Booked Tickets to SEA today!!!!!

We are about to fill that hole in our travel experience - booked tickets to SEA today. We leave for Hong Kong on January 8th. Fly from there to Hanoi on January 12th.

We will then proceed up to Sapa then down through Vietnam to Mekong Delta where we will turn north again through Cambodia, up through Laos and into northern Thailand. Then down through Thailand until we run out of time. Only internal flight we are considering at this point is Siem Reap to Paxkse. That may change but we generally provide overland - buses and boats. Current ticket for home leaves Bangkok on March 9th.

So we've taken onboard all the FAQs and so on from the SEA branches and some people have sent me their trip reports and best tips for travel in SEA ...have made notes on all that stuff.

Now we are down to more detailed planning. Are there hotels or tour guides or boat trips or ???? that you would recommend?

I did a great 3 day Mekong trip out of Ho Chi Minh city with Singh travel. Well organised, good guide and clean hotels, you can continue on to Cambodia on the same trip if you want. Get your tickets in the backpacker area, Pham Nu Lao. Both Singh and Kim travel also do the $22US (may have risen in price in the past 2yrs!) open bus tickets from HCM to Hanoi (or the other way) Once again good cheap hotels (owned by the above companies, where the buses stop, or you can find your own), had a great time, spent about 3 weeks doing it. There are good, cheap hotels also in Pham Nu Lao, shop around. I stayed in the Prince Hotels in Hanoi, there are several and have nice rooms to suit all budgets. Sapa is amazing and I would go to Ha Long Bay if I were you, but the boat trips are variable in quality (to put it midly). Can't remember the name of the one I used, it was cheap, but ok.

Hope this helps, have a great trip...

It was 5 years ago for me but, as with travela above, I also used Singh (Sinh??) Travel in HCM City, to travel overland south into the delta and then boat(s) up the Mekong into Cambodia, through to Phnom Penh. I found that it was well organized and I was quite satisfied with their service. As I recall, they also do the bus (on/off) between Hanoi and HCM, although I travelled by train mostly, which was quite comfortable. When I went back to Cambodia in 2006, I used buses to circle the lake, from PP to Siem Reap and then from Battambang back to PP; took the boat across the northern end of the lake from SR to Battambang. I found those buses quite comfortable, as was the one down to Sihanoukville.

Glad to hear the good news, I would definitely recommend the river trip from luangprabang on the mekong to the thai border at huay xai or something like that. There are a few ways of doing it on variious boats but don't go for the speed boats as they are dangerous. I will PM you with more details later.

Congratulations on getting your ticket and trip so well organized in advance! I'm having a terrible time with Asia Air's website, and I leave in 2 weeks. I've got myself to KL and back via Hong Kong, and from Denpasar to Christchurch in January, but what happens in between is in the lap of Kali.
Hope you have a wonderful trip.

I enjoyed the 2-day/1-night "cruise" on Halong Bay, near Hanoi. While the departure port is a bit crazy, once you're out on the water it's both calm and fascinating. Generally you can book this trip from any hotel with 1 days notice, and there are several variations for duration. I think the 1-day trip would be a bit too rushed.

The other trip I did from Hanoi was the Perfume Pagoda. I enjoyed this as well, but not as much as Halong Bay. This is a day trip.

Thanks so much - keep it coming. We are incorporating all this and your PMs into our planning. All gratefully received.

When we were travelling about the Mekong last March, a new bus system from HCMC to Siem Reap had recently opened up, that everyone was raving about. Would definitely have used if we had enough time left, for I would dearly love to return to Angkor Wat.
HCMC to Siem Reap

If you do visit Angkor – I suggest your hiring a taxi and a translator. For the licenced taxi cannot get onto the grounds and the translator has so very much information to share with you – they will explain to you the beautiful bas reliefs and everything else, so that you will understand what you are looking at when on your own. They will also get you to sites at the best time of day. The multi paved inner courtyards and covered galleries – with exquisite carvings – will leave you staggered.
Superb Condition And Siem Reap itself, has many very interesting venues.

Luang Prabang is my favourite for Laos – a place to sit by the river in the early morning, and sip their excellent Lao/Arabica coffee as the monks do their morning parade. Rent a bicycle – or hire a boat with guide to go up the Mekong. You'll find the guides inside the buddhist complex which is next to the river ... either that, or there are many sitting about at the levy entry, and along the Mekong - they put up small signs. Relax, relax, relax.

