Quote:
Originally Posted by moncton golden flames
so, in late february, the wife and i will be traveling to the southeast asia for a honeymoon/volunteering trip over a 2 month period. i have never been to these countries before, and am open to virtually anything. what can you suggest we do/see/taste/watch/experience?
i should mention that we are travelers and not tourists. so, while we won't avoid touristy type things, we would rather spend most of out time amongst the people and learning their culture and foods. time could be tight to see all of these areas, so any tips or tricks on using buses, trains, planes etc... would be greatly appreciated.
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Don't spend much time in Bangkok when you arrive. Come back in mid-April (13th-15th) for the Songkran festival (Thai New Year). It is incredible, basically a giant water fight all over the country with tons of cool celebrations. We were in Bangkok for it and it was one of the true highlights of my trip. Just pure joy for everyone involved.
Vang Vieng was awesome and the float is an incredible expereince with the ziplines and rope swings but is not worth more than two-three days given your short time frame. I can second what gargamel said about not getting caught up lazing around in the pillow filled restaurants watching dvds and drinking Lemon ice shakes. We ended up in Vang Vieng after a rough travel stretch on our trip and ended up spending a few too many lazy days tubing/laying around. In retrospect, it was a waste of a few days. A quick in and out will be fine.
Vietnam was easily my favourite country in SE Asia but will be tough to really check out well if you want to do Thailand in any kind of depth. If I were to make a recommendation, I would say make sure you start in the south (Saigon) and work your way north to Hanoi. The difference between the two cities is incredible, Saigon is so modern and liberal (by comparison), Hanoi has much more of an "old Vietnam" feel to it. It was really cool to experience the difference as you head north. We took advantage of the sleeper trains to maximize our travel time and cost here.
We hired a tuk tuk driver to do a 3 day tour of Angkor Wat when in Cambodia. In hindsight, it was probably a day too much. By the end, the temples all started to look the same and after we saw all the "highlights" on day two, the smaller ones suddenly didn't seem as impressive (dumb I know) . Two full days is perfect if you are there early both days. Also, don't forget to check out a floating village. It's a really cool experience. Couldn't help but laugh as we float by on our longtail boat and we pass a floating home where the kids inside are sitting there watching wrestling on their generator powered tv. If you are looking for beaches that aren't quite as touristy as in Thailand, I know many people who said Sihanoukville was just as nice, cheaper and a bit more authentic than many of the tourist trap beaches in Thailand.
You will have a great time. Make sure to take advantage of the pho in Vietnam and all the incredible curry dishes in Thailand, not a week goes by that I don't still crave their authentic cuisine. What a treat.
I'll post more if anything worth mentioning pops to mind.