Thailand forum

Rushed trip - bad idea - U have a choice - visit less places & relax. I would never do a route like this. Just got back from Thailand & Laos... it took me 3 months. What's your hurry? Chill

I agree with altmtl - it's way too rushed. I question the two days flying in and out of Vientiane , for example. I like Vientiane - but given your short itinerary, I don't think there is much point, given the expense of visa, travel cost and time, etc - and little time to really see the town. You will not get a feel for Laos in only two days or less. Put the extra days into Siem Reap. That means you could then travel direct from Bkk to Chiang Mai (train or fly).

I would also question the point of going to Phuket for two days - again much time wasted getting there, cost of fares, etc. Add those days on to Phnom Penh and Chiang Mai.

Each time you fly between destinations, you will lose at least a 1/2 - 3/4 day just phaffing aroung getting to/from airport, waiting at airport, travelling, checking into to accom, etc. Given your limited time, by cutting down on your destinations, you have more time to dedicate actuallyl seeing a bit of the destinations you are going to.

My two cents...
(edited - which now puts my post below Casey's..)

caseyprich, why moderate your tone, we've been seeing posts like this for yrs and people still don't get it?

I do agree there is a choice as altmtl says. You don't have a choice if you are compelled to go to these places. Imagine you are taking a trip to Europe and you HAVE TO see Moscow and the Kremlin, can't miss Helsinki, and who could possibly go to Europe without seeing London, Amsterdam, Paris, Rome and Berlin? That's kind of what we've got here.

I call it the Japanese tourist syndrome. The Japanese have brought this style to a high art form. When I lived in Augsburg, Germany, they came through all the time and it was almost comical. The busses would pull into Rathausplatz and the Japanese tourists would pour out, literally cameras at the ready (I had an image of the jump master in the C-130 I used to jump out of yelling "go, go, go" inside the bus whacking everyone on the thigh as a signal to exit). Immediately they would fan out, like a military operation, getting happy snaps all over the center of town. A place filled with cafes and restaraunts, there was no time for that. An hour latter, photos complete, back on the bus and off to the next destination. Hey, if it works for them, so be it. You would have to pay me a seriously large amount of money to do anything resembling that.

On a positive side note, I was at the train station in Augsburg coming home from work one day, and this young Japanese lady was seriously struggling with her suitcase, which had to go down stairs, under the tracks, and then back up to get a taxi. I offered to help and I swear that suitace weighed 75 pounds if it weighed an ounce. I seriously wondered if she had a dead body in it or something. When we got to the taxi, though, she "Waied" me (or whatever the Japanese call it) and said with the sweetest little voice "Thank you so much for your kindness". Cute as a button, she made my day.

"The reason why i want to see all these places in such a short time is that I want to see the places for now and if I enjoy it then I will come back to a certain area for a longer period of time the next time"


That's one approach. The other is to just focus on 1-2 areas on the first visit, enjoy it and get to appreciate them. Then plan another trip to visit another 1-2 areas and do the same.

Well, I haven't been to Phuket but from what I know, it sounds like it would be one of my worst nightmares come true. But others seem to enjoy Phuket so it's hard to know what to advise without knowing anything about you or your interests.

My vote goes to Chiang Mai.

I think your revised plans sound good.

The choice comes down to beaches or hikes in a sense. I always like to spend the last of my time on a trip at the beach, but Phuket would not be my first choice for that - that's just from what I've heard, a great place to live but I wouldn't want to visit is the word from travelers and expats living there. If you cut out Laos AND Chiang Mai then you'd have the chance to fly down to Phuket from BKK and make your way to a more relaxed island for a couple nights . . .if you want to end with a beach. I really liked Chiang Mai myself though, and if you are cutting out Laos maybe keep Chiang Mai in the mix . . .

sorry, no definitive answer