Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia

[anonymous-user]

Me and a few mate are flying into Thailand at the start of November - I Have got 1 month off the hook from work to do what i want, so thought this would be a good shout.

I want to see Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. We know nothing if im honest - my mate has a place in Ko lanta so we are staying with him for a couple of days until we get our bearings then we are off on hour own.

Few questions!

Where to go first?
What to do?
Key places to visit?
Cost of things?
Thingns to bear in mind?
Visa for each country? (can I just strole accross the border for a week?)

Any information would be great!

Thanks

Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 16th January 21:18

[BigAlinEmbra]

Thailand is easy to get a tourist visa, just fill out the form at entry and it's free.
Cambodia is around $20, although if you are on a tourist bus the staff will do the paperwork for you to round it up to $25. I didn't figure a way out of this.
Vietnam it's best to get the visa before entry, as it takes a good 2 hrs or so if you're doing at the point of entry (or it did for me at Hanoi airport).
See the Vietnam thread for photos to give you some inspiration.

I only visited Bangkok in Thailand, but definitely go to the Grand Palace and sleeping Buddha.

Cambodia - Angkor Wat is unmissable, one of the most spectacular historical sites I've ever seen. Better than Machu Picchu imo.
Tonle Sap near Siem Riep (the town/city at Angkor) is worth visiting for a clearer picture of the way people live in the country outwith tourist land.
Phnom Penh is a great city, palace is worth a visit, and you might as well go up the hill where Wat Penh is albeit there's not a huuuuuuuuuge amount to see up there.
Killing Fields and Toul Sleng (S-21) are harrowing but must visits.
Boat trip on the Mekong somewhere has to be done, it's the lifeblood of the area.
Cu Chi tunnels outside Saigon, along with the war museum and the very propagandised reunification palace.
Hoi An for some laidback seaside vibe and what I thought was the best Vietnamese food I had on my trip. Tailors a plenty for cheap suits/dresses whatever floats your boat.
Hue is the old capital and the dividing line between North and South during the war. Citadel worth a visit, as are the old emperor's tombs (there's about half a dozen to choose from).
All sorts of stuff in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum is pretty cool, but get there in the morning. I did a city tour here and it crammed a lot in, as a lot of the sights are fairly spread out, worth considering.
Ha Long Bay is spectacular, and if you spend some time round about there some more karst scenery on land as well as the islands.

Should get you going for starters!

[anonymous-user]

Thanks for the detailed response! i will take note of these and make surei take the camera!

[SimonV8ster]

Use the search function on here - loads of stuff on all those three locations.

[anonymous-user]

SimonV8ster said:

Use the search function on here - loads of stuff on all those three locations.

Thanks

[havoc]

Can't add much to BigAl's post re: Vietnam and Cambodia.

Well, one thing - if you're on a budget, try to get a room at the Pavillon Indochine guest house just outside Siem Reap. Basic place (with spiders above the shower) and very basic breakfast. But:-
- it's cheap (a lot of tourist hotels are now £££ in a clearly 3rd-world country), and honest
- the owner isn't a big chain - he's a French expat journo who's been there since 'the troubles'
- it's half-way towards the temples, so you'll beat the tour buses in the morning
- if you ask, he can arrange a car+driver and a guide (useful as they know the history of the places and can avoid the tour-buses full of Koreans/Chinese) for you for a couple of days.

Also on Siem Ream / Angkor temples:-
- Spend ~2 days, maybe a little more, on the temples - you could easily fill 5 days, but you'll probably be templed-out after three. We did 2.5 and that was fine. Absolutely mind-blowing though...still probably my favourite place in the world!!!
- Start as early as you can then siesta after lunch, before going back out until sunset (note: no street lights at all beyond the centre of town)


Re: Thailand
- West-coast beaches are the picture-postcard white sand and limestone karsts. Clear water too - some decent (but not spectacular) snorkelling to be had. 'Krabi' refers to an entire province, so be careful which hotel you book there - some are actually inland in Krabi Town, not by the beach.
- East-coast resorts (esp. islands) are more party-focused as a rule, also have more waves. Koh Samui was still nice though.
- Peninsula resorts (Hua Hin and Cha Am) - not sure, seem to be pitched more at golfers. Might be a little unfair there, but they came across that way when we researched.
- Chiang Mai is definitely worth a visit - lovely place in it's own right and close to Doi Inthanon Nat'l Park (tallest mountain in Thailand) and there's an Elephant Sanctuary nearby too - can pay to volunteer there for a day (or more).
- Bangkok warrants an easy 3 days on its own, more if you want to party a little.


Vietnam - highlight has to be Halong Bay (although Sapa gets a lot of good reviews) but otherwise Saigon's probably the more interesting place - War Remnants Museum, Cu Chi, some nice temples hidden in backstreets, Mekong Delta nearby. Hoi An is very chilled and a lovely place to relax for a few days...


Overall, 1 month is probably enough to get a good flavour for all 3 places...but not enough to see everything. I'd do a fair bit of planning before you go, and see if you've the budget for a couple of internal flights...

[BigAlinEmbra]

Hua Hin is where the moneyed lot used to holiday, politicos et al, which would support the golfer targetting!

I've not been, but you can usually spot why rich folk tend to head somewhere, but be warned that the tourist industry tend to pick up on this and price accordingly.

As havoc says, you'll not cover the whole area in a month, so do your homework and hit what tickles your fancy most.

[g3org3y]

For Bangkok, my suggestions:

Stay at the D&D Inn in Khao San Road.

Visit:
Grand Palace
Wat Phra Kaeo
Wat Arun
Wat Pho (for the massive golden Buddah)
Suan Lum Night Market
National Museum is ok

Day out to Ayutthaya (old capital) via train is well worth it. Good ruins, hire a bike.

Did a trek up in Chang Mai. Was a little 'commercial' but had fun. Stayed with a tribe and ate live crabs caught earlier in the day in the fields. Also from Chang Mai, worth hiring a motorbike and going to see Doi Suthep and Doi Suket (temples).

Kanchanburi for the the Tiger Temple and Bridge over the River Kwai (stay at the Jolly Frog!). Trips can be arranged via the Jolly Frog. Also worth visiting the Erawen National Park and seeing the waterfalls.

Kho Phi Phi was lovely. When I went (3+ years ago) there were still rebuilding post tsunami. Can do some great days out there - visit the beach from The Beach, kayaking, snorkeling etc. Well worth it.

Some pics (hope you don't mind!)

Khao San Road


Night market detail


Grand Palace


Wat Pho prayer pot detail


Wat Pho Golden Buddah


Wat Phra Kao Temple (HDR)


View from the Jolly Frog


Monkey at Erawen Park


Ayyuthaya Temple (HDR)


Karen Tribal woman (Chang Mai Trek)


Doi Suthep Temple detail


Kho Phi Phi


HTH

[Bing o]

havoc said:

Vietnam - highlight has to be Halong Bay (although Sapa gets a lot of good reviews) but otherwise Saigon's probably the more interesting place - War Remnants Museum, Cu Chi, some nice temples hidden in backstreets, Mekong Delta nearby. Hoi An is very chilled and a lovely place to relax for a few days...

As I posted on the other thread, Sapa is amazing, and I wish we'd spent more time there than Halong Bay, but that's just me. Don't over look Ninh Binh either whilst you are in Hanoi.