Thailand – Lao – Cambodia 2017

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Another record of my travel, mainly written for me to have some reminders. If somebody finds it amusing or informative than even better. I’ll start with a summary of the whole trip and after that continue by detailed daily description. To sum up; I visited 4 countries (Turkey, Thailand, Lao, Cambodia), made approx. 23.000 km (¾ with the plane, remaining mostly on road with bus-local/VIP/sleeper, van, songthaew, tuk-tuk, even 2 km with the bike, some 750 km with train, metro, BTS, tram and on the water with a slow-speed boat or ferry 400 km, we walked 1-15km per day). On this path we stopped in Istanbul (long history, magnificent architecture and friends), Bangkok (capital of SE Asia, temples, festival, party and friends), Chiang Mai (festival, trekking, elephants, party, new friends), Chiang Rai (white temple, beach, clock tower, and night market), Luang Prabang (boat trip, pool, and bowling, Pak Beng, party with new friends), Vientiane and Pakse we just passed, Siem Reap (Angkor Wat, party with new friends), Sa Kaeo (Nan’s family), Phi Phi (buckets, view and Maya beach), Koh Lanta (resting at Hutyee boat, beach with sunsets and partying with friends). While we saw a lot of architectural and natural wonders, the best part for me was sharing the experience with old and new friends. Thank you, Barbara, for taking chance and traveling with me, Iztok and sister thank you for the ride to the airport, Emorn and Aran thank you for hosting us; Hasan, Bülent, Phuket, Vesna, Nina thank you for taking time to meet with us.

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Money

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Asia is not necessarily cheap (the total sum for 26 days was approx. 2.100 € all included – flight, visas, insurance, accommodation, transport, food, party, tickets, souvenirs, i.e. one night out in Bangkok can cost you 100 €, but also you can eat for 1 €). Also one should take into account exchange rates and commissions for different currencies (TRY – bad XR, a commission from SI bank 2,5 €; THB – 220 THB Thai bank, 2,5-6,5 € SI bank, LAK – worst, on $ they took up to 15% commission, KHR is 4000 to $, on ATM 5 $). The complete cost of changing currencies was approx. 100 €. So you take some cash in €, more cash in $, credit card for online reservation, and debit for ATM.

Transport

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If you would like to see a lot this will take big part of your time and/or money. Long distances you can cover with cheap flights (comfort, speed) or night buses/trains (price, you don’t need a place to sleep). I enjoy more buses for authenticity, but while I’m higher than average I have a problem with leg space, and trains are better usually. If it is possible I always choose a boat trip for a few days, it is nice to experience it. The same is with 2-row pickup (usually for day trips or cross-city transport)/tuk-tuk (bargaining, but you can smoke there) or van (leg space) / taxi (AC). Choosing local (cheap, colorful, tiring) or VIP (food, service, comfort) transports are up to you again, but you should try both. In the end, there is no perfect formula, we got one VIP bus that was really bad, but one local bus was great, empty and I l slept in the last row over 5 seats. Scooter or bike is a great way to explore and be independent, but the first time you ride a bike you should be home and without a hangover.

Food and drinks

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Typical Asian food, rice, vegetables, chicken, or fish. I love Thai cuisine, and I’m not a fan of pad thai. My best was a pomelo salad and tom yum soup. Usually, you drink beer or whiskey/rum with soda.

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Sleeping

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Slept in different places. The average is somewhere around $ 10 a night. There were minimal rooms, sleeping on the bus / train, in private accommodation, …

Daily review

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