Contents: Overview, overall route, budgeting and money, visas and border crossings
Besides, my usefulness here is destroyed because all of my friends think me a man of unsound mind. Alex Campbell (Canadian politician)
This is that most rare of things for this blog; a useful post, or rather a set of useful posts. To be treasured like the first pubic hair you sprouted, sealed in a see-through baggie, bought out for special occasions, and eventually sealed in a locket and presented as a gift after a successful date. No? Just me? Surely not.
A couple of friends have asked me for hints and tips on South East Asia recently. You know, useful stuff like where to stay, how to get there, what can’t, and what must, be missed. It would seem that the random brain-farts on naughty train behaviour, the maddening word awesome, the ethics of phone hacking, and discourses on the characters we’ve met don’t fulfil this brief of usefulness. My tracking stats also tell me that a large number of readers are coming from the Lonely Planet website and I suspect these readers are keen and eager for useful and tangible advice. Useful and tangible advice from the ‘Because You Can’t Leave Your Self Behind’ blog? Whatever next?
It is, however, important to note that the suggestions and advice below are based on our limited experiences, and is far from comprehensive and even further from objective. We didn’t go to South East (SE) Asia with a view to researching then publishing a guide book, nor have we left with that intention, although approaches from publishers bearing generous advances are most welcome. In short, don’t blame me if you follow this advice and end up with an incense stick embedded in your forehead, or worse still, come home sporting hair braids or a tattoo that wouldn’t pass muster in a prison. I speak from experience on one of these outcomes. On the other hand, if you do find any of the advice useful then please send gifts, blank cheques and/or perfume scented love letters to me. Or just leave a comment below addressed c/o Ian’s Self Esteem.
Each country has its own post and includes information on getting around, accommodation, eating, and ‘other stuff’ which will most likely descend into cheap gags and (no promises) funny stories. I’ve tried to separate these stories out so that those looking for facts can find them quickly.
This introductory post largely steers clear of country-specific information and instead seeks to contextualise the trip with the overall route and a section on budgeting, and offers advice on visas and border crossings which, by their very nature, cut across countries.
Well, what are you waiting for? A locket or something?
The overall route
Duration: 10 weeks. Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia; clockwise.
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- Flew into Bangkok, Thailand
- Sleeper train to Krabi
- West coast island of Ko Lanta
- Ko Phi Phi
- Ferry, Bus, Train combo back to Bangkok
- Sleeper train north to Chiang Mai
- Minibus and short boat ride across border to Huay Xai, Laos
- Gibbon Experience
- Bus to Luang Nam Tha
- Minibus to Luang Prabang
- Flight to Hanoi, Vietnam
- Bus, Ferry combo to Cat Ba Island near Halong Bay
- Bus, Ferry, Sleeper Bus to Hue
- Motorcycle across Hoi An Pass to Hoi An
- Flight from Danang to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon)
- Organised tour into Mekong Delta
- Bus then ferry south-west to Phu Quoc Island
- Ferry, Bus to Cambodian Border, on to Kep
- Bus to Siem Reap
- Taxi to Thai Border
- Taxi (again!) to Bangkok
- Fly out
Money matters: Budgeting, accessing it, and keeping it safe
Budgeting
Budgets are personal things, and I suspect you could travel for far less than we did. Equally, you could spend FAR more. You will, I think, only be paying attention to this information if you yourself are budgeting for a similar trip, and with this in mind it’s useful to have some context about us.
We probably fit into the category of ‘flashpacker’, much as I loathe that term. This means we were careful with money, but not obsessively so. We stayed in either budget or good value midrange guesthouses, tending to opt for air conditioning. Where possible we chose comfort over price with transport, although one does not necessarily guarantee the other. We very rarely ate in high-end restaurants, but did eat often. We boozed it up occasionally, but still remember most of the trip. We bought nice but relatively inexpensive gifts (my wife) and a fair amount of cheap but fun tat (me). When we negotiated we did so with a view to both us and them winning, but were happy if they won more often than us.
With this context in mind our budget was £80 GBP per day for us both (a grand total of approx. £5,600). Not including flights in and out of Bangkok or travel insurance. It does however include other flights mentioned above, plus everything else. We came in approximately £400 under this budget at the end of the trip.
This information is not designed to form a budget recommendation, merely guidance. I’m being cagey on this because I read a car crash of a discussion thread on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree forum about budgeting for SE Asia which made me acutely aware that (a) budgets are sensitive topics and (b) the internet is full of some real arseholes.
Special offer to prove how fond I am of you lot: If you want an excel spreadsheet with formulas included for budgeting and then tracking daily spends against budget then leave a comment below with your email address and I’ll shoot it over. If you already know me then you can email me directly or facebook me rather than leave a comment. It’s free. Obviously.
