Introduction - We went to Indonesia in 1997 and 1998, and it was one of our best trips. It combined nature (Bromo volcano, Manado Seagardens etc...), culture (like Toraja and Borobudur temple) and friendlyness of the local people. Above all, service is extremely good value for money, and this is one of the advantages over other regions like the Middle East and central America. Safety is less a concern than f.i. in Central America.
- The Singapore page was also made by me.
- The Cambodia page was first made with info I got from other people, and in 3/99 I went to check out things myself.
- There is Myanmar page written by a friend of mine (11/98). They will probably also add a site on Laos after spending 4 weeks in 10/99.
- Steven Buvens has also written a site after his trip to Northern Vietnam (7/99). I went back to Vietnam in 10/2000 and updated the Northern section, and expanded it with a Southern section.
- The Laos page was made by Geert Van Vaeck who stayed there 4 weeks (10/99).
Getting around Asean airpass
- 6 Asian companies have joined forces in an effort to turn off crisis in tourism industry, and they are now offering an "Asian Airpass". Companies participating include Thai airways, Garuda, Singapore airlines, Philippine Airways, Vietnam Airlines and Malaysian Airlines. The deal is the following:
- You have to fly to any Asian destination with 1 of the six carriers. You could f.i. fly to Singapore or Bangkok.
- Then you need to buy the pass for 270 US$. This entitles you to 3 flights within Asia with 1 of these 6 carriers. This pass has to be bought at the same time you purchase your international flight, and it has to be booked outside Asean countries.
- Open jaws are not permitted, except within 1 country. So travel must be contiguous.
- Domestic flights are permitted except in Vietnam and the Philippines.
- Maximum stay is 2 months.
- Extra stretches can be purchased at 90 US$ for one.
- You cannot do the same trip twice (f.i. Singapore-BKK-Singapore-BKK).
- This could be of course a very good deal. Suppose you want to visit Sulawesi. Then buy a cheap ticket to Singapore. With your pass, you can fly to Ujung Pandang (Silk Air), fly back from Manado (Silk Air), and you even have 1 stretch left, f.i. to fly from UP to Manado with Garuda.
- I've not tried this myself, and I didn't get much feedback untill now. It's best you mail singapore airlines for more info.
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Bangkok is one of the main transport hubs in Asia, and many travellers
simply buy a cheap ticket to Bangkok and catch a flight from their to
go further. Also check the "Asean airpass chapter for this".
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Instead of spending our first days in Thailand in Bangkok like most
other travellers, we decided to fly immediately to Chiang Mai. Bangkok
can be a very hot and overwhelming city, and we thought it would be
therefore better to acclimatise to the heat and the jet lag in the
North, and I think that was a good decision.
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Pai is a small little town, no mass tourism yet, and I hope that the
long curved road will keep it that away. It's 4 hours by bus from
Chiang Mai. Pai has a big variety of guesthouses starting with simple
bamboo-huts at 50 Baht pp, but has also beautiful resorts in the direct
surrounding, up to 700 Baht for a hut. The area has a lot to offer,
this can be discovered by mountainbike or motorbike, or by foot. There
are several good trekkingcompanies here, a lot offer that same 3
day-package that you get in Chiang Mai. But from here you don't have to
sit in the car for so long on the first and last day.
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The LP says that a lot of the morning flights in dry season get delayed
or cancelled because of fog. THIS IS TRUE !! What usually happens is
this: the first plane of 9.30 am gets delayed for about 1 to 2 hours.
THIS MEANS THAT ALSO THE 3rd FLIGHT GETS DELAYED, because this is the
same plane. The second flight of 11.30 am however is another one, and
by 11.30 am the fog has usually gone. So I strongly advise in dry
season to book the second flight which is usually on time, and to avoid
the first and the third flight. Secondly these flights tend to be
heavily booked by tour groups occupying 30 seats, so book ahead,
preferentially from home by internet, you've got nothing to loose with
making a reservation, since you pay once you're in Thailand.
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There's 1 plane a day from CM and from BKK with Bangkok Airways. From
CM, the plane arrives at 12.25, from BKK at 10.20 am. They now have a
good deal saying you can book the BKK-CM flight for 1.400 Bht, and stop
in Sukothai and spend 1 to 3 nights there before flying through (3/99).
The Sukothai airport is really very small with I guess not more then 20
to 50 passengers a day (of the 72 passengers on our plane, only 8 got
off). So, there are no touts or taxi drivers waiting for you there. The
only option you have is taking a shuttle charging between 80 to 160 Bht
pp depending on which hotel you go to.
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