Companions forum

hi neil, your time-line and itinery is quite similar to mine, i'll be heading back to hong kong end of march, hang there for a few days or so, then fly off to se asia early april, and spend about 3 months there, and go back home end of june... pretty much like to do and see as much in the time i have... possibly visit some friends in malaysia i met and a co-worker in the phillippines.

any ideas how abouts your going to get a bike, i actually ride here in canada, but have heard some horror stories about riding there...

Hey. Yep looks like I'll be hitting Thailand early April. Plan to leave Ireland end of March with a Stop off in Dubai for around 10 days. You both travelling on your own? Be great to meet up along the way.
Where you from Claire? I'm gona say Ireland.

Ryder 80.. I've heard the horror stories aswell. And I was kinda turned off the idea. But then I found this site and the forum on biking around Asia. and everybody was recommending it. That said if I get over there and find it a bit dangerous looking I may change my mind. There is a couple of places recommended by people to buy bikes both in HCM city and Hanoi. So I'll see what happens.

yep the name Murphy kinda gave it away alright.
It all depends how much I like it. The way I was gona do it was just book a flight to Bangkok and see what happens didn't want to be restricted by having to be in certain places by certain times. But I think I want to be moving on to Oz by the end of June.
Yep its a bit weird heading off on your own alright. But if I don't do it now I'll never do it So the quicker I book my flights the better so I don't back out.
So do you have your flights to Oz booked and all?

Yeah i was in the same situation! was umming and arring for AGES before booking flights.


i was looking at RTW tickets and one way! in the end i decided to pay slightly more than i wanted and got a multi-stop one way flight (so i'm not restricted to the 12 months with a RTW ticket). I'm flying from London - Bangkok on the 30th, and then on the 15th June i'm flying to sydney.


I was looking into visas and one a one way ticket you have to prove you will be leaving Thailand at the end of the stay, so booking the sydney section made sense. My original plan was to stay in bangkok for 3/4 days then move north to Chaing Mai, into Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and then finally do south Thailand. But when flying into Bangkok you get 30day visa on arrival - so i may as well make use of it! instead of coming back into thailand at the end of the trip and then doing the border run every 15 days!

I didn't really want to chance it, so i just booked the flights!
i can change it for £90 - i think thats what the majority of airlines charge?

I've not got my Vietnam visa yet as i'm not sure of the exact dates i'll be there. I'm going to get it when i'm in Laos (i'm not flying into Vietnam from Laos, i'm planning to go by bus (am i mad!?ha ha) so i need the visa before i arrive)

oh i didn't know you had to enable the messaging! all sorted and turned on.

Advice? Sure! I only did Vietnam and Cambodia this time so will stick with them as advice for the rest would be out of date.

I had four days in Siem Reap, go to Angkor for sunrise, it's an effort but worth it. I met people at my hostel to share the cost of the tuk tuk with, it's always more fun to see these things with someone else too. The landmine museum is worth the effort to get to too. Bars-wise, its hit and miss as to which particular place will be busy as it seemed to change every night but conveniently they are all on one street (bar street!!) so you can just wander around and see what you find.

I took an overnight bus to Phnom Penh and it was fine, Cambodian roads aren't great but I felt safe and managed to sleep so I saved a night's accommodation cost.

Again, I met people at the hostel to go to the killing fields and S-21 prison with. Both sites are morbid and horrifying but have to be seen. Don't bother with the national museum, it's rubbish.

Nightlife and food is better in Siem Reap, phnom penh felt less safe and way more seedy so I just did the night market and dinner and then to bed, can't advise on bars etc I'm afraid.

I then bused it to Saigon and had a few days there (Cu Chi tunnels and several museums) before heading to the beach at Mui Ne where I learned to kitesurf, there are v few dorms there so if you want to make sure you get a bed in shared it's best to book ahead with Mui Ne backpackers, aka Vietnam-Austria house. Then I flew up to Hanoi as I didn't have time to do the usual bus trip up the coast via Nha Trang and Hoi An (which you should do and get some custom shoes and clothes in Hoi An!) Hanoi is crazy, but fun. I only did a day trip to Halong Bay as I was there when the tragedy with the sinking boat happened. To be honest, a day trip was enough, I don't see what else you could see there really.

Think that's it. Enjoy your travels and stay safe, I heard about, and witnessed, a lot of muggings and pickpocketing in Vietnam in particular.

hey there,

any new up-dates to your itinerary as of yet, is everything is closely as planned...

i'll be booking my flight to HK for the near end of march... take off early april.. around the 13-16 is the water festival in thailand, full moon party on the 18th...

have you already book accomodations when you arrive in bangkok. if so, what are your factors in choosing, since i'm think of pre-booking it before hand... but people have said, just go and do it when your there.. supposely more than enough accomodations there.

thanks