Accessing it and keeping it safe
From a logistical point of view Visa debit cards are widely accepted in ATMs – tell your bank where you’re going to avoid getting it declined when you arrive. Visa and Mastercard credit cards are accepted in a few places, almost always with a 2.5 – 3% surcharge. AMEX is next to useless. Cash is still king, and the US dollar is still the de rigeur international currency. Having a $100 bill stashed away is a good emergency plan.
From a security point of view here’s some pointers from our experience:
- A money belt, one which loops around your waist and buckles (i.e. a normal belt), with a small hidden zip on the inside is great for carrying small wads of notes and a photocopy of your passport.
- This is opposed to the pouches that are designed to be worn on your belly, under clothing, also known as money belts. These, in my opinion, are daft as they often bulge out from under clothing and are like a flashing beacon to nefarious types. Ones that have a steel band embedded in the strap to deter a slash and grab job are even dafter – if your assailant has a knife do you really want him thwarted? Better to lose your stuff than your life.
- For extreme security (and we only did this a couple of times in Africa) tubigrip bandages worn on your thigh, under shorts or trousers, are a good method for storing wads of cash, provided it is wrapped in plastic first.
- Something brilliant that Helen thought of was to get security pockets sewn into the inside of our shorts/skirts. These passport shaped cloth pouches have a zip and sit next to the groin. Not easy to access during the day, but that’s the point. We had a tailor sew these in when we were in Johanessburg.
- I have a fondness for zips. A zipped pocket will thwart all but the most skilful of pickpockets. Similarly, shirts that have buttoned breast pockets are great for storing easy-to-access (for you) cash.
Visas and border crossings
For a more comprehensive set of recommendations I suggest you use the Travelfish website which is an exceptional travel resource for SE Asia. They have also started publishing nicely designed and useful IPhone apps.
Information below is correct at time of writing, and the visa information specifically applies to UK passport holders.
Visas
Thailand: arrivals by air are granted a free 30 day visa. Land arrivals get a free 15 day visa. No passport photo required in either instance. Visa extensions can be organised in most towns, and a new visa is granted if you leave and then re-enter Thailand.
Laos: Laos visa cost $20 USD, passport photo required. You’ll inevitably pay some random (read corrupt) processing or overtime fee of a dollar or two each at land crossings. Much as it pains me to say this given my fairly trenchant stand on the issue of corruption it’s probably easier to just pay and fume later.
Vietnam: As a general rule it is necessary to get a Vietnam visa before arrival. If arriving by air then visa on arrival may be possible if you have applied for an e-visa in advance. All land crossings require a visa in advance. Visas are for 30 days, and applications require a passport photo. Cost varies between $40-60 USD depending on speed of processing required.
If doing a SE Asia tour it’s probably easier to get a Vietnamese visa from a neighbouring country such as Laos or Cambodia, or at the Vietnamese embassy in Bangkok. Most large towns will provide visa services either at a local consulate or via a travel agent (who will charge you a small fee, send off your passport, and return it a few days later). Vietnam requires you to provide a date for when you wish your visa to start. That’s why it’s easier to get one closer to the time – you’re more likely to be sure of when exactly you’ll cross the border.
We got one in Luang Prabang, Laos. It was simple. I wrote about it on a forum on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree, here (see post # 10).
Cambodia: available on arrival, $20 USD, 30 days validity, passport photo required (see below). Again, you’ll pay some random bribes if crossing by land. Scammers are particularly bad at these crossings. We got a little scammed, and were a little stupid…
We arranged for a combined bus, ferry, bus and border crossing ticket to get from Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam to the Cambodian border then through to Kep on the south coast. They also offered a $25 visa service. We had run out of passport photos and asked the office if they could advise us on where to get some. They told us not to bother, that the additional $5 we’d paid (on top of the $20 visa fee) would cover that. So we rocked up to the Cambodian border, the fat border guard pulling on his official shirt over his vest as we drew up. The bus driver handed over our passports, we filled in the forms, and then he asked us for our passport photos. Ah, we said, they said it wouldn’t be necessary, turning around to point out the driver. Who had promptly disappeared. You’ll have to pay $2 each for a photo he said. OK, I said, my mistake, realising I was about to be scammed. Where should I stand for the photo, I politely asked. No camera, he replied. And this is where I should have shut my mouth, handed over the inconsequential amount, and moved on. But I was hot and grumpy, and just thoroughly pissed off with being viewed as a walking cash machine. So if there’s no camera how can I pay for a photo, I asked. You pay fine, he replied, turning my passport over in his hands to clearly show just where the balance of power lay. Oh, it’s a fine, I said, then that’s OK, but can I have a receipt please? This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Exploding with rage he told me that I, just like my government (?!), was disrespecting him and his country, that I had insulted him by suggesting that the money he was about to take would somehow change his life, you think I can buy a car, a house, with this money, he shouted. Glancing at my passport in his sweaty hands I concluded that perhaps now was the time to back up. I didn’t mean any disrespect to you or your country, and the relationship between my government and yours is one of friendship, I calmly bullshitted. There has clearly been a misunderstanding, for which I apologise, so please take this money so we can be on our way, I continued, thrusting some notes at him, impatience and supplication mixing in my tone. I think at this point both of us were secretly wishing that these disputes could be settled in a more medieval way, man vs man. I don’t want your money, he said, now taking the moral high ground. OK, apologies again for the misunderstanding, thank you, I said claiming back our passports. His unspoken thoughts: get out of here you jumped up smartass. My unspoken thoughts: don’t take the moral high ground with me fatty, you corrupt sack of shit. A grunt from him, and a mumbled but cheerful fuck-you very much from me, and we were on our way.
