Southeast Asia forum

Sorry, right we would like to do Thailand, Cambodia and Laos in that time.

Thank you for the weather map, I will check that out, and the via advice, I had previously read about how that worked and we planned on getting either the 30 day or 60 day visa prior to travel (plan dependent) and then getting the Laos and Cambodia visa's on the borders!

A combination of historic ruins and temples, beaches, some nature adventure and also parties would be great (were 21) although we don't want to restrict ourselves to just the 'tourist spots'. We would also like to do volunteering in this time and have looked at a number of companies, but do you have any recommendations to go about that?

Budget wise as cheap as possible would obviously be ideal however we can afford to not cut corners if to miss out, but have no qualms about being in basic accommodation etc.

Thanks again, hope this is a little more helpful

Hey,
I'm planning pretty much this trip although I'm getting the 30 day entry (I'm on a frayed shoestring!!)
I have 10 weeks also
Anyway if it helps here's my rough itinerary
(when I say day I mean a sleepover as well or overnight travel depending on the distance etc)

Bangkok 2 days
Kanchanaburi 1 day for the 'death railway'
Ayuthaya 2 days
Sukhothai 1-2 days
Chaing Mai 4 days trekking and the likes
then to the border- Huay Xai in Laos
3/4 days doing the gibbon experience (including getting there and back)
http://www.gibbonexperience.org/
travel to Luang Prabang 2 days by long boat
Luang Prabang 3/4 days
Vang Vieng for tubing! (unsure on days here 3?)
Vientiane 2 days

then back through the border and do 24 hours approx (if lucky!!) overland to Chumphon to get to Koh Tao, Koh Pha-Ngan, Koh Samui
(now this seems silly but I want to be there for the Full Moon Party! http://fullmoonparty-thailand.com/)
then kick back to soak up the sun, island hop, dive and recover! for 6/7 days

back to BKK overnight for a flight (booked for visa purposes) BKK to PP
PP 2-3 days
Krati 2 days
(here it gets foggy and im just going to decide when i get there but if time/$$ allows from PP i might do HCMC for a few days and then... )
Sihanoukville 3-5 days
Battambang 2 days
Siem Reap 4-5 days
and finally back into Thailand with what ever time is left as the days are only a guestimate, and u never know where u might stay on longer/shorter etc

Its quite ambitious and I reckon i'll skip some things once out there but that itinerary leaves about 7 days spare for days on the road etc etc
My route is also dictated by visas as once you leave Thailand when u return you only get 15 days (but if u a get multi entry visa then u should be fine *don't quote me check it for sure)
so thats why there is a little bit of back tracking

anyway hope it helps a little bit for ideas

Err I think the Cambodia bit is more than a little foggy if visas are indeed dictating your itinerary superlaur!

Cambodia Itinerary:

1.Go to Cambodia, pay for a 30 day VOA. Spend 4-5 days there visiting Phnom Penh and Kratie.

2. Leave Cambodia and nip off to Vietnam for a side trip to visit HCMC for a few days. Pay for a 30 day visa to Vietnam. (I don't think they do VOAs in Vietnam so you'd probably have to arrange that one in advance)

3. Return to Cambodia. Pay for another 30 day VOA. Stay a further 12 days (max) in Cambodia and visit Sihanoukville, Batambang and Angkor Wat.


A bit more tweeking is in order methinks!

I would add one thing, a recurring theme here on travelfish. Going from place to place takes time. A lot of people want to be "travellers" but either don't want to or can't take the time that requires. To get from place to place here often takes full days of uncomfortable travel. Meaning each time you relocate you need to factor that time lost into your itinerary. A lot of people list x number of days at y places, but forget the days it is going to cost them to get from one point to the next. They think of movement in terms of western infrastructure and distances and don't plan for the longer time frames (not to mention the discomfort that often entails). So as you start thinking about moving from place to place, make sure you keep inmind the time that will cost you. The more places you add, the more time you lose - simple math really.

And as SBE alluded to - I would pretty much forget about volunteering. That requires more time than you've got. A lot of people are well intentioned in this respect, but for the most part they don't have the skills or time that is actually needed in this neck of the woods. This isn't Africa.

How much time do you think would be needed to explore some of Vietnam?

It depends! It's not an easy question to answer. If someone asked you the same question about your country what would you say?

In that TF trip planner that I mentioned earlier (which I implore you to read for ideas) they say 10 days to 2 weeks is a minimum for the two Vietnam itinerary suggestions there. They also give approximate bus train times between different places.

Apart from Thailand you are going to have to fork out money for visas. The visas will give you the right to spend 30 days in a country. You have 10 weeks...trying to see too many countries is going to be both expensive and tiring.

Why not chose just three countries and divide the time between them...say 3 weeks in each and a week to mess about with if there are hitches or if you want to stay longer somewhere.

Also, don't want to put a huge damper on things but it's monsoon season in much of SE Asia at that time of year. Exacto pointed you to the TF weather map for a very good reason. Be sure and check out the weather where you planning on going as well.

Roads in the more rural areas may be muddy, flooded or blocked by landslides which can significantly impact on bus journey times. Think about whether it'll actually be fun playing about on jungle ziplines in the pouring rain. Are prepared to do a 5 hour walk to get to the Gibbon Experience if the roads are impassible? I presume you read this bit on their website under "Important Information"
Quote:
In rainy season our tree houses are hard to reach! Depending on weather our cars may not be able to take guests the full way into the reserve.
[ulist]In bad weather, please be prepared for a 5 hour walk to reach the canopy infrastructure![/li][/ulist]

Personally I don't think going down the Mekong on a VERY overcrowded and uncomfortable slowboat for two days would be much fun in the rain either.... I thought Pakbeng (where you stop overnight) was rather a muddy rat infested hole even when it wasn't raining!

But up to you... just some of things that crossed my mind that you need to think about too when planning a trip.