TRAVEL BUDDY/ADVICE for SE Asia, September 2012 onwards

Hi,

Im 22 and travelling alone, I'm leaving from London and will be landing in Bangkok in early September, I want to embrace the true backpackers experience so I will be going with no timecales or planned route but here is what I want to go,

Thailand (north & south)
Laos
Vietnam
Cambodia
Malaysia
Singpore
Indonesia
Australia
New Zealand

I know I will need a visa before for Aus/NZ and Vietnam so I will be applying for those while i'm out there but i'm going to just take each day as it comes and go with the flow, mainly because If I really like somewhere then I can just chill there for abit or if someone I meet is moving on then i'm not tied to anything and I can just move on with them.

I'm not going just to party for however long i'm there, I do want to experience different foods, cultures and the way they live but I will also be going to full moon parties and day trips (diving, trekking, tours etc)

will anyone be travelling any of the above from september onwards? if so it would be great to meet up with other travellers.

Also if anyone has any advice this will be great.

Thanks everyone.

Ryan

Hi Ryan,

your plans sound good. love the fact that you are keeping it loose. i am going to be in S.e Asia as of July 18th and will be travelling around that area, including indonisia and malyasia for 4 1/2 months.

very much about the partying, and culture and the freedom of not having to go to work the next day.

PM me if you would be interested in meeting up.

cheers

Will

Hi Will,

Your trip sounds amazing, have you planned anything out? I think the main reason i'm going with the flow is because I have no idea what im doing so dont want any pressure and worrying about flight dates etc.

Have you booked anything yet?

Cheers

Ryan

hey,

All i have booked is my RTW ticket (open! which means i can change flights, airports etc free of charge which is nice) and the first 2 days in a hostel! so there is nothing holding me down at all.

i also have no idea what im going to be doing.....have a rough idea of what i want to do but as i mentioned in my last post i am going to keep it very loose.

what about you? is there anything you have planned? have you bought your ticket yet?

cheers

Will

Hey Ryan sounds perfect exactly what me and my boyfriend are doing well leave gatwick on september 1st for bangkok for three months,hoping to visit Sri Lanka within that time then heading to oz for some months before new Zealand and back home,all we have booked is our tickets,so it's great to have a forum like this to share ideas and plans, are you heading on this huge trip alone?brave! lol,also which size backpack are you planning to take?

By the way I'm Alysha

Hey,

Sounds like you will be there the same time Yeah I am going alone so pretty nervous about it now cant imagine what il be like when I leave haha,

I havent booked a ticket yet not sure what to do as I was thinking of just getting a 1 way ticket to Bangkok, that way i'm not tied to any timescales so if I decide to stay somewhere for longer I dont have to rush through the next place... but if I need proof of onwards travel at the border crossing not sure what il do, maybe get an open return aslong as I can use it when ever then that works

Backpack im not so sure yet, It wont be big. My friend left last year with an average size bag and now he said if he was to do it again he would probably half it and then half it again, you can buy anything you need in Bangkok for half the price

Is there anything you know your going to do when your there?

Hey yeah we will be around at the same time,we have booked our tickets through sta travel its a round the world trip but we paid for unlimited flight changes so you aren't tied down they are really helpful there they give you loads of advice in terms of what we are doing well haven't made a full itinerary yet but we want to start from bangkok head up north to chiang mai, visit Laos and possibly Vietnam, we are going to sri Lanka also as my aunt owns a guest house there so we are going to apply for a 60 day that visa to save the hassle of several border crossings,in terms of oz we have bought a greyhound bus ticket so we can travel the entire east coast of Australia also will be applying for a working holiday visa,need to really do my research for Thailand though! Definitely want to do some trekking

It's so exciting but can imagine nerve wracking if going it alone but it's a once in a lifetime opportunity ...when are you going to book?is it a gap Year for you?

how much was ya rwt ticket ? with multiple stops?

It was just under £1200 and unlimited flight changes were an additional 99quid that's with sta travel x

How old are you if you dont mind me asking ?