Planning a trip to Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia (First solo adventure)

[ace587]

thats sweet 35 days!. I'm also an officer in the US Army but im in the reserve. doing a trip the indochina route. flying to the philippines for family and flying singapore hopefully going up to thailand (Ko Phi Phi) and back.

[eureka1]

One thing for sure- you'll have plenty of company. Bangkok was just named the worlds most popular tourist destination. Have a wonderful trip!

[Florence44214]

The best time to visit is in June, July as the climate would be neither too much hot nor rainy. Last year I visited Laos in from March to August, I stayed at Namkhan Eco Farm, served there as a volunteer. I have interest in ecological development, organic farming and in cultivation. The Namkhan Eco Farm is 5km away from the city. I founded about this project on the web and participated. Their motive is to spread permaculture and organic farming. Mostly, you will find farmers in Luang Prabang. The weather in Laos is amazing; I had a great experience with nature. I have worked with locals, learned the local language. The locals are very friendly, good in nature and very helpful. My work was to cultivate the land, to make furniture for locals and gave some English lessons to kids. It was great atmosphere totally different from what I have explored in my country. I have made an emotional and strong relation with the villagers. Moreover, I got new friends from different nations; they all were there to serve as a volunteer. I just only spent money on tickets only. The staying and meals are free for volunteers. I use to work for 5 hours and rest time I have spent with locals and traveled surrounding. I highly recommend this place, you can visit their site NamKhan Project - Luang Prabang Laos Eco farm. Most people were telling me that Laos is not a safe country but I have not experienced any insecurity during my stay at Namkhan. I would definitely visit this project again, can’t wait to meet those people again and to see how vast their project has gone.

[lieqiang]

You've gotten some great replies already on here. We've spent lots of time traveling in SE Asia and the biggest recommendations I could give you are to skip the packaged tour and to slow down.

1. You can do four countries in 35 days but you'll be spending too much of your vacation dealing with transportation/logistics, SLOW DOWN and smell the Durian.

2. You don't need a packaged tour for any of those countries, they are heavily traveled and have an easy backpacker circuit that covers all of them.

Unless you absolutely must see Angkor Wat the country to take out (IMO) is Cambodia. Nothing against Cambodia it's always worth a visit but given your timeframe something should be cut. Vietnam/Laos have far better natural landscapes, Thailand/Laos have better food, you'll get enough culturally from a combination of Vietnam and any others since Vietnam is more culturally (and culinarily) distinct than the other three.

Everyone has their own preferences and travel style, but some comments I find dubious:

Originally Posted by Florence44214

The best time to visit is in June, July as the climate would be neither too much hot nor rainy.

Originally Posted by sponger42

Wear boots

Originally Posted by sponger42

- There are no laundromats anywhere in SE asia, so you'll have to give your laundry over to locals who will do it overnight for a fee (and hopefully bring it back), or wash it yourself in the hotel sink or bathtub

Originally Posted by sponger42

Stick to cooked food.

June/July is the rainy season in the countries you mentioned, November/December/January are drier and much cooler temperatures.

I don't know why you'd need to lug boots around, a pair of flip flops and some tennis shoes will work just fine just like all the locals wear.

There are plenty of laundromats in SE Asia, in some countries (like Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan) we used coin laundromats far more than laundry services. Point stands though, labor is so cheap in places most SE Asia that you can get it done as a service by the kilo. Good idea = spread everything out on the floor of your guesthouse and take a picture with your phone first, we've had stuff go missing but when we go back and zoom in to show them the exact thing their faces light up and they go right to the "where did this come from?" pile and hand it to us with apologies.

On the cooked food, peeled food is just as good you don't want to pass up on all the delicious precut papaya, pineapple, jackfruit, etc. that street vendors sell it's great for breakfast or a snack on a hot day. Also some of the best foods in the region are salads. A reputable place frequented by locals is a great chance to try things like glass noodle salad, papaya salad, etc. it's wonderful food that is quite emblematic of the region and it would be a shame to miss out.

[kamban]

This is a 5 year old thread and OP has not been back since 2013.

[Nonesuch]

Singapore is very much the ultimate in SEA-light, an easy introduction to the region with no major concern about language barriers, sanitation, etc. As mentioned upthread, Kuala Lumpur is also a good way to ease into southeast Asia with a little less culture shock.

Originally Posted by lieqiang

There are plenty of laundromats in SE Asia, in some countries (like Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan) we used coin laundromats far more than laundry services. Point stands though, labor is so cheap in places most SE Asia that you can get it done as a service by the kilo.

I like to plan my trips so on my second country, I stay in a nicer hotel with some sort of laundry service, or even a VRBO/AirBnB type place with washer+dryer en suite. Some hotels include laundering of a a few items each day as part of the rate plan.