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I am looking for a comprehensive list of non stop flights. I am planning a trip to south east asia for January, however I am having trouble finding a website listing non stop flights to/from SEA to the US. Please let me know if you know of one............TIA.
I am also looking for travel advice for SEA. I prefer travelling off the beaten path, away from the hordes or travellers. My proposed itinerary is Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Duration: 6 weeks.
planning a trip to south east asia for January, however I am having trouble finding a website listing non stop flights to/from SEA to the US.
probably because most people are concerned with DVT's
and most airlines with fuel loads
I am also looking for travel advice for SEA.
I prefer travelling off the beaten path...
do you know Fred Reed?
you prefer travelling off the beaten path but you need to take a direct flight to SE asia? you do realize that makes absolutely no sense, right? anyway there are no direct flights to cambodia or laos (duh), and only one direct flight to thailand (LAX-BKK via thai airways). pretty sure there's direct flights to SGN from a city or two in the US, but unless you happen to live in LA or something you're not going to get a direct flight. not sure why this is even important.
the only way you're going to get away from hordes of travellers in SE asia is if you go to some boring village in the middle of nowhere. SE asia has more tourists than prolly any region in the world, getting away from them is out of the question.
you prefer travelling off the beaten path but you need to take a direct flight to SE asia? you do realize that makes absolutely no sense, right?
anyway there are no direct flights to cambodia or laos (duh), and only one direct flight to thailand (LAX-BKK via thai airways). pretty sure there's direct flights to SGN from a city or two in the US, but unless you happen to live in LA or something you're not going to get a direct flight. not sure why this is even important.
the only way you're going to get away from hordes of travellers in SE asia is if you go to some boring village in the middle of nowhere. SE asia has more tourists than prolly any region in the world, getting away from them is out of the question.
4 countries in 40 days is a little much.
I think the OP plans to spend his 40 days traveling overland by local transportation through the region (like I did), as opposed to just flying from one major airport to another and checking into hotels in the capital and taking packaged daytrips to the mandatory touristy attractions that everyone else thinks they have to go to. Is that how you get away from hordes of travelers?
He probably also doesn't want to spend a couple hundred bucks a night at stopovers in Tokyo or Hong Kong, since his lodgings along his route through SEA will be in the neighborhood of $10 a night.
Forty days sounds like plenty of time, to get a good sense of what each of those four countries is like.
If that's what he wants to do, then you realize that doing something else makes absolutely no sense, right?
I think the OP plans to spend his 40 days traveling overland by local transportation through the region (like I did), as opposed to just flying from one major airport to another and checking into hotels in the capital and taking packaged daytrips to the mandatory touristy attractions that everyone else thinks they have to go to. Is that how you get away from hordes of travelers?
i don't even know how to respond to this. what are you talking about? what does any of this have to do with the post your replying to or the OP?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88
He probably also doesn't want to spend a couple hundred bucks a night at stopovers in Tokyo or Hong Kong, since his lodgings along his route through SEA will be in the neighborhood of $10 a night.
rarely are stopovers more than a few hours. there is absolutely no reason to stay in tokyo for a night or two when flying to SE asia, you would actually have to go out of your way to do this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88
Forty days sounds like plenty of time, to get a good sense of what each of those four countries is like.
map out an itinerary if you think it's plenty of time.
i don't even know how to respond to this. what are you talking about? what does any of this have to do with the post your replying to or the OP?
rarely are stopovers more than a few hours. there is absolutely no reason to stay in tokyo for a night or two when flying to SE asia, you would actually have to go out of your way to do this.
map out an itinerary if you think it's plenty of time.
Moderator cut: See Comment The OP knows what he wants to do, and he asked if anyone knew how to do it. Pretty simple question, that does not warrant aspersions being cast upon his travel goals.
I flew across the Pacific to Seoul, arrived at 8 pm, and would not have looked forward to a connecting onward flight to Bangkok that night.
I've done it myself in 40 days. Map your own itinerary.
Checking my passport, I entered Vietnam from China overland on November 7, flew from Bangkok to Singapore on December 21. That's 44 days over the road. Spent most of the time on my own in the rural countryside, birdwatching, and it was enough time to find and identify over 200 different species of birds, and to get sick of Thailand, which is a country I didn't really enjoy all that much, and I was glad to be in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Last edited by BstYet2Be; 10-21-2011 at 07:27 PM..
Reason: Personal attacks are not permitted per ToS. We may attack ideas but we do not attack the speaker of those ideas.
hi friend
you are planning to trip south east asia . every buddy has different -different opinion. i think you should take advise tour operator (travel agent) for south east Asia he can give you better suggestion .. all the best for you trip
It sounds more like you wouldn't have much interest in what a tour operator would tell you about. I get the impression you'd rather explore on your own, and tour companies are in the business of discouraging independent travel, they'd rather fill up their minibuses. Alternatively, pick up a copy of Lonely Planet's guidebook, or else The Rough Guide, to Southeast Asia. If you want to go off the beaten path, you'll get more good advice in your first hour in a cafe on Khaosan Road in Bangkok, than you could get in a year from any tour operator.
However, since you only asked about non stop flights, you probably already have a pretty good idea of what to expect to find on the ground over there.
As for your original question, I just ran a search at expedia.com (you can too), and it indicated that Thai is the only airline flying USA to Bangkok, and from Los Angeles only. And the non-stop fare is a couple hundred bucks higher than the fares on other airlines with flight changes.
Most flights to SE Asia from the West Coast will go connect thru one of four places, depending on the airline: Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, or Taiwan. The easiest way is to catch the late night flight out of LAX/SFO so you get your sleep on the plane and arrive in Asia the next morning, even with a layover of a couple hours it is fairly easy to get to SE Asian countries that same day.
If you are doing Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam and obvious point of entry is Bangkok Thailand as they have far more international flights so leaves you with more options. It is also fairly easy to play it by ear from there if you want to fly to farther destination and work your way back on land to depart, just go upstairs in BKK airport and there are dozens of Asian airline desks. Note that Vietnam doesn't hand out visas on arrival, you have to get one from consulate or embassy first, at least that was the deal last time I was there. Of the other countries you mentioned Thailand will give a free 30 day visa on arrival, you've got to pay for both Laos and Cambodia also 30 day.
Perhaps your easiest way to travel would be Thailand first, then into Laos. A really easy point of entry is from NE Thailand, the train drops you right in Nong Kai and you can get a tuktuk to the border which is a bridge over the Mekong with the Vientiane Laos on the other side.
From Laos enter Vietnam and work your way down going where it pleases you to go, then West into Cambodia from the Mekong Delta. From Cambodia back into Thailand. I know you say you want to avoid the tourist hordes but you can't get around the fact that the hordes are often where things that are neat to see are, so for example if you go thru Cambodia without seeing Angkor Wat or pass thru Vietnam without see Ho Chi Min's corpse you really are missing out on some neat experiences.
DM me if you want more specific info I've been to all the countries on your itinerary multiple times and will help any way I can.
It sounds more like you wouldn't have much interest in what a tour operator would tell you about. I get the impression you'd rather explore on your own, and tour companies are in the business of discouraging independent travel, they'd rather fill up their minibuses.
Yup, OP doesn't sound like tour company person, good for him/her. These days the tourist infrastructure is fairly well built up in all those countries even off the beaten path, so there really is no need for it unless you enjoy being shuttled to "museums" or "factories" that turn out to be tourist gift shops.
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