35 votes
Accepted

Direct flights between SE/E Asia and South America

I'm afraid you can stop hoping, because with current airplane technology, direct flights between East or Southeast Asia and South America are effectively impossible. The maximum practical range of ...
lambshaanxy's user avatar
  • 99.3k
31 votes

Does anyone recognize this temple in SE Asia?

Looks like Wat Chaiwatthanaram in Ayutthaya, Thailand, north of Bangkok: (courtesy Justin Vidano via Wikimedia) While the tubular central Khmer-style prang does indeed look a bit like Angkor Wat, ...
lambshaanxy's user avatar
  • 99.3k
17 votes
Accepted

Asian ladies and older man grabbing cheeks and slapping butts for children

The article Don’t Touch My Child! Lessons from Asia by Cordelia Newlin de Rojas at InCultureParent.com article may be of interest. I can’t speak for all Asian cultures but in Singapore and Thailand, ...
Cornelissen's user avatar
17 votes

How to clean yourself after you've used this style of western toilet in India?

It's easy, use the hose! while you're sitting on the toilet seat, direct the hose to your private area (do not insert it there, of course), press and get yourself cleaned. This answer explains how to ...
Nean Der Thal's user avatar
15 votes

Direct flights between SE/E Asia and South America

Is going via Australia or New Zealand not an option? Qantas 27 runs direct from Sydney to Santiago, Chile every other day, while LAN Chile 800 runs the same route daily with an intermediate stop in ...
UnrecognizedFallingObject's user avatar
8 votes

Are there budget repositioning cruises from anywhere in East or Southeast Asia to Australia later in 2017?

No, you're not going to find anything cost-competitive with LCCs, meaning a few hundred dollars. (That would barely get you from Sydney to Brisbane.) You can count the number of SE Asia to Australia ...
lambshaanxy's user avatar
  • 99.3k
6 votes

What are the recommended vaccines for travel to Thailand?

Britons can look to the NHS's Fit for Travel website, which provides detailed health recommendations for most countries. NHS recommended immunisations for Thailand include the following: Confirm ...
choster's user avatar
  • 42.9k
5 votes

Which cities are connected by direct flights between Mexico and Asia?

I plugged "Mexico, anywhere" to "China, anywhere" for a random Friday in August into Skyscanner, and it only throws up one-stop connections - no direct flights. Ditto going to South Korea, India, ...
Andrew is gone's user avatar
5 votes
Accepted

How to judge a budget hotel's safety standards?

beforehand read reviews and search them for your keywords, e.g. "fire alarm", "escape routes", ... check the hotel website for information on the property and make your own guesses. I would be more ...
mts's user avatar
  • 26.2k
5 votes

Motorcycle insurance in Southeast Asia

Short answer: travel insurance that you purchase beforehand from a reputable organization can cover you in case of accident on a two-wheeled vehicle (and possibly in case of loss). Long answer: Tons ...
lydiat's user avatar
  • 151
5 votes

Is the Lao / Myanmar border slated to open soon for foreigners?

Laos-Myanmar bridge awaits juristic acts Laos-Myanmar Friendship Bridge in Luang Namtha province in the northern parts of the country has yet to become an official international border as the ...
Auke Koopmans's user avatar
5 votes

Can I participate in the farming/harvesting of chocolate/cacao as a tourist anywhere in the world?

Since 1978 Côte d'Ivoire has been the world's biggest producer of cocoa with production of 1.65 million tonnes, more than nearby Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Togo combined (1.55 million tonnes) and ...
pnuts's user avatar
  • 28.3k
5 votes
Accepted

Which is the most obscure border crossing available to foreigners with VOA from Thailand to Laos?

As of 2023 (unofficial source, but unfortunately official sources for Laos are often non-existent or useless), VOA is available at the following Thai-Lao border crossings: Chiang Khong – Houixay, ...
lambshaanxy's user avatar
  • 99.3k
4 votes

How to stay in Thailand for more than 30 days?

Nearly all countries who qualify for Tourist Visa Exempt (VE) entry now get 30 days permission to stay, whether land or air arrival; land arrival for VE are limited to 2 per calendar year. If you use ...
Jon Grah's user avatar
  • 1,404
4 votes

Travelling from Rabbit Island (Cambodia) to Can Tho (Vietnam)

OK, we tried ourselves... From Rabbit Island we took the boat to Kep (about 30 mins). From there we took a tuk-tuk to the Vietnamese border ($15, about 45 mins) We crossed the border on foot (without ...
Grzenio's user avatar
  • 16.5k
4 votes

Which floating villages/markets in Cambodia/Vietnam are most suitable for a touring family with small children in February?

I can only offer information (from 2014) about the floating village of Prek Toal, at the mouth of the Sangkae river (into the Tonle Sap). I found it absolutely fascinating to see how these people live ...
Michael Borgwardt's user avatar
4 votes

Getting from Laos to Hoi An, Vietnam

I took a bus from Hanoi to Laos back in 2011. The bus took around 23 hours. This includes maybe an hour at the border as most tourists needed to get Laos visa. The road taken was through very steep ...
mega_creamery's user avatar
4 votes

Direct flights between SE/E Asia and South America

The only flight I know of along that route is on AeroMexico; Narita - Mexico City (AMX57), Mexico City - Lima (AMX48). That is a nearly 12 hour flight on the 787-800. Other than that, all other ...
Burhan Khalid's user avatar
4 votes

Best way to travel to and inside Vietnam

Trains do not connect all places in Vietnam - there's effectively one line that runs from Hanoi to HCMC along the coast for most of the route, and a couple of branch lines (to Lao Cai and Hai Phong) ...
CMaster's user avatar
  • 13k
4 votes

What are the recommended vaccines for travel to Thailand?

CDC has pages on this for many countries. For Thailand, they recommend Hepatitis-A and Typhoid, in addition to the "routine ones" everybody should have. And then, depending on where you go and what ...
WGroleau's user avatar
  • 9,336
4 votes

Return ticket from USA, is it necessary to be for country of origin?

The US has no return ticket requirement except for travelers using the Visa Waiver Program. Even for those travelers, the ticket only needs to be valid to transport the traveler to a destination ...
phoog's user avatar
  • 131k
4 votes
Accepted

How to know which East Asian country accepts tourists who resided in Thailand since the Covid-19 pandemic started?

You can look at https://travelbans.org/crossing-rules/?from=Thailand to see which countries are accessible from Thailand, or https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/international-travel-document-news/...
Franck Dernoncourt's user avatar
3 votes

Motorcycle insurance in Southeast Asia

Loss of the bike? I have never heard of such a thing in thing in Southeast Asia, nor would it be a good idea. Vietnam has a sketchily enforced limit on the displacement of motorcycles, around 150cc, ...
Michael Lorton's user avatar
3 votes

Indian travelling by road through Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam

For the visa, you might get the visa on arrival in Laos or Cambodia but have to get the approval letter for it before getting into Vietnam. You should start from Laos Airport (Vientiane or Luang ...
Proud Vietnam Travel's user avatar
3 votes
Accepted

Thailand customs and round-trip to Hong Kong

If the items are for your personal use, especially if they are unboxed, and you will be departing the country with them, then it is very unlikely that you would attract any attention. The ...
PassKit's user avatar
  • 1,314

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