# Best Travel means in SE Asia



## Davidseattle (Aug 9, 2009)

Hello There,
I am landing in HCMN City in early August and then going on to BKK , Vientienne, Cambodia. Any experienced suggestions are appreciated for travel chioces, train, bus , air.???
Is Lao Air reliable? Is Kayak.com the best source for air fares?

Thanks much
Davidseattle


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## Serendipity2 (Feb 22, 2009)

Davidseattle said:


> Hello There,
> I am landing in HCMN City in early August and then going on to BKK , Vientienne, Cambodia. Any experienced suggestions are appreciated for travel chioces, train, bus , air.???
> Is Lao Air reliable? Is Kayak.com the best source for air fares?
> 
> ...



Davidseattle,

You can travel by bus from Saigon/HCMC all the way to Bangkok via Cambodia. It's easy and a great way to see the countries. I'm pretty certain you can travel from Phnom Penh to Vientiane by bus but let me offer a better suggestion...

Travel from Saigon to Phnom Penh by bus, then by boat from Phnom Pehn to Vientiane and Mai Sai in the NE corner of Thailand. While in Mai Sai you can walk across the Friendship Bridge into Thakhilek, Myanmar [Burma] which has a huge open air market and some great buys. Then finally by bus on to Bangkok. I've not traveled by boat on the Mekong but you can catch a boat right in downtown Phnom Penh. The Mekong goes right by the hotel I stayed at in Vientiane and I'm pretty certain it or another will carry passengers upriver to Mai Sai as well although I couldn't find a link. Here is a link that will give you some info 

TRANSPORT PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA


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## Davidseattle (Aug 9, 2009)

Serendipity2 said:


> Davidseattle,
> 
> You can travel by