Cheers all, lots of food for thought! I’ll bookmark this thread to refer to whilst I’m out there.
Definitely going to pack an emergency “shit kit” @SoundAsa£
We’ve already purchased some quite pricey travel insurance @grumpyaddick just in case, you never know what might happen.
Glad you’ve mentioned Koh Mak @Bangkok Dave as that’s our first stop after Bangkok to chill out for a week and plan the Cambodia stretch of our travels. Really looking forward to relaxing by the beach with no work to do!!
Good point about carrying ski gear @Bangkokaddick , we’re hoping we can rent it but we’ll look into it nearer the time. Worst case scenario we’ll book an extra case on my girlfriends mum’s flight to see us in February with Ski gear in it and swap some clothes over.
The only bit we want to plan properly is Christmas, so any recommendations of where to stay for Christmas and NYE are appreciated. Roughly, it looks like we’ll either be in northern Vietnam or Laos or maybe even Northern Thailand. We’re not doing Christmas presents this year so we’ve decided to treat ourselves to a nice hotel/Airbnb.
Very jealous of your travel plans. I travelled to Bangkok, Ko Samui, Sydney, Fiji, LA, NYC then home back in 2010. Avoid the medicine bottle Red Bull in Thailand. Had one at Bangkok airport while waiting for a flight to Samui and then didn't sleep for 36hours.
Train ride from Jakarta up to Bandung (old Dutch colonial city is interesting).
Fly to Yogyakarta which is a great city with a lot of history and then take a trip out to Borobudur Temple about 40 kms from Yogya (amazing) and also Merapi volcano
Lots of other places to go but with all the islands Indonesia is strung out so plenty more flight costs, e.g. Komodo Island, Bali (very touristy) which we used to fly down to for long weekends
Sounds great. Went travelling in 2006, spending 2 months in Asia.
Keep your itinerary flexible, mix up the travel "modes" too, I used trains, buses, shared taxis but also flights (Air Asia is the biggest low cost carrier but there are plenty others). Accommodation is often very cheap, so no need to rough it too much.
Liked Lao, it had a sleepy feel to it which was rather appealing. The temples (Ankhor Watt etc) around Siem Riep in Cambodia are amazing, hire a tuk tuk and explore the area, I did one day with a guide and one day without the "history"! Visited Vietnam earlier this year ( 2 week tour) it's very busy now, parts are really overrun with visitors
Enjoyed Sarawak (Borneo). Kuching is an agreeable place, and a good base for a long house stay in the rainforest which is unforgettable. The caves of Mulu are amazing, you have to fly there from Miri to reach them and it's a lovely remote spot to stay in.
Miss the street vendors and street "resturants" in Thailand they hadn't all gone but huge areas have been "developed" and the malls have their own "street food" which has put a lot of vendors out of business.
If your your not use to humidity then get some sachets of electrolytic powders that can be used in bottled water.If you feel dizzy then use them.
Look out for the markets in BK and KL. The night market in KL was huge and worth seeing ,but that was 28 years ago----- easy to get lost in it. There was one in BK ,again not sure if it still exists.I have my doubts it does as a big part of it was selling animals/birds.
When ur in BK take a look at the sky train, and all the motor ways and think they were nearly all built on filled in canals(Klongs in Thai)in the last 20 years. The canals are why BK was once called the Venice of Asia.
The awful pollution from Chiang Mai has been Blowing up into Yunnan, it's awful, I love CM but couldnt consider living there
I'm surprised you haven't recommended Yunnan, I have been there twice and love it. The culture, food and nature in China is different level and the fact it isn't over touristy is even better, I went to Thailand once and hated it.
Dali is really beautiful
Maybe you're keeping it secret?
I'd recommend Yunnan to anyone as it's a wonderful place, which is why I've been here for 8 years but China can't really be done whilst 'travelling' I feel, it requires it's own trip, mostly due to visa difficulties and cost, partly due to it's vastness!
Dali has changed a lot and is now somewhat of a tourist trap.
Philippines I would recommend Tagaytay, Baguio, Palawan, The Garden Island of Samal (Davao). You can do accomodation on the cheap for Five quid a night or go Airbnb for 20 quid a night. Food is cheap if you avoid the malls. The people are wonderful. Manila is just so overcrowded, I’d give it a miss. Like everywhere just be careful.
Comments
Definitely going to pack an emergency “shit kit” @SoundAsa£
We’ve already purchased some quite pricey travel insurance @grumpyaddick just in case, you never know what might happen.
Glad you’ve mentioned Koh Mak @Bangkok Dave as that’s our first stop after Bangkok to chill out for a week and plan the Cambodia stretch of our travels. Really looking forward to relaxing by the beach with no work to do!!
Good point about carrying ski gear @Bangkokaddick , we’re hoping we can rent it but we’ll look into it nearer the time. Worst case scenario we’ll book an extra case on my girlfriends mum’s flight to see us in February with Ski gear in it and swap some clothes over.
The only bit we want to plan properly is Christmas, so any recommendations of where to stay for Christmas and NYE are appreciated. Roughly, it looks like we’ll either be in northern Vietnam or Laos or maybe even Northern Thailand. We’re not doing Christmas presents this year so we’ve decided to treat ourselves to a nice hotel/Airbnb.
Keep your itinerary flexible, mix up the travel "modes" too, I used trains, buses, shared taxis but also flights (Air Asia is the biggest low cost carrier but there are plenty others). Accommodation is often very cheap, so no need to rough it too much.
Liked Lao, it had a sleepy feel to it which was rather appealing. The temples (Ankhor Watt etc) around Siem Riep in Cambodia are amazing, hire a tuk tuk and explore the area, I did one day with a guide and one day without the "history"! Visited Vietnam earlier this year ( 2 week tour) it's very busy now, parts are really overrun with visitors
Enjoyed Sarawak (Borneo). Kuching is an agreeable place, and a good base for a long house stay in the rainforest which is unforgettable. The caves of Mulu are amazing, you have to fly there from Miri to reach them and it's a lovely remote spot to stay in.
If your your not use to humidity then get some sachets of electrolytic powders that can be used in bottled water.If you feel dizzy then use them.
Look out for the markets in BK and KL. The night market in KL was huge and worth seeing ,but that was 28 years ago----- easy to get lost in it.
There was one in BK ,again not sure if it still exists.I have my doubts it does as a big part of it was selling animals/birds.
When ur in BK take a look at the sky train, and all the motor ways and think they were nearly all built on filled in canals(Klongs in Thai)in the last 20 years. The canals are why BK was once called the Venice of Asia.
Krabi is worth a visit ,stunning.
Dali has changed a lot and is now somewhat of a tourist trap.