Back from a month in SE Asia

[debthaven]

We got back from a month in SE Asia last night. The trip was fabulous, but we moved around a lot. Perhaps a bit too much, but it's hard to find the proper balance between seeing the things you want to see and keeping things reasonable, especially since it seems unlikely that we will be back in that part of the world. 

My sister (who is nearly 70) was a total STAR and kept up with us the whole way. 

Here is our final itinerary:

- fly into Bangkok, meet up with my sister (who arrived from NY the night before)
- one night in Bangkok. Saw Grand Palace. 
- VIP night bus to Chiang Mai (broken toilet and leaking roof free of charge)
- 2 nights in Chiang Mai. One day rafting down the Mae Tang River.
- bus to Nam Khong
- 1 night in Nam Khong
- pickup and crossing into Laos with Mekong cruise company. 
- 2 days / 1 night on Mekong river cruise. Visit village and shine on the way.
- arrive in Luang Prabang
- 3 nights in Luang Prabang. Spend one day at waterfall, one day with elephants. Took elephants to bathe in the river. Unforgettable.
- minivan ride to Nong Khiaw  
- 2 nights in Nong Khiaw, 1 very long and ardous day trekking up a waterfall. Celebrate DD's birthday (without cake)
- minivan back to Luang Prabang. 14 people in 9-person minivan. 
- 2 more nights in Luang Prabang. See alms ceremony at 6 am. Visit temples. Host DD's friends at hotel and take her best friend out to dinner. 
- fly to Siem Riep
- 4 nights in Siem Riep. Private car / driver for 3 days to see temples. Saw sun rise at Angkor Wat. 
- fly to Surathani Thailand (gateway to the Thai islands)
- 1 night in Surathani
- ferry to Koh Phangan
- 6 nights in Koh Phangan
- ferry back to Surathani
- 1 night in Surathani
- 1 night in Bangkok. Saw Wat Pho temple.
- 1 night in airport hotel. (My sister left at 3.30 am, we left at 7.30 am)

[debthaven]

And thanks to Travel Nut who helped me with the itinerary! 

In terms of the itinerary, I made 1 error: we booked cheap flights from Surathani to Bangkok without checking the ferry schedule first, so we had to leave the island a day early, since even the first ferry wouldn't have gotten us to the airport on time. 

There was one big crisis. Without going into detail, my DS3 needs vital meds. Our bags arrived in Siem Reap 2.5 days late. We had 4 days of meds left between DS3's bag and mine. I now realize I was very naive but I have NEVER had a bag misplaced. We carry duplicates and even triplicates of those meds, but we have NEVER had a bag even misplaced and at that point, 2 weeks into the trip, DS3 and I were both running very low on the supply in the little pillboxes in our knapsacks.

Turns out Vietnam Air had been delivering the baggage 2 days late for WEEKS, because weeks ago they couldn't load the baggage for 2 days because they were transporting plane parts. They should have told us that, but I will NEVER make that mistake again! 36 more hours and DS3 and I were flying back home. So I didn't really enjoy the first 2 days in Siem Reap, I was WAY too stressed out. 

ETA: We also had no clean clothes but given the situation with the meds, that was the least of my problems. DD got a new dress the first night. The rest of us got an outfit the second night when we took a tuktuk to the local mall. The airline gave us $40 each but again, given the situation with DS3's meds, I really didn't give a rat's ass about the money / clothes at the time. 

[sapphire12]

Welcome Back! Sounds adventurous. Get some rest.

[debthaven]

A bit too adventurous Sapphire, but I'm so glad we did it lol!

[taz157]

Aug 25, 2015 18:55:29 GMT -5 sapphire12 said:

Welcome Back! Sounds adventurous. Get some rest.

[debthaven]

In any case, if anyone wants to go to any of those countries (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia) I'd be happy to offer advice / recommendations. 

[sapphire12]

LOL. I understand the too adventurous point. I need a vacation from my big vacations. I have a trip planned to Dubai/India in Nov. I'll be tired when I return, but I expect it will be fun.

[Lizard Queen]

Sounds awesome, except for the meds. That would be a bucket list type of trip for me (aka, not even thinking about for a decade or more).

[Tennesseer]

I am exhausted just reading your itinerary.  

Glad you had a good time.

[travelnut11]

Welcome back!  I'm glad you had a great time.  The meds crisis sounds stressful.  Yikes.

I'm impressed you took the minivan to NK after my warning of the overcrowding!  How was the 100 waterfalls trek?

[steph08]

Glad you had a great time (except for the lost baggage/meds situation!). Sounds like an unforgettable adventure!

[Bonny]

Welcome back Debt!

Sounds like a wonderful trip other than the medication issue. Although still painfully fresh, hopefully in time you can laugh about it as a lesson learned.