Border crossings
The lesser-spotted blagger
Borders are the natural habitat for blaggers; get your head down, plough on, ignore them. Visas for Thailand, Laos and Cambodia can be obtained at point of entry, ignore anyone who tells you differently.
Changing money at borders will result, in one way or another, in being ripped off. Perhaps not by much, so you pay your money you take your risk. Get the latest exchange rate before you enter a country, never expect to match this with a money changer, but expect to get close-ish through negotiation. Only hand over your money once you have agreed a rate and a total exchange value, have counted and checked the proffered notes, then counted again. When dealing with large denominations be wary of the ‘500’ note slipped in among the ‘5000’ notes, for example. Only exchange if you are completely happy with the quantity and quality of the notes. If you’re not, walk away, and keep walking. If you are, make the exchange and walk away, and don’t entertain any renegotiations from the money changer – this will certainly be a scam; your business was concluded when you exchanged the notes. Equally, if you suddenly realise you’ve been ripped off then don’t expect the money changer to remember you. Chalk it up to experience. Or avoid all this and use an ATM at the next large town, and have some US dollars stashed away for emergencies.
Update, 1 December 2011, Peru: I re-read the above recently and concluded that it sounds insufferably smug. Like I actually have any idea what I'm doing when it comes to changing money. The advice, I think, is still sound, but it seems only right, in the interests of full disclosure, that I'm honest about how I've completely failed to follow my own advice. I've changed money at borders twice, and been ripped off twice - once in Africa and once in South America. Both my fault. I didn't lose a huge amount in either transaction, so it's no great shakes, and it can be put down to a simple inability to calculate figures in my head and negotiate at the same time. So, that's it. I'm not that cool, urbane, unruffled international traveler figure that delights in doling out smug advice. I'm mostly just a naive fool, as fallible as the next man. Anyway, update over, as you were...
Thailand - Laos
Chiang Mai (Thailand) to Huay Xai (Laos): We caught a minibus from Chiang Mai with other travellers, dropping us at river crossing at the Thai border town of Chiang Khong. You hand in your passports on the Thai side for departure stamps. A very short boat ride takes you across the river (40 baht per person if memory serves). Complete the Laos immigration forms on the other bank, get your visa, and away you go, up the bank into the main drag with all the guesthouses.
Laos – Vietnam
Luang Prabang airport (Laos) to Hanoi airport (Vietnam): air border crossings are simple. We had our visas for Vietnam in advance so breezed through immigration. Not much more to write on this…
Vietnam – Cambodia
Phu Quoc Island (Vietnam) to Kep (Cambodia): We bought a combined bus, ferry, bus ticket to take us from our guesthouse on Phu Quoc to Kep. Other than the Cambodian standoff story above this was a simple border crossing, the bus depositing us in Kep from where we jumped in a tuk tuk to a guesthouse.
Cambodia - Thailand
Siem Reap (Cambodia) to Aranyaprathet (Thailand) and on to Bangkok: we caught a 3 hour taxi from Siem Reap ($25 USD) to the border town of Aranyaprathet. You hand in your passport for a Cambodia departure stamp then take a five minute walk through no-man’s-land to the Thai border. There are lots of street kids and touts. I used up my remaining small amounts of Cambodian coinage on buying some food for these kids – I don’t personally hand out money as a rule. Fill in entry form at Thai border to get a 15 day free visa, no passport photo required. Someone will find you on the Thai side offering transport options to Bangkok before you need to find them. We were tired and sick of buses so we opted for the offer of a taxi. The 3 hour ride cost approximately £35 GBP, so not cheap by SE Asia standards, but great value by any other standard, and it deposited us, in torrential rain, right outside our guesthouse door in Bangkok.
You can also do the Bangkok leg by train or bus. We didn't, so can't comment.
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We were in Siem Reap for three days and spent just one morning at the temples. This, for us, was enough, but you could easily spend more time there. For two of our three days we hired a tuk tuk driver by the name of Vantha, and his magnificent chariot that he had christened Black Wolf. A diminutive and delightful young man he drove us around for two straight days, always returning to a pre-agreed pick up point bang on time. He was enterprising and educated and had memorised the temple guide book, in a second language remember, taking pride in sharing his detailed knowledge with us as we toured the different temple sites. We agreed on a day rate of $15 USD. I gave him $20 on both days. 
