China - Cambodia - Europe (April-July 2013)
Replies: 9 - Last Post: Nov 12, 2012 11:39 PM Last Post By: Alontraveler
jump to
China - Cambodia - Europe (April-July 2013)
Hey lonley planet people!I have always used this site for info but never posted, im excited to see the diffrent opinions and gain some knowledge from fellow travelers (pros and amateurs alike!)
Im gonna be spending about two months in China & Cambodia backpacking alone and then im meeting my girlfriend in Turkey and Amsterdem.
Im posting this here (Asia topic) because im more intrested in hearing about China and Cambodia (although any info is welcome :).
My trip so far:
Im arriving in beijing on the 10thish of April (2013) gonna spend about 6weeks in north & south east china.
Fly to cambodia probably from hong kong (as i found an extremely cheap flight) and spend about 20days there.
From there get to Bangkok and fly to Turkey for 2weeks (i have a flight already on the 11th of june) for a festival and a little sightseeing time with my wonderful girlfriend.
Then fly and spend a week in Amsterdam & surrounding area as a nice and relaxing way to end the trip.
The asain part of the trip:
I don't really have any specific plans, i have more of a shell or an idea. Especially because I'm not traveling until April (2013).
But i like to plan in advance as it gives me something to look forward to and planing ahead saves money.
As of now it looks like this:
i will arrive in Beijing in april Spend a week or so in the city and surrounding areas.
Go north and see the northern regions maybe doing some light trekking (i forget the name but theres a beautiful lake up there) for 2 weeks or so.
i was thinking of maybe going into mongolia for a few days but not sure if its worth the time.
from the north come back to beijing and bullet train or bus to shanghai and spend a week or so there.
i was thinking going a little west and seeing a town in a different region but i want to keep things tight. And not waste time traveling to much and not spread things out in order to get the most out of each place.
since i want to spend a good two and half weeks in Cambodia im gonna bullet train or bus down to hong kong & Guangzahn and spend a week or so there.
From hong kong i will fly to phnom penh (cambodia) somewhere on the 23ish of may.
i want to see some nature whilst in Cambodia so i was thinking of going to some wildlife & nature sanctuaries on my way to SiemReap.
in SiemReap im gonna get a week pass for angkor wat as that really fascinates me.
As I have a flight from bangkok to Istanbul on June 11th ill make my way from SiemReap to bangkok probably on the 9th just to give me time to get there.
I saw somewhere (probably on this site) that i can take a bus from SiemReap to the Thailand border and then a train to bangkok. But ill give myself extra time and will not be in any rush, so ill pick the most scenic (and cheap) route available.
The rest of the trip (Europe) is for a different topic, so thats all for now. (Unless you have questions!)
As you can see i have very little specific plans (besides for bangkok as i have a flight) and most of my plans are ideas. Plus i haven't done enough research (which is why im here) into what i want to see specifically in china.
What I do want:
I want to breath in chinese culture and ideals.
I want to see a lot of Chinese (and asian) scenery but i don't want trekking to be the focus (i did enough trekking to last me a life time...)
I want to spend a few nights in each city, the Asian lifestyle is a fascination of mine since i was a little boy.
as well as staying in the big cities i really want to see some 'untouched' areas and rural towns.
a factory/working town is something i would love to see.
Touristy attractions (great wall, terra-cotta and the forbidden city) are great and i would love to see but not a must for me.
I want to see some temples
I said it before but i don't want to spread things out to much so I can really get the most out of each place.
more info about me:
Im gonna travel light. backpack & camera.
Im getting a two entry visa for china.
Im gonna try and couch-surf through couchsurfing.com (ive used it many times before in europe) a. To save money b. Get a locals feel of the country & meet locals or at least people that reside there.
im young, traveling alone and am not picky so hostels are more then fine.
I wouldn't mind eating some nice chinese cuisine. Though not every night and again on a tight budget.
Im budgeting somewhere around 35$ a day in China and Cambodia (40$ a day in hongkong).
But in a whole ill have about 2400$ (excluding flights) for the Asian part of my trip. (roughly 2 months)
I know its not a lot but i have a lot of time to travel cheaply and im not picky about where i stay plus ill couch surf wherever possible. I hope it'll be enough.
