Hot answers tagged southeast-asia
14
The options are:
Tourist visa in your home country (1-3 entries, 60+30 days on each entry)
Documentation is not particularly difficult. Exact requirements vary depending on the consulate, but usually it's a 1-page application form, two photos, copy of confirmed flight itinerary and a recent bank statement showing some minimal balance ($1500 or so). Visa ...
11
Many Thai people vacation in Malaysia, it's not too expensive for them and they still feel at home there. So just as @MastaBaba suggested I would also suggest Malaysia. Many areas are very similar to Thailand and communication is not too much of a problem. Oh and you might poke in to Singapore while you're there to really fill up the meter for your ...
10
Bali (an island of Indonesia) is similar to Thailand in all aspects.
Bali is cheap.
10 Euros are basically 124.000 Rupiah. Native usually spends only 20.000 Rupiah for their lunch/dinner. It means You can live and eat like a king.
Incredible beaches
Bali has a lot of beautiful beaches. Try to search for Nusa Dua/ Sanur beach in Google.
Stay away from ...
10
Yes, it is possible to hire motorbikes in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. I haven't done this myself but some friends did. It costs about 200-800 baht per day to hire one depending on the type of motorcycle you get. It might make sense to buy one from an expat or a another traveller, then sell it when (if?) you go back to Thailand. You will definitely need to have ...
10
Take a look at http://www.claudiocorallo.com/
His story is amazing, and he is probably one of the best cacao producers in the world.
They do the whole growing of cacao to sell and they produce their own chocolate also.
I know of a friend that went to Claudios farm in S. Tome e Principe and they have a guided tour where they explain the whole process of ...
9
The same page on Wikitravel as referenced in Zeocrash's answer continues:
As of March 2007, travel beyond Kengtung to the rest of Myanmar is not
possible, even with a valid tourist visa
Kengtung is a town several hours by bus from the Thai border. We stayed there for a few days and then took a domestic flight to Inle Lake. You can also fly to ...
8
For Laos, Canadian citizens require a Single Entry visa, valid for up to 60 days.
Cambodia you require a single entry visa, valid for 90 days.
However, in both cases, while they're valid for 60 and 90 days respectively, this is just the period after application during which you enter, and you can only actually stay in each country for 30 days, or when ...
8
Well according to Wikitravel:
The nearest Cambodian town is Stung Treng, and the border is a 90-minute speedboat or bus ride away. Note that the border is lightly used, with almost no onward public transport available at the border (therefore book through transport from Stung Treng to Ban Nakasang for Si Phan Don/Don Det) and both customs officers and ...
8
Many tourists wishing to stay in Thailand longer than 30 days given on the standard tourist visa (on incoming flights) do 'visa runs' to nearby countries. You are correct that overland entries only get a two-week visa instead of a month-long visa, but sometimes you need to evaluate what works out cheaper for you.
You'll obviously be looking for the cheapest ...
8
I did feel that major cities in Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh, Ha Noi) felt touristy, but considerably less compared to Thailand. Bag-snatching is somewhat common in the nightlife areas in Ho Chi Minh City but otherwise I didn't feel unsafe in any cities I visited.
While I haven't been there, Ha Long Bay is particularly well-known for its beauty and there are enough ...
8
I only have a partial answer. If you are in Europe and you lack the funds, a substitute for the sensation of chocolate and cacao can be found in the Chocolate museum (DE) in Cologne, Germany. They actually have a greenhouse with cacao trees. Although you will not be allowed to pick them.
You can also go to Suriname. There is no commercial plantation ...
8
If you are really on the lookout for cacao and chocolate form start to finish, Chuao in Venezuela is the place to go.
They do not have an official 'assist on the plantation' arrangement, but local life revolves around the process, and you will certainly be able to see every part of it, and taste the products at various stages.
In my opinion, the BEST ...
7
Like Jonik said, the WIFI usually only covers hotels, cafes and malls (shopping centres).
In Singapore however, the coverage is bigger, you can get WIFI freely across the island using Wireless@SG. The registration and usage are free. However the bandwidth really depends on the location.
In Malaysia / Indonesia, it would be better to buy a temporary 3G ...
7
it seems that it's very dificult to enter Burma by land, legally. As for illegally, well burmese prisons aren't particularly nice.
Hopping across the Thai border into
Myanmar's border towns is easy, but
crossing into or out of Myanmar proper
by land varies between difficult and
impossible. Visa-free entry is
possible at some border crossings, ...
7
I think to get from Saigon to Kampot, you have to go through Phnom Penh. The main roads and bus lines go that way. Even if there are more direct roads, I doubt they can be used by buses because of the condition of many bridges in the area.
