scenary and very communal so easy to talk to other people - avoid the speed boats can be dangerous.

My advice is don't book anything in advance, guesthouses/hotels prices are negotiable as are most things, although from what i've heard some things in vietnam are less negotiable but it is probbaly cheaper there to start with.

from what you said you could fly to hannoi take a bus to saigon the bus or boat to phnom penh (nearly every where in cambodia requires going through phnom penh so beware its not possible to circle the country) definatly worth going to siem reap (i thought the angkor wat 1 day pass was ample $20 but some people insisted on the 3 day pass $60, depends how big you are on tamples i guess but i saw everything would rushing with time to0 spare) if you want a good beach without paying the thai prices goto sihanoukville (free accommodation on the beach, cheap seafood eg 6 small lobsters for $1) if your going to laos (no visa on arrival so book it inadvance) go from phnom penh stop over night in kratie to see the rare irwaldi dolphins in the mekong river and then go straight to the boader (if you want another stop goto ban lung, but it is a bit out of the way, AVOID stung trent) and the 4 thousand islands and get a boat to don det you'll probably want to stick around there for a while relaxing and exploring the islands. most of the other stuff in laos is in the north so most people just book a bus all the way to vientiene (a horrible place try to leave as quickly as possible) from there you can get a bus to vang vieng which is very touristy full of bars playing western films and tv shows selling happy shakes etc. but it is surround by beautiful mountins and the fun actikvity to do is tubing down the river stoping and the bars and doing the jumps. from vang vieng goto luang probang a nice town alot less touristy, from there you can got further north but i didn't so i don't have any info, i took the slow boat to the chiang khong boarder of thailand (stay over night on the thai side) and then goto pai or chiang mai to do all your trekking, cookery corses etc. before heading south you could stop in attathaya (old thai capital) for a day or 2 and visit the ruins on route to BKK from there definately make an excursion to kanchanaburi and stay in the jolly frog for a few days goto the tiger temple, war museum, bridge over the river kwai and if you haven't already take an elephant ride.


didn't go further south so i can't give you any more info except in thailand the local transport is pretty good and in the other countries it is questionable. oh and avoid the koh san road in bkk it is horrible try sumkumvitt or china town

[spencer23]

Hello,
Train from Hanoi to Saigon is easy- check out seat61.com
On the way you can stop at Places such as Hue, Da Nang and Nha Trang.

From Saigon (HCMC) catch a bus across to Phnom Pehn. From there if your planning to go to Angkor Wat you can catch a boat to Siem Reap from near PP.

From Siem Reap it is easy to get to Bangkok by either bus or plane.

From Bangkok it is easy to get anywhere. There are overnight buses, trains to everywhere plus flights, it all depends where u want to go.

Some good websites for cheap flights are-
airasia.com
jetstar.com
tigerairways.com

for many links to rail info the best info can be found at-
seat61.com

If i was you I would go-
Hanoi-Saigon by train (u can stop on the way)
Saigon-Phnom Phen by Bus
PP- Siem Reap Boat/Bus(depends on u)
Siem Reap-Bangkok by plane (much easier then the bus, Cambodian road from the border is crap)

from Bangkok you can book many cheap tickets on Khao San Road. Wait till you get there to plan the rest of your trip because good deals can be found there and also you can re-evaluate where you want to go.

Anyway good luck

[demaratus]

In Vietnam flights are cheap, on Vietnam airlines which is a good carrier. I would fly Hanoi to Danang (for Hoi An and Hue), and take the bus to Nha Trang if you want some nice beaches. From Nha Trang check out Mui Ne by bus and bus down to Saigon.

Saigon to Phnom Penh take the bus it is efficient and cheap. Phnom Penh to Siem Reap take the Mekong express bus or the fast boat, the bus is faster and I think may be cheaper as well. It is definatley more comfortable.

You can also catch a bus or mini bus (van) from Siem Reap to Bangkok. As others have said earlier in Thailand trains are a good way to see the country, but if you want to maximize time and only want to do the beaches, Bangkok and Chiang Mai flying can be cheap in Thailand as well.

Sounds like a good trip have fun and be safe.