So thats what i have for now.
Any Advice. Ideas. Plans. Help. Criticisms (constructive). Positive energy. Smileys.
Is more then welcome!!!
Thanks in advance
Alon
Edited by: Alontraveler
1
Hi and welcome to the forum,It's a good plan which would need some adjustment.
- since you'll finish the China part of your trip in Hongkong, I'd suggest changing the itinerary and skipping the northern part (especially going to Mongolia). Go to the interior instead, towards Xian, via Yichang/Three Gorges and as far as Chengdu. Return heading for Hongkong. It will be difficult to include Shanghai. Shanghai is a huge city, in parts very modern, also more expensive than the rest of the country.
- spend only a few days in big cities and focus more on the interior of China. HK will be much more expensive and may eat into your budget if you say too long.
- May in Cambodia will be beginning of rainy season, still at its beginning only. Two weeks will be enough for the main spots. You might like to include Laos (recommended) - you'd need at least three-four weeks for both countries. You can add some time to Cambodia/Laos, if you you limit your time in HK, and skip Shanghai.
- both in China and Cambodia you'll find it easy to eat cheaply. Both countries have fantastic cuisines.
- US$2400 for two months should be fine, food, local transport and accommodation included.
2
Hey Fieldgate!!thanks for your advice!
it would look something like this right?
http://goo.gl/maps/ZYa1r
i just have a few questions:
a. would three weeks be enough for all that?
b. is it worth skipping shanghai?
c.it seems that i can get to all places through trains, is that the best way to get from city to city?
d.but how do i get from Chengdu. to hong kong its quite far?
e.any recommendations of what to do in each place (trying to add some human advice to my google searches :))
ive actually been looking a little more into northern china and it seems really hard to get too without a car, plus mongolia is too much, so...
as for laos/cambodia im scared to spread things too thin and limit my time in places and i dont want to cut my china part of the trip lower then 3-4weeks so if i only had 2-3weeks, is that enough for cambodia and laos...(considering that if i go to laos itll take me longer to get to bangkok for my flight..),
cambodia is a must, laos i dont really know much about...
thanks again friend, and hope im not bogging you with questions!
Alon
Edited by: Alontraveler
3
Hey Fieldgate!!thanks for your advice!
it would look something like this right?
http://goo.gl/maps/ZYa1r
i just have a few questions:
a. would three weeks be enough for all that?
b. is it worth skipping shanghai?
c.it seems that i can get to all places through trains, is that the best way to get from city to city?
d.but how do i get from Chengdu. to hong kong its quite far?
e.any recommendations of what to do in each place (trying to add some human advice to my google searches :))
ive actually been looking a little more into northern china and it seems really hard to get too without a car, plus mongolia is too much, so...
as for laos/cambodia im scared to spread things too thin and limit my time in places and i dont want to cut my china part of the trip lower then 3-4weeks so if i only had 2-3weeks, is that enough for cambodia and laos...(considering that if i go to laos itll take me longer to get to bangkok for my flight..),
cambodia is a must, laos i dont really know much about...
thanks again friend, and hope im not bogging you with questions!
Alon
4
--Your general plan between countries seems OK. This would have you ending up in HK before flying to Cambodia.--Another option would be to skip HK or put it in the middle of the trip then come back to south part of China, exit to Laos overland then down to Cambodia overland without flights.
--Your initial China plan is just wrong. Wrong mix of destinations, time spent not right, etc.
--Skip the northern part of China above Beijing. What's up there is of lesser interest to nearly all visitors. Skip Mongolia also, due to too early and lack of time.
--De-prioritize Shanghai. If it's to be included, no need to spend more than a day or so there. Do include it if you decide to dump Hong Kong though. Agree with above poster to head the other way instead, to the interior.
--Don't spend too much time in Guangzhou or Shenzhen, there's really nothing much there for the visitor, and what is there pales in comparison to other places in China.
--HK is very expensive especially for lodging, I wouldn't spend too long there, 3-4 days is enough or you will bust your budget. You may decide to forego HK entirely, in which case keep Shanghai on the list. Hong Kong is great, but sooner or later in life, everybody ends up going through there multiple times, so it's up to you as to whether to include or not.
