Laos Travel Advice

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Travelling South East Asia.. advice please!?

My friends and I are travelling south east asia starting in may... we start with a 24 day tour around Thailand, and then we are planning to go off on our own for an extra month and a half. We plan to go from Thailand to Laos, Vietnam, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and end in Bali. Does anyone have any advice for cheap ways to get around? Are there cheaper ways to travel within south east asia other than by plane? Thanks!

Here are some of your options for cheap ways of getting around:

-- Local buses

Taking the local bus in Southeast Asia is one in a life time experience -- it's one way of soaking the local culture. When riding with local buses you have to be patient because they're not always efficient. In Laos for example, I took the local bus from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng in 2007. During the bus ride there was a lot of unnecessary pit-stops (for example bus driver had to pee and eat a lot of times). So you can imagine how late we were :-P Haha

-- Government buses

I find that government buses are cheaper than VIP-buses arranged by tour companies. Example: From Bangkok to the Cambodian border we paid less than 250 B in April 2010.

You'll find government buses in Thailand and Malaysia. I haven't been in Vietnam and and Indonesia, so I can't say anything about it.

-- Train

If you settle for 3rd class seats taking the train can be cheap. Example from Bangkok to Chiang Mai it cost 271 B. From KL to Singapore -- About 34 Ringgit. Bangkok to Penang in Malaysia -- 1,210 B (2nd class).

Tubing in Vang Vieng, Laos - www.deafplanet.com.au


laos travel advice