BrnGrl

Hey all, I'm planning a trip next year for about 6-8 months throughout asia pacific and south east asia.

the plan is to start in Auckland NZ, work my way down then fly over to Melbourne and then travel up the Eastern coast of OZ. Then its off to indonesia, malaysia, thailand, cambodia, laos, vietnam and finally India.

I'v done a bit of travelling but never more then for 5-6 weeks at a time. Any suggestions/recommendations/tips on discounted flights, accomodations, traveling within countries, between countries, money, packing, local events, sights, etc would be really helpful

Also i've got quite a few frequent flyer miles and was hoping to use them for an around the world ticket or for atleast my flight to NZ and then my flight back home. If anyone's done this before or knows how to get the most out of my miles i'd really appreciate it.

Thanks!

Cynthetiq

Hawker stalls are the cheapest place to eat. they don't look like much and can be in a wet market where it's a bit odoriferous but the food can't be beat in flavor and in price.

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will57

BrnGrl,

Pack very light for your trip over. You can buy clothes in Asia for a fraction of the cost here. You might want to check with your Dr. about some booster shots since you are covering so much ground. Check your routing. It seems that you are back tracking a bit. Maybe you want to go to Viet Nam from Australia then to Laos , Cambodia , Thailand , Malaysia , Indonesia and finally on to India. You could then fly west to Europe and on home. How are you going to Auckland ? I just assumed that you were departing from the west coast of the USA.

BrnGrl

The plan was to fly from the West coast of USA to Auckland. I think regardless of which way I go i'll do a bit of backtracking around thailand, cambodia, laos and vietnam.

This is the way I was imagining it:
Auckland down to Queenstown to Stewart Island
Queenstown over to Melbourne, up towards Syndey, Cannes and then Darwin
From Darwin over to Indonesia (Flores, Sulawesi, bali, jakarta, etc)
From Indonesia to Malaysia a day or 2 in singapore with some friends who live out there
The southern portion of Thailand (did the northern part last year)
After this i'm not sure exactly what the best order is, maybe vietnam, cambodia (ankor wat) and laos.
Then 2-3 months in India

I completely forgot about immunization shots, i know some of them require shots every 6 months, thanks!

will57

BrnGrl,

Check out going west from India to Europe and the on to the US. That way you can say you went around the world. I know Northwest Airlines and their Partner KLM have flights from India to Amsterdam and on to the U.S. . Why are you staying so long in India ? It's a great place but the poverty can get to you. I like Mumbai ( Bombay ) better than Dehli. If you have been to Thailand before , you know what to expect. I've never been down south but I hear the beaches are nice but there are more tourists there. Thailand would be a good base to travel to the other countries you mentioned. I'd be a little leary of Cambodia. Laos and VietNam are fine and friendly to Americans. I hope to get to VietNam sometime next year myself. The first time I flew to Bangkok I felt funny flying directly over DaNang and talking to Ho Chi Minh ATC. I felt like I should have had a few 500 pounders under each wing. On my travels over there I never got any shots but you are going deep " in country". Good luck and keep us updated on your plans. You really have me fired up to get back to Bangkok.

BrnGrl

Hi,

I think I may head to england after india for a few weeks and then back to nyc.

I'm figuring a few months for india because i've only been to the west, northwestern cities where i have some family. i would really like to see the rest of it. its been 10 years since i've been but im sure the poverty hasn't gotten any better. i'm hoping that i'll be able to deal with it.

I was going to rule out cambodia all together but i really would like to see angor wat. i've heard such wonderful things about vietnam, had a few friends go earlier this year and they just loved it... the food the people, were just brilliant.

I guess its still early to plan the packing but i'm just trying to figure out what i should get done and by when. I mean i figure I should have my basic flight plans and arrangements made by january or so. Beyond that i guess I have some time.

Thanks for the responses, i'll keep you posted with the plans