Before every trip, we spend a lot of time planning where exactly we want to go, what sites we want to see at each location, how many days we should spend there, and what time of year to travel to that specific location. We have created these Trip Summary pages to help outline all of these factors we considered in hopes that it helps you plan your next trip. There is also a Tips Section at the bottom to help you plan for specific occurrences you may have overlooked!
Itinerary
We have spent one month total in South East Asia. We did Thailand for 2 weeks in April of 2018 and Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam for ~2 weeks in August of 2019.
Thailand
We had Thailand on our To Do List for many years, mainly because of the food, culture, and beauty. Once we heard about Songkran we pinpointed exactly what time of year we wanted to go. We knew we had a chance to kill two birds with one stone.
To begin planning Thailand we put together a list of all the major locations we knew we wanted to visit based on what we were seeing online. These included hikes, beaches, islands, wats (Buddhist Temples), and restaurants. We mapped out the location of each of these and began to determine which major cities we could stay at while still allowing us to take day trips to these areas. We also had friends travelling to Phuket for a week long scuba diving trip so we met up with them in Phang Nga at the end of our trip.
Once we had a general list of activities and places, we had to make sure we created an itinerary that fit within our 2 week time limit. After talking with other friends who had also traveled to Thailand and compiling all inputs, we finalized our plans; here is a look at how the days broke down over our 2 weeks.
Travel: 1 Day
-Bangkok: 2 Days
-Chang Mai: 5 Days
-Krabi: 1 Day
-Ko Phi Phi: 1 Day
-Phang Nga: 2 Days
Travel: 1 Day
If we could do it again we would spend at least one more day at Krabi to enjoy the beautiful beach scene and another day or two beach hopping in this area. Our one day in Krabi was very rushed and we couldn’t enjoy it as much as we wanted to. We had also heard about new moon parties at Koh Tao, but given the difficulties in travelling there from Krabi we felt we had to choose one area over the other. We tend to prefer adventure, hikes, site seeing, and beaches more than cities, so our 2 days within Bangkok were perfect for us, although others may not agree.
We created a montage video of the complete Thailand Trip here. This can help give you more visuals than we provide in the Thailand post, but to get more of our thoughts and ideas on what to add to your itinerary the post may help you a bit more.
Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam
After travelling to Thailand, we knew we had to go back to SE Asia and see the remaining countries. Luckily, that chance came over a year later when we were living in India and were able to make it back with just a 4 hour flight. We heard Luong Prabang was quaint and underappreciated, knew we had to make it to Angkor Wat while we were in the area, and we were most excited about Vietnam.
Planning this Trip was a bit easier than Thailand. We knew we had around 12 days of available travel time and the objectives for Laos and Cambodia were pretty straight forward. This allowed us more time to travel around Vietnam and see a lot more in such a short amount of time. Here is a breakdown of how we spent our 12 days:
-Laos (Luong Prabang): 2.5 Days
-Cambodia (Siem Reap): 2 Days
-Vietnam (Hoi An): 1.5 Days
-Vietnam (Hanoi): 0.5 Days
-Vietnam (Ninh Binh): 1 Day
-Vietnam (Sapa): 2 Days
Total Travel: 1 Day
Our time in Luong Prabang was hampered by rain as it rained the whole time we were in town. This is the risk of travelling during the off-season because it is monsoon season in August. Monsoon season typically goes from June to October. There are significantly less tourists and crowds which is extremely nice, but we got very unlucky with the rain. Some of the more adventurous hikes to waterfalls were also closed off do the rains destroying the trails at this time of year. This put a slight damper on our time here.
We traveled to Siem Reap for the sole reason of seeing Angkor Wat (along with everyone else). We ended up really enjoying our limited time here. There was a fun party atmosphere and we were able to have a few romantic evenings.
