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I've decided I'm going to pack my job in around Christmas and spend some time next year travelling. The main places I want to visit are Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, and then afterwards Japan. Does anyone have any experience of getting from north Vietnam to Japan? Should I just fly or is it possible and not too expensive to go up through north Vietnam and then overland through China before getting a boat or something? I have a maximum of £10,000 ($15574) to spend but if possible want to keep the budget for this particular trip to £5000 ($7787). Is that reasonable? I get the impression it'll be more than enough for South East Asia but maybe not Japan as well even if that's just a brief visit. Another question is how prevalent is internet access and particularly wifi in South East Asia? I realise that's a very broad question... I currently make a small amount of money through an online business and if I could work while I travel I could stretch the budget even further, but ideally I'd need to access the internet once every 2 days at the very minimum. Might I struggle with that outside of cities and more tourist-y areas?
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Aug 26, 2013 11:50
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| # ¿ May 4, 2024 01:12 |
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duckmaster posted:
Thanks, that's both helpful and encouraging. In terms of timescales I honestly have no idea - I'm going for as long or as short as I feel like, I'll just see how it goes. It sounds like if I'm sensible with my money it'll last as long as I need it to. I'll be making a little from renting my house in the UK as well as anything from my business (which probably won't be much but it sounds like it'll go a long way). I don't need fast internet, I just need to check my emails, download word files, and then when I'm finished working on them email them back. So it sounds like I should be ok for that from what you guys are saying. You make a good point about the travel on to Japan. I was thinking I'd take my time and visit places en route but it is probably a much longer journey than I appreciate. I might just shop around for open multistop flights to get from the UK to SE Asia and then from there to Japan and then back to the UK. It would also give me more flexibility as to which order I do it all in rather than just heading west to east.
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Aug 26, 2013 15:26
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STEP ASIDE, THREAD CAMBODIA EXPERT HAS ARRIVED
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Rapsey posted:You didn't say how long you will be traveling. I've never been to Japan but everyone I talked to says it was expensive as hell. If budget is a concern I would keep it for a separate trip. Or maybe see once you're done with SEA how much money you have left over. Another issue is weather. It's always summer in SEA. But in japan it is going to be winter. So you either need to buy winter clothes somewhere in SEA before going, carry a bunch of bulky clothes all around SEA (gigantic pain in the rear end) or buy clothes once you get to japan. None of these options are exactly good. I hadn't considered the clothing either, good point. As the length of the trip is pretty open I have no idea which season it will be when I visit Japan, but it's something to think about, and I may do it separately as you suggest. The whole reason I want to spend only half of the £10,000 I have available in SE Asia is so I can do another trip somewhere else later!
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Aug 26, 2013 15:30
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I've booked my flights! I'll be arriving in Bangkok on Jan 18th, doing an 8 day guided tour thing to help with the culture shock and then have up to 6 months to explore Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before heading to Singapore to fly back. I am excited, but also freaking out! I have to wait until the end of November to hand my notice in at work and I'm not sure I can keep a poker face until then...
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Sep 27, 2013 20:35
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Tomorrow I fly to Bangkok, to travel around SEA for 6 months. As I'll be travelling on my own I'm doing an 8 day guided tour to begin with to help with the culture shock, going around Bangkok, Chiang Mai and then trekking in the northern hills. I finish back in Bangkok. After that the world is my oyster! I can't wait!
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Jan 16, 2014 14:34
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I spent 6 months in SEA this year and had a whale of a time. Now I'm back I'm having a bit of a party and want to give my friends the opportunity to 'enjoy' some of the music they played everywhere in Laos and Cambodia. Can anyone point me in the right direction of where to get some of it? I have no idea what any of it is called much less where to find it. The Cambodian song which suddenly cuts out and has a donkey braying is a particular favourite I would love to find.
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Aug 29, 2014 13:13
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Pilsner posted:Try searching youtube for "lao song", tons of hits. It's really campy and mostly old, I think, karaoke songs. Some of it is so bad it's good. Thanks for the tip! Wasn't able to find anything that reminded me of the Khmu wedding I went to in Laos though. The music was a bit dancier, when the power generator was actually working and before and after they took apart the cd player. I did find some of the Cambodian tunes which were part of the soundtrack to one of the best nights of my trip, in Siem Reap on the first night of Khmer New Year. Turns out I was too drunk to identify my farmyard animals in songs and it's a rooster not a donkey in the first song. This is the stuff, if anyone's interested and has a hankering for Cambodian pop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1zr81gYQpY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL1KCX2eV2E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apw23jbvggI
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Sep 1, 2014 13:30
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My girlfriend and I will be in Thailand in March for a fortnight. We've both been before and both been to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Khao Sok, and on my own I've been to Phi Phi, Koh Lanta, Koh Tao, Chiang Rai, Sukhothai, Ayutthaya, and Ubon Rachatani. We're currently thinking of going to Hua Hin for a bit after a day or two in Bangkok but can't figure out where to go from there. Can anyone recommend anywhere in easy travelling distance of Hua Hin that is worth spending a few days? Really don't mind what kind of place as long as it's more than just a beach and there's something or other to see or do.
