I'm thinking of going to aisa in august for 4 weeks. I would like to visit vietnam, laos and thailand. Has anyone any suggestions of where to go, what to do and what to see??? so many things to see and too short of a time.
also it depends on your travelling style. i love backpacking in these countries. they are so interesting
if you are backpacking, fly in to bangkok.
in thailand, spend about 4 days to explore the bangkok and nearby attractions like ayuthaya and pattaya. then, take a train and spend 4 days in chiang mai, chiang rai and udon thani (north thailand) - less hectic, different culture and full of adventure and nature.
from udon thani, take a bus ride to vientienne, in laos and spend 1 day there. take a bus ride to vang vieng (2 days) and then luang prabang (2 days).
from luang prabang fly pacific air (budget airlines) to hanoi, vietnam. spend 4 days in hanoi to explore the charmingly chaotic city, visit neighbouring attractions like the perfume pagoda, ba vi nat'l park, hoa lu. then spend 2 days 1 nite at halong bay on the junk. take a train to ho chi minh city (hcmc), stop at danang for 2 days 1 nite at a beach resort. then continue to hcmc. spend 3 days at hcmc and discover the city and visit the cu ci tunnel and temples. spend 3 days 2 nite in the mekong delta to visit can tho and my tho. then back to hcmc.
take a flight back to bangkok and back to your country.
this will give u the glimpse of life in these countries.
fyi, i spent 3 weeks in vietnam alone covering north and south parts. 2 weeks in laos alone. 2 weeks in cambodia alone. and thailand is just too big.
if you travel luxuriously, just buy the many package tours sold at the hotel of each country. If you are heading in that direction go to Angkor Wat Cambodia. Give beach resorts in Vietnam a miss although the cities are worth a visit. Refer you to my answer three Questions before you August is a great time to travel in all 3 countries... coz i've been there before in last dec. =D
however, u'll meet rain now and then and the weather is absolutely super super hot and humid... hahaha... remember to bring ur sun screen and caps.
in Vietnam, aug is the best time to visit the famous UNESCO heritage site, Ha Long Bay. visiting the northern part of vietnam is great! u shld try the trekking in Sapa (u've got to take an over night train there), Dien Bian Phu (tat's situated at the border of Vietnma & Laos. And this place is rich in vietnma's history during the civil war between the French troops & the vietnamese army led by Uncle Ho Chin Min.
in the center of Vietnma, visit the ancient sites, Hue, Hoi An & the beautiful town, Danang. and also pay a visit to the DMZ zone. btw, that the 'border' of the north & south vietnma in the past. =D
over in Laos, beautiful country. I've only been to 2 major towns (coz my frens and I did not have sufficient time). we went to Luang Prabang & Vientiane. both town & city haf lots of wonderful things to see (which are totally different from other countries). and when u travel along the road from Luang Prabang to Vientiane, u'll see lots of Ethnic tribes along the way. oh yeah... if u've got time, u shld travel down to Viang Vien, that's where most tourists go there for tubing!! and visit the Xieng Khouang plain where u'll see the mysterious 'Plain of Jars'.
and over in Thailand, there are lots of places to go and lots of things to see.... Bangkok is a bustling and metropolitian city.... tourisits head there to do heavy shopping... and also lots of historical temples to visit... very interesting place... but if u want to visit beaches, i recommend u heading down to koh samui & phuket. sorry i dont know a lot about Laos, but thailand and 'nam....
vietnam spend plenty of time in hanoi....there's lots to see and do. if you have time take a visit up to Sapa in the mountain region, and also HaLong bay in the east.
There's beaches and in my opinion, average places to see...in the centre of the country. its also hard getting around here unless you stick to the main train routes.
Ho Chi Minh also good city to see, and go down to the Mekong Delta, Chau Doc, etc if you have time. There's also the tunnels nearby to see.
Thailand, most touristy & popular places to see are the islands, southern thailand. Its relaxing, partying and so on....
There's also things like the bridge over the river kwai etc...chaing mai in the north. Bangkok obviously.
There's also places such as Phi Phi which is 'paradise' like.
Least touristy in northern thailand i think |