Usually you can always get a private taxi to take you anywhere, but I doubt you'll find someone in Saigon driving you ...
6
Mark's answer covers most parts so I'll throw in a couple of notes from my experience:
The on-arrival visa is a single-entry visa; the same visa won't allow you to get back from Laos. You could get an ordinary visa or a business visa (the type 'E' that Mark refers to) but by default these are single entry, and you need to get an extension to get multiple ...
6
All you have to do is contact a travel agency to file the paperwork on your behalf several months before you plan to enter the country. If coming for business, the company you are visiting (or their attorney) can also file the paperwork for you. The program is designed to make it extremely easy to enter the country, and it has been working rather well.
If ...
6
In Indonesia, we hunt wild boar since it's considered as a pest to our padi field.
If you interested you can contact Perbakin(Indonesian Shooting Association) Medan that holds Hunting Safari regularly, to control the wild boar population.
Here is the name and the address :
Sekretariat Pengda Perbakin Sumatera Utara
Jl Sei Deli 14-16 Medan
Telp number ...
6
I have never done such a trip, but you should have a look at train lines.
I think the Transsiberian has a route linking Moscow to Beijing.
Then, to progress further west, it depends on which European country you wish to reach. The Moscow-Berlin-Paris train leaves several times a week and takes 38 hours, including one night on board.
A good website I ...
6
Well a good way is to look for a site which specializes in independent reviews.
One such which specializes in accommodation and dining, is "tripadvisor".
I wasn't sure if they also covered reviews of tours but just in case I Googled for tripadvisor thedragontour and indeed they do cover it:
The Dragon Trip ... Ranked #15 of 39 tours in Shanghai
Now ...
6
This question over on Security Stack Exchange focuses on business travelers, but has some useful information including:
Carry as little data as possible over borders.
Keep a backup of your data elsewhere.
Encrypt the data on your device.
Protect the data on your devices with passwords.
6
If you go to Kuta, which is the party capital of Bali, you can easily stay up all Saturday night (or any night) clubbing. There are many bars and clubs around.
Considering you only come for two days, you don't have to bring a lot of luggage and can leave it at the clerk room of a club.
The climate on Bali is very similar to Singapore, so you can also ...
6
Since you consider Myanmar difficult, the best route would be:
Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, China. There, avoiding Tibet and Qinghai completely, going through Yunnan, Chengdu, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Urumuqi, Kashgar and from there into Pakistan. The interesting part here is that you basically travel along the silk road, which is very interesting. I did that 2 years ...
5
Jetstar Bali to Perth is around 70.4 USD/52 Euro (plus hidden cost).
Since I think Denpasar Bali International Airport is one of the nearest international Airport from Australia, I believe this price is the cheapest.
Alternatively you can try AirAsia Bali to Perth, it cost around 77 USD at the same time(15 March)
5
One example in Papua New Guinea of sustainable hunting is the Tree Kangaroo. Not exactly big game, but it's different, and fits how the locals look after their environment and culture.
For information, take a look at this link.
5
Obviously you want to avoid holidays of basically any form - Thanksgiving style holidays are the worst, but even long weekends, school holidays, etc will increase demand, and thus prices. Beyond that, there's not a lot at the time-of-month level that affects prices.
However day of week is a different story. In general, airlines will have cheaper fares on ...
5
To avoid your laptop from being stolen I would recommend to use a laptop locker (Kensington lock). I use it quite a lot and it is really comfortable. It looks like this:
Basically you can avoid having someone who grabs your laptop and runs away. The cable is quite strong, it is not so easy to cut it off.
If you're worried about your private data in your ...
5
If you want to stay in temple, you can stay in Brahmavihara Arama temple. The temple is located at Village Banjar Tegeha, Banjar, Buleleng - Bali ( 8°12' Lat 114°58' Long ).
However you need to attend the meditation+dhamma(buddhist teaching) class from 4.00 am - 09.00 pm. But since you said you don't have real purpose, I think it does not matter.
The class ...
5
Lombok, Indonesia would be a good option.
It has almost same characteristic as Bali, however it's less crowded than Yogyakarta and Bali. Living cost should be cheaper than Bali, so 500 SGD is more than enough.
If you like to live in secluded island you can try Gili Trawangan, and for hiking I recommend Mount Rinjani.
5
Ok, Since I travel to Sabah a lot, here is my take on your plan.
Fly from KL to KK and make that your start/end point.
Explore KK Town
Check out the islands (Manukan and Sapi which are only 15 minutes from town)
Explore Kinabalu National Park (2 hrs away from KK)
Fly KK to Sandakan (45 mins)
Explore Sandakan, filled with Eco Tourism. Places like Sepilok ...
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