1

Whatever else, you do not need 2 months for Singapore - that is far too long.

2

Wait, is this a year long trip?

Why would you go to the Indian sub continent, leave, then come back for Nepal? Why not hit that all together.

It is very difficult and expensive to get from Southeast Asia to India and surrounding by land unless you want to go through China, Tibet, and Nepal.. which is unpredictable as the Chinese government sets restrictions in Tibet for travelers all the time.

Better to spend one part of your trip in India and Nepal and the other in SE Asia.

Start with Nepal Oct/Nov as that is good trekking weather, then head down to India. You can make your way around and eventually to Kolkata, then buy a cheap flight to Bangkok. Can do a loop around Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, end back in Bangkok and go south down to Malaysia and Singapore. There are boats or flights from the area to Indo. Hit up Indo then decide what to do next

2 months in Singapore sounds crazy. Maybe 5 days?

If you are only planning on doing Bali, I bet a few weeks would be enough. If you want more, maybe 6 weeks.

You should spend 6 weeks on Thailand if you have the time.

2 weeks Lao

2 weeks Cambodia

4 weeks Vietnam

1 month Nepal (depending on how much trekking you like to do)

India really depends on how you like it. Some people will stay for months, others need to get out quickly. I usually can do 3 months in India before I need a break.

3

That's a perfect plan. Well done.

4

Nothing premature about some early planning. I did something similar not too long ago. Both plans are workable, although there are some practical issues.

Somewhere down the line you will have to make some compromises and choices to find the right balance between the "slightly unplanned", the visa issues, and what you spend (on getting from A to B).

As you realize, you're going to have to live with visas and the time limits they set. My own solution was to get a Round-the-World ticket with only a small number of hub stops, flying the big jumps such as between India and Thailand. For example, I flew into and out of Bangkok for the SE Asia part, and dealt with other transport issues once there. The RtW ticket was basically a set of flight vouchers that I could use whenever I wanted -- that kept my local planning flexible, but still had tickets in hand if onward travel was ever an issue. Fact is, nobody ever asked about onward travel anyway. I had a look at flight costs and figured the convenience of the RtW ticket balanced everything out - including the planning freedom.

You can use the main-hub principle even without a RtW ticket. Get to regions, work out the small details later.

#2 makes a couple of good points about India. I'm guessing that you're taking weather into account, which is why you're backtracking to India/Nepal. This is up to you, but cost-wise, here's an example where some compromise might be better. Oct-Nov in Nepal gives you the good weather for there, and you still have Dec-March in India for good weather. It's just more efficient.
Here's the second point: India can drain you -- depends a bit on your style of travel. There are some seasonal 'travellers' who hang out in support groups at places like Goa for months at a time.
But if it's immersion in the country, then 3-4 months in India and you might burn out, which will affect the rest of your trip. Take it as a word of caution.
If you want to go with a 6 month leg if you get the visa, I'd still be taking account of travel fatigue levels a half year later if you want to head back to Nepal. It's nothing I'd want to commit an advance booking to (I skipped Nepal .. it's there for the next trip).

5

Some great advice, let me digest and I will return with no doubt a few more questions. That's why I posted as I really don't mind how I go about this but wanted to do it in the best possible way. I travelled to India last year for 2 months so know what I am letting myself in for (and loved it may I add!) but I am looking into doing a 3 month volunteer programme in Goa so if I get accepted that will determine some of my plans there.
I haven't yet looked into the finer details so appreciate the comments on Singapore, that helps. I don't want to rush through the good places so am happy to stay and enjoy rather than constantly be on the move. I am spending the next year raising my funds and hope to get close to £10,000 which I would hope gives me the chance to travel until I drop or miss home! So it could be 8 months or 2 years I want to leave it open....I don't intend on buying all the tourist nonsense, I did last year, so money would literally be for acceptable accomodation, food, travel expences and the necessary.

Thanks once again for your advice, if any of these details change things then please repost.
P.S Is it possible/difficult to get a visa for India from outside your home country?

6

The details you give don't change my comments. My point had more to do with the flexibility and loose plans issue, and how that relates to visas, flights, and so on.

My own principle is to find my comfort zone, for example, rather than asking if $X 'is enough'. I live in my comfort zone for as long as my money lasts. Until you've been somewhere, it's not easy to figure this out. So, if you've already been to India, you should have some idea of what you can handle, and for how long.

But the same holds for Singapore. There's no harm in 'over-allotting' time, since nothing stops you from leaving early if you tire of a place. For example, I generally get multiple entry visas if possible, for the flexibility they allow. I may not use them, but they give me room to juggle plans as I go.