--Don't worry about getting from interior of China to HK, or from anywhere to anywhere. Infrastructure in China is good. We can help you build an efficient routing. You have time to do most of what you need to do overland, and train + some bus will be the mainstays of your intercity transport.
--Don't forego some of the "big attractions" simply because of tourists, some of them are well worth seeing.
--Do be aware that entry fees in China can add up if you're on a budget, particularly to natural scenery/national parks. But you should include at least one or two of those.
--I would keep the China part at 5 to 6 weeks. I think seeing the key parts of Laos and much of Cambodia in 3 additional weeks is doable.
--If you can get a double-entry visa, do so as it will give you options. And you would have the option of getting an extension while inside China, on an entry...which would allow you more days in one stretch without having to exit. Not free, though.
6
Three weeks in China would be abslotue minimum, but you don't need to restrict yourself to such short time. If you have two months in total, you can easliy divide it to one month China and the second month for Cambodia and Laos and getting to BKK. That wouldn't be too rushed.Trains are the best way to travel in China and occassionally busses too. You can travel on night trains on longer routes to save time and money on accommodation.
Shanghai is a fascinating city - for me mostly the pace it's been built (Pudong) and its modern architecture. But, you'll see that in Bejing too. Just accept you can't do it all and you'll feel more comforatable with your choices.
If you decide to visit Laos, which I hope you do, you wouldn't need to back track to Cambodia. You can cross the border in Vientiane (Friendship Bridge) and go to Udon Thani in Thailand. From there proceed to Bangkok. You'll be comforable with four weeks for the two countries and doing that route.
7
hey jiejie and thanks for the info.i prefer flying into Cambodia. a.to save time and b. i really want to see hong kong.
i think you and Fieldgate are right about the whole not going to shanghai as it is becoming too many things to do plus ill see enough cities to get a feel...
as for central china, i agree as well and thank you both for 'opening my eyes' to that, itll make the trip more diverse.
so as of now it looks like ill keep Fieldgates plan (http://goo.gl/maps/ZYa1r) for china, spend the 4 weeks doing that.
then make my way to hong kong from shenzhen, spend 2-4 nights in hongkong and fly into Phnom Penh. (around the 15th of may, its only 160$ and isn't in my expenses budget anyways)
from there spend 2 weeks in Cambodia, make my way into Laos .
2 weeks in Laos and then make my way down to Bangkok (using Fieldgates travel plan)
how does that sound?
i have done a little research (not enough) into Laos but considering im crossing the border from Cambodia and going to have to go back to Thailand through Vientiane what do you recommend for me to see/do there within a 2-2.5 week time line?
as for Cambodia im arriving in phnom phen. i want to see siem reap (angkor) and maybe a wildlife/nature reserve, plus maybe a small 'untouched' village (although maybe itd be better to see in Laos), and then entering Laos after 2-2.5 weeks as well.
Thanks you guys so much!!!
p.s. jiejie - that is my budget in $ (give or take 100$) like you said if i 'extensively' plan my china part ill be ok.
8
Your plan looks good and fully doable. Generally, keep your travel schedule open to changes, stay flexible.For Cambodia and Laos you can start a new topic on respective branch.
Anwyay, shortly, places worth visiting are:
Cambodia - Phnom Penh; Siem Reap, maybe Sihanoukville (for a couple of days on the beach), Kratie - from there towards 4000 islands in Laos
Laos - you'll find a village, fairly unspoilt, among 4000 islands, Van Vieng, Vientiane, Luang Prabang and back to Vientiane.
As said, you'll get more detailed answers if you post on the other branch.
9
Wow thanks so so much fieldgate!!You have been a serious help and really formed my itinerary!!!
So i have my basic trip down and now like you said ill get more details and make new posts (if i cant find my own info) on the respective topics!!
my trips starting to look pretty awesome!!!
One last question :)
If you had to pick one thing to see in Cambodia, laos and china (on my 'path') what would it be and be as detailed as you can/want?
Thanks a millon times again
Alon
Edited by: Alontraveler