[ginger7]

do any of you have an estimated time schedule and budget for this kind of trip? i have about 10-12 weeks and i want to do all of this and a whole lot more! like hong kong, malaysia, phillipines, maybe bali...i'm not really planning, i just have an idea of where i want to go. i have a good chunk of time and a good chunk of money but i don't know if i'm going to be stretching it...

[desultude]

Everyone has different styles of travel, but for me, what you want to do would be at least three different holidays of 2-3 months each.

I have spent six weeks in Vietnam and Cambodia. I spent almost two months in two states in India.

Pace yourself- you may only be to some of these places once!

I agree about the train from Hanoi to Saigon. A week in Hoi An (outside of Da Nang) is a good experience. I took the boat from Phnom Penh to Vietnam and then a bus. But the bus is fine, if you get a good one!

You are talking about some spectacular places- don't rush!

[midgic]

I highly recommend the following:

Hanoi - Saigon
In Hanoi, you can buy bus tickets to Saigon which allow you to stop off in various places on the way for however long you want. So you can visit Hue, Hoi-An, Natrang, Dalat, and then on to Saigon. We did this trip confortably in about 12 days. The buses are for tourists and fairly comfortable. The bus ticket in 2004 cost $20. You can buy the ticket at any guesthouse or travel agency in Hanoi.

Saigon - Phnom Penh
In Saigon, you can take a boat trip through the Mekong Delta and then across the border to Phnom Penh by boat. We did a three-day tour and it was really lovely. You can buy tickets at the travel agencies in Saigon around the backpacker hangout.

Phnom Penh - Siem Riep - Bangkok
Take a bus to Siem Riep, visit the temples, hire a taxi to the border ($25 - four people can share), take a bus to Bangkok.

Bankok - Laos
Hop on a bus up to the border (NongCai??), and then take a taxi into Vientane. From Vientane you can take a bus up to Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang. Both of these places are great places to visit. Well worth making the effort to visit Laos.

Laos - Chang Mai - Bangkok
You can take a bus across the border to Chang Mai in northern Thailand, and then return to Bangkok to continue the rest of your trip.

PM me for details. Happy Travels.

[articulate_ink]

I wouldn't lump all the budget airlines together. Air Asia, Jetstar, and Tiger are all good carriers with good safety records. Vietnam Airlines is also a reputable carrier. The only catch with Air Asia and the others is that their fares are cheap but they might surprise you with excess baggage charges. Be mindful of that when you're booking or considering travel on one of the region's LCCs.

I would not recommend the boat between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. By all accounts it's stiflingly hot and very crowded, and water levels in the Mekong are low. $crew that. Fly. Last year it was about $60 US one way on Siem Reap Airways, which is a branch of the outstanding Thai carrier Bangkok Airways.

The express coaches between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore have been my only bus experience in SE Asia. I'm prone to motion sickness and the idea of spending more than an hour on a bus doesn't do much for me, so planes are it. Unless you like looking at palm trees and tropical pastoralia for hours on end, just fly. It's not that expensive, access to restrooms won't be an issue, and you'll have more time at your destinations.

[juliebaas]

Hey everyone,

Thanks for the great advise. It really helped. I think we are pretty much following everyones suggestions, except, I don't want to hit Northern Thailand, just the beaches really and want to fly out of Thailand for Sri Lanka, so I want that to be the end of my trip. I plan to fly from Siem Reap to Laos and bus around there and then fly to Phuket, back to Bangkok and out to Sri Lanka. Thanks again. Now I am off to plan the South American segment of my trip around the world.

[nick_shawyer]

[quote="articulate_ink"]
I would not recommend the boat between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. By all accounts it's stiflingly hot and very crowded, and water levels in the Mekong are low. $crew that. Fly. Last year it was about $60 US one way on Siem Reap Airways, which is a branch of the outstanding Thai carrier Bangkok Airways.
quote]fly? its such a waste of money, its only $3.5 to get a comfortable bus, the road you travel on is the best in cambodia so it doesn't take that long either. PLUS i even got a free ride to the bus station from the lakeside - please try and fiund me something that is better value. if you want to waste $60 on a flight go ahead, but in cambodia $60 should last you atleat 5 days for all you sleeping eating and drinking

[mrsquirrel]

Dirt bike.

Buy a Honda CRF450 or a Yamah WR450. Ride around and then sell it at the end.

[articulate_ink]

[quote="nick_shawyer"]