What was your favorite/most amazing sight?

[debthaven]

Sapphire, that sounds like a great trip! How long are you going for? 

I'm impressed you took the minivan to NK after my warning of the overcrowding! How was the 100 waterfalls trek?

haha! Travelnut, because of your warning, we paid more for a private minivan to go there. It was great ... just the 5 of us and the driver's sister. But the office in LP said we had to book the return from NK. Once in NK, it was impossible to book a private minivan back (which we didn't understand ... if they're going there, surely they have to go back?!) So we ended up in an overcrowded one on the way back. 

The 100 Waterfall trek was very rough in the rainy season ... thick red mud that was like quicksand, and leeches! Our shoes were constantly getting stuck and coming off. My sister and I only made it 2/3 of the way up. Because they were worried about the mud, they gave us two guides. My sister and I stopped with one, and the other guide took DD, DH, and DS3 all the way up. DH regretted not staying back with us. 

What was your favorite/most amazing sight?

It's impossible to name just one thing ... among the most memorable were seeing the Mekong, the Luang Si Falls near LP (a natural waterfall that creates a series of mint-green pools you can swim in), bathing retired elephants in the river, rafting near Chiang Mai, seeing the sun rise at Angkor Wat, and the Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho in Bangkok. 

[sapphire12]

Aug 26, 2015 23:35:00 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Sapphire, that sounds like a great trip! How long are you going for? 

Debt, I'll be gone for 12 days. 3 full days in Dubai, I think and the rest in India. I'm almost positive I won't get to go on a desert safari and  a side trip to Abu Dhabi. Both adventures are all day and I won't have an extra all day. I think we arrive too late the first day to go on the desert safari. Oh well.

Did you go to the Floating Market in Bangkok?

[debthaven]

It's hard to do everything we want to do. The desert will still be there next time! :-)

Did you go to the Floating Market in Bangkok?

No, we had very little time in Bangkok because I don't much like big cities. We only went to the Grand Palace and Wat Pho.

ETA: In fact we talked about going but then forgot :-(

[tskeeter]

For you international travelers, one of the things that I have figured out is that traveling light makes travel significantly easier.

I've found that I can pack everything I need for a 15 day trip (including a couple of books, compass, chargers, compact binoculars, camera, a set of plastic silverware (for impromtu picnic lunches) and a light jacket) in a small backpack (my traveler's guy purse) and a mid sized roll aboard.  That means that I can carry all my luggage, rather than check any of it.  Since I don't have to wait for luggage to be unloaded from the plane, I'm through customs before other folks have claimed their checked bags.  And it doesn't take half an hour to pack and unpack the car each time you change hotels.  (As the driver/baggage handler for a group of six on a two week tour, I learned to appreciance the minimalist approach.)   I plan to do laundry about half way through the trip.  I either use the hotel laundry service, drop my dirty duds off with a nearby laundry service (both a great way to see the sights and still not smell so bad that your travel companions avoid you), or plan an adventure at the local laundromat on a rest day.  When I travel, my backpack always contains a large garbage bag.  It works as emergency rain gear (not very stylish, but way better than getting soaked to the skin on a cool, windy day), can act as a ground cloth as you relax on the still damp grass of a park or lunch on a wet rock wall overlooking the river, a window shade for the sunny side of the car, or for a variety of other uses.  It takes up virtually no space, and weighs practically nothing.  It's so convenient, you can easily take two and share with a friend.  Or with a stranger.  If I find that I need something during a trip, I'll buy it.  Your purchase will make a great souvenier (even that great Egyptian cotton washcloth from Marks and Spencer on Grafton Street), it'll give you an excuse to shop like a local where the locals shop, and you'll get a chance to see what the locals have for merchandise to shop from.  Speaking of shopping, you don't have to plan for luggage space to schlep your treasures home.  At least in Europe, it is common for merchants in tourist areas to ship your purchase to your home.  It'll arrive at your home a few weeks after you do, but avoiding wrestling a storage room full of luggage at every stop will make your travels more enjoyable.  Another approach is to mail your purchases to yourself from the local post office.  Another adventure in living like a local.


ETA:  Regarding paying to have your clothes washed, I look at it like this.  I paid $1,500 for a plane ticket, $50 a day for meals, and $75 a day for lodging.  So my cost per day for a 15 day tour is $225.  If I pay $50 to have my laundry done, instead of taking a travel day to do my own laundry, It cost me $50 not to spend a $225 travel day doing laundry.  An absolute bargain!  However, if you pack enough clothes so that you don't have to do laundry, you'll probably pay $50 or so in checked baggage fees and you'll spend your entire trip wrestling with that extra bag.  Cost is the same, maybe more.  But you do get the benefit of the workout that lugging that extra bag around will give you.