If we could re-plan Vietnam we would add more days to Hoi An, as this became our favorite city on this trip. Sapa became our favorite destination on this trip and was the perfect way to end the trip with a bang. We also specifically chose to avoid Ho Chi Minh city because we felt we would enjoy the outdoor activities and the smaller towns more. Halong Bay was another popular destination we chose not to travel to because it was very similar to what we had already done in Thailand and heard about how crowded it was.
Tips for Travelling Through South East Asia
Here is a list of Helpful Tips to get you through your trip as stress-free and efficient as possible. These comments originate from our personal experience. If you experienced something different, please let us know so we can update as needed!
Applicable for each country:
-Dress Code while Visiting Wats: Wats are religious shrines of great importance throughout this region. Almost every Wat will require all knees and shoulders to be covered. Most tourists are underprepared and forced to buy long pants or thin blankets to be dressed appropriately to enter these grounds. All garments are nice souvenirs, so don’t feel too bad if this happens to you.
-Tuk Tuk Drivers will try to swindle you, especially in Thailand. Make sure you know the going rate before waving someone down.
-Massages; We got at least one massage in each country. They are so much more affordable here. Do yourself a favor and add massage(s) to your itinerary.
-Passion Fruit: Make sure to embrace their love of Passion Fruit. We had Passion fruit juice in the Hoi An hostel, we made Passion Fruit Mojitos in Cambodia, drank a few mango passion fruit smoothies and even had Passion Fruit beer in Hanoi as well.
Thailand Specific:
-Getting around; Sky train (Elevevated Metro) is very popular and crowded but very effective. Boats can also be used to transport tourists down the river closer to popular attractions.
-Cooking Classes; We recommend only doing a half-day course. Regardless of the class you choose to do, a half-day course will be 3 or 4 courses. We did a full day, 7-course meal because we wanted to learn all the cooking techniques of Thailand. By the time the half-day group was leaving, we were stuffed and tired from eating so much, then proceeded to continue cooking for another few hours.
Vietnam Specific:
-Rent a Moped/Scooter; Daily rentals are available at numerous locations. Most Hostels will allow you to park a rental scooter overnight outside or in their common area. These can also be rented for very cheap, and you’ll be able to move around town much quicker. The only warning is to make sure you get to a gas station just after renting. They never give you any gas so you need to make sure you add a few liters to the tank to survive for a few days. No need to fill the tank all the way unless you plan on using it for more than a few days.
-Conversing with Locals: This was something we mainly saw in Vietnam, but they make it a point to start conversations with English speaking tourists to help them learn the language easier. During our short time in Vietnam, we had multiple conversations with local students and it became obvious to us that this was a common occurrence. School teachers give them assignments to make an English speaking friend and talk with them. One of our conversations was even filmed on a phone. If you are approached by a local, this may be the reason. If you have time, don’t be rude and help them out!
Nihn Binh Tips
Mua Caves Ecolodge
As you approach this location on a Moped or Scooter, there will be a lot of locals waving at you and telling you to stop to park your scooter in their parking spot. You can ignore them, drive right by, and park as close as possible to the grounds to avoid a ton of walking. Don’t feel bad if you are passing by people jumping in the road to get your attention, they just want you to pay them to park there.
There are two main peaks, and neither one has much space for all the tourists that travel here. Make sure to arrive as early as possible to avoid crowds (Opens at 8 AM).
Trang An Boat Tour
Route 1 tips; There is one stop that has a temple with a huge staircase that leads to a peak and then a backside staircase. We thought it would be an epic view but it was just a small temple with impressive stone carvings but not worth the difficult hike and time to get there.
Laos/Cambodia Specific:
-Rent a Moped/Scooter; See Vietnam note
-Kids would sell little birds in cages in Laos. This intent is to buy two birds, pray, and then set them free to make your prayers come true. It seems a bit inhumane though as these birds are being caught and trapped in tiny cages for these sales. We did not support this so we did not participate.
-A large portion of restaurants have the same mission statement of building the community by giving underprivileged youth a chance to learn and develop while working at their restaurants. As we are often tourists, it was nice to see some of the economical and societal impact tourism can have on some of these areas.
