Travelfish Guides forum

Hi all,

Firstly, Somtam, (and other posters) thanks for the great site you've got going, I have found so much information here on Travelfish!

Now, question. We are on a 9 week trip around Thailand/Laos/Vietnam and Cambodia beginning March 8th in Bangkok.

The zigzag/ N route in the trip section looks like it definitely covers most of the places we want to go, plus a few more. I have 3 main questions regarding the route though:

1. What are the general thoughts on this zigzag route compared to a roughly circular loop (meaning that southern Laos is skipped. The trip reports/forum discussion on the Nam Can /Nam Khan border make it seem doable enough).
2. Given the time of year, would it be best to
a. start in bangkok and head north or fly to Hanoi and head south for the zigzag route; or
b. go clockwise or anti clockwise for a loop route
We would like to go to Sapa and Halong Bay in Vietnam and have heard mixed reports regarding fog, visibility and temp in these areas at the end of Feb start of March…
3. Are there any issues (like too slow or not available etc) with travelling up river on the slow boat from LP to XE?

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions you can offer

el