Thailand and Laos - Jan 2013 - advice please!
Replies: 5 - Last Post: Oct 11, 2012 9:43 AM Last Post By: havemoneywillgo
jump to
Thailand and Laos - Jan 2013 - advice please!
Hi people,A friend and I are planning on travelling around Thailand and Laos in January 2012 and we need some advice please :)
This is a loose plan so far:
1 Jan: Travel from Koh Samui to Krabi
1 – 3 Jan: Krabi (2 nights stay)
3 - 5 Jan: Ko Phi Phi (2 nights stay)
5 - 7 Jan: Phuket (2 nights stay)
7 Jan: Spend day travelling from Phuket to Surat Thani and catch overnight train to Bangkok.
8 – 11 Jan: Bangkok (3 nights stay)
11 - 21 Jan: Bangkok to Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai (10 nights, 10 days)
21 Jan – 3 Feb: Laos. We are planning on getting the Stray hop-on-hop-off bus with a connection from Chiang Mai to Huay Xai (to help us with the border crossing) and then continuing to Pak Beng, Ban Lad Khammune, Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Vientiane. Quite a standard route but we have a limited timeframe so have to sacrifice certain spots to see. (13 nights, 14 days)
We actually arrive in Thailand on the 27th December (1 night Bangkok, 4 nights Koh Samui) so all up 25 days Thailand, 14 days Laos.
I will then fly solo (my lovely friend goes home at this point) from Vientiane up to Hanoi to start my Vietnam/Cambodia experience for the month of February. I’ve heard the bus ride is horrendous and would rather pay for a super-short flight than put myself through bus torture.
So we just need some thoughts on:
-Timing of our itinerary (too long/short in places)
-Should we stay the whole time in one place (Krabi or Phuket or Ko Phi Phi) and do day visits to the others? Need to take into account heading over from Koh Samui so wherever is the easiest place to get to kinda thing on the bus etc.
-If staying in Krabi, what part?
-Does transport run on the 1st January?? Public holiday perhaps?
-How long should we spend in Bangkok? Is 3 days/nights enough? And is staying in the central city area recommended?
-Should we book the overnight train back up to Bangkok now-ish or just organise when we are there? Only reason I ask is because it will be so close to NYs and a busy period.
-Will 10 days be long enough to see between Bangkok and Chiang Mai? Should we perhaps cut short some island time and head to Bangkok earlier?
Lots of questions but we are both new to SE Asia so need some advice from the experts!
Thanks a lot! :)
2
Most of your questions do not have correct answers .. or, rather, the 'correct' answer is whatever suits you best. It comes down to you making up your mind about what you want to do.For example:
Timing of our itinerary (too long/short in places)
My own style of travel is to stay somewhere until I want to leave. Sometimes I stay for specific sights/attractions (visit temples then leave, this is easy to estimate), sometimes I stay because I just like the place (not so easy to estimate). The result is that I rarely get through any 'plan' I might have had before the trip started. But, who cares? As long as I enjoy myself, I can always return for whatever I didn't do yet. Does transport run on the 1st January?
Yes! Anyway, inquire a few days in advance if you have specific plans in mind. Others may be more qualified to answer specific train-reservation question. Even in normal times, a few days in advance reservation is a good idea.How long should we spend in Bangkok? Is 3 days/nights enough?
You have to ask yourself: enough for what? If what you want is to visit the main temple sites, yes 3 days is 'enough'. But it's not difficult to spend a week or two in Bangkok. So, as you wish.Will 10 days be long enough to see between Bangkok and Chiang Mai?
Again, enough for what? Do you have a plan for places to visit? Some people go straight to Chiang Mai and don't stop anywhere in between. Some make a token stop fora day at Ayutthaya and/or Sukhothai.Others might spend 2-3 weeks moving north and skip chiang Mai entirely. You have the freedom to choose. Should we perhaps cut short some island time and head to Bangkok earlier?
Some people take 2 week beach holidays and don't go anywhere else. If I go to a beach it is to relax and do nothing, not hop around from one beach to the next. I'm just not a fan of beach-hopping. The travel is taking time away from swinging-in-hammock time.Last trip, I didn't even go to any of the islands/beaches.
Quite a standard route but we have a limited timeframe
Limited time has nothing to do with whether the route is standard or not. The question in my mind concerns how you go about doing this -- I shudder at the thought of a 'Stray hop-on-hop-off bus' arrangement. Possibly I misunderstand what you mean. It may be an experience in itself, irrespective of Laos the country.
3
Only comment. Stray is a well run NZ company so no problems there.5
I would spend more time in the south but it depends how much you like beaches.5 - 7 Jan: Phuket (2 nights stay)
7 Jan: Spend day travelling from Phuket to Surat Thani and catch overnight train to Bangkok.
hardly worth the trouble ^^^^
krabi/trang are more interesting and you can fly back to bangkok