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Jan 6, 2019 20:38
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Is the Golden Bay leaf place in Bangkok still going and is it still worth the faff of getting to?
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Mar 15, 2019 17:53
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Cool. If you're serious about joining it'll be next Saturday if at all as that evening's sort of the crossover point between the stag do I will be on ending and a holiday with my girlfriend beginning. I'll pm you when I know, or post in the thread if you don't have pms.
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Mar 15, 2019 23:37
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My girlfriend and I might do some travelling next year July to September. I've been to much of SEA before but not during rainy season. Are there any specific areas it's not worth going (particularly in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam) because the weather will suck too much? Ducking into a bar to wait out the rain sometimes is fine but it'd be a shame to have to spend the whole time doing that.
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Jul 15, 2019 10:16
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ReindeerF posted:Protip: The Michelin Star Ratings in Southeast Asia are often bought and paid for in much the same way ratings by ratings agencies are in finance. Beyond that, some of the places that are "Michelin star" are not, they are extensions of a restaurant elsewhere that received a star at one time, or have been opened or endorsed by a chef who received one. This explains a lot. My girlfriend and I went to a restaurant in Bangkok called Methuvelai Sorndaeng because it had a star and were completely baffled as to how it had got it.
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Jan 10, 2020 04:04
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Atlas Hugged posted:Golden Bay Leaf has closed. The owner/chef was reportedly hit and killed by a tuk tuk when he was crossing the street. This was one of the first restaurants goons in Bangkok recommended I check out and was a staple I would bring any goon passing through to. Thanks for sharing this. I went 7 or 8 years ago, I think because I had seen it recommended on SA. I've got plenty of great food memories of Thailand but that place stood out. I regret not being able to fit in a visit last time I was in Thailand even more now!
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Mar 14, 2022 01:01
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My wife and I will be in Bangkok for a couple of days soon. We've both been a couple of times before so will just do some highlights we've particularly enjoyed in the past, like go to the Muay Thai at Rajadamnern. Golden Bay Leaf would have been on the to do list (loved it when I went 10 years ago on this thread's recommendation) but as the chef sadly passed away are there any other hidden gems food-wise people can recommend?
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Mar 4, 2024 15:56
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Thanks for the Bangkok food recommendations. We'll probably not range too far afield as it's just a flying visit, but if we were there longer we are exactly the kind of food wankers who would make a long trip to go to an obscure restaurant on a swamp.
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Mar 7, 2024 14:18
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I posted a while back for food recommendations in Bangkok and like a dick ended up not going to any of them (sorry!). We were only there a couple of days before going to Laos, Cambodia and now Vietnam. Thailand aside I last visited these countries 10 years ago just before I met my wife and it's been nice to revisit my favourite places with her, see her fall in love with them too, and see how things have changed. Like Luang Prabang having masses of Chinese tourists from the new train line, and the money pumped into tourism in Siem Reap with the fancy airport and the road to Angkor Wat being all clean and tidy with fancy hotels and cycle lanes on either side. Unfortunately we haven't had time to go properly off the beaten track but the slightly quieter places we've squeezed in like Nong Khiaw, Battambang and Da Lat have been real highlights.
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Apr 15, 2024 14:41
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| # ¿ May 4, 2024 01:12 |
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I crossed the border from Nong Khai to Vientiane about 6 weeks ago and while there wasn't much communication in English it was pretty easy. We're from the UK but the same process would apply for you. If you have dollars and passport photos it will be cheaper, but we didn't and had no issue just paying a bit more in Thai Bhat. We took the bridge via a bus they provide which you have to pay for and then once through the Laos border check we took a bus to the city itself which was much cheaper than the Tuk Tuk would have been. The only thing that tripped us up a little bit was that when we took the bus to Nong Khai the bridge / border is not the last stop and instead of just getting off there we went to the bus station which is quite a way away and had to traipse back. So just make sure to get off when you see the bridge/border.
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May 1, 2024 05:49
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