When you get to Sapa there is a cafe there called Baguette and Chocolat just up from steps on the left it is run to help underprivliged kids and teaches them how to be chefs and wait staff and they have the best passinfruit cheesecake all made at the cafe and the meals are very good i know it's nothing to do with touring or treking but a good meal is a good meal.

Budget travel basics for Hong Kong – 30+ guesthouses and GH resources and the only travel guide with a photo of the stairs in the Chungking Mansions. Non-commercial. And my latest masterpiece, nothing but HK budget accommodations and related

Budget travel basics for Southeast Asia - gets you started – expenses, transportation, lodging, eating, safety and scams, countries sections, etc. Non-commercial. Completely updated and tested 10/24/07

Asia 2005, 2006, 2007

bun cha

I loved Luang Prabung too, a magic place and hard to leave! I would also suggest you go out to the Plain of Jars. Unfortunately the name of the town escapes me, but there are details in the LP. It was weird and fascinating...did a great one day tour that included the jars sites and a village built on bomb shell foundations! A reminder that Laos is/was the most bombed country in the world (according to the guide). The tour guide spoke good English and was informative, friendly and had a great sense of humour. Vung Vien (spelling?) south of Luang Prabung was great too. Laos is beautiful and has a great vibe, but the food in Vietnam remains my favourite of anywhere I've been yet...in Saigon there is a great market that closes at night and then is surrounded by food stalls. Took me 12 months to 'eat' my way arround it! and didn't have one meal I didn't enjoy and the people watching is the best! Don't miss the War Museum in Saigon and if your into a few drinks or just weird places to drink go to Carmen bar. Even people who have been to a lot more places than I agree that there is nothing quite like it! Hoi An in the north of VN is a lovely town and tailor central, you can even have shoes made to order! Cheap and great quality, still wearing the few items I had made. If I had known what I know now about clothes in VN I would have gone there with an empty suitcase. The citadel in Hue is also worth a visit but I didn't think much of the city itself...beware of cyclos in Hue....Enjoy!!

I also enjoyed Baguette and Chocolat in Sapa as #8 noted. 2 days/1 night for Halong Bay does work out well, 1 day far too rushed, not to mention that you couldn't get out very far in the bay. We used Handspan Travel and it worked out very well. They also booked our train tickets to Sapa. If you go to Halong Bay first, you can get back from Halong Bay by around 5-5:30PM , then take the night train for Hanoi to Sapa.

I know everyone as their favorite places to stay, but we really enjoyed Thanh Xuan Hotel In Hoi Ann. It was probably the friendliest place we have ever stayed. We were there last year and paid about $25.00 including brekkie.

In Hanoi, we stayed at The Golden Lotus. At $50.00 for a deluxe room including breakfast, I know sometimes the backpacker crowd thinks it too expensive, but the location and room is superb for the money. Reserve room 701 in advance for a room with a roof top balacony. The staff was also lovely.

Just keep on checking the SE Asia branch, I found so much great info there also!

Vietnam
excellent tour company for Vietnam Their trip to Halong Bay is very well worth the extra money. As born2go says they can also book train tix for you. Look out for the posts by hongha on the Vietnam branch. Don't forget to try Fanny's ice cream on the west side of the Lake, Brother's Cafe has an incredible Vietnamese lunch buffet, and Le Cyclo has excellent Viet food too. Baan Thai had amazing Thai food. The Thai embassy staff all eat there. If you get tired of Asian food, Al Fresco's had the BEST ribs. Their milkshakes were outrageous too.
For HK
Dragon Hostel
For Hanoi
Salute Hotel

i think the plain of jars was outside of phonsovan...but i found it a boring excursion...though others did not

...rough travel from there to nan neam, then stops at phu lao on thru vieng khan & nang kiaw...before entering china via udomxai

...excellent kayak tripo on river at nang kiaw

Thanks for all advice ...keep it coming :)

That's it phonsovan! Times I wish I had kept a travel diary/journal...

I still think the Sinq Cafe open-ended bus is the best organized bargain in Vietnam. It stops at Dalat, Na Trang, Hoi An and Hue in the South and you can stay as long as you want in each place. You just notify them the day before you plan to leave. They stop at acceptable accomodations, or you can take or LP and look for something else. Sometimes I did that, and other times I just stayed where they stopped.

The flight to Chiangmai from Luang Prubang is only a half hour with Laos Airlines, and is a good way to do one end of the trip. You can book that in Luang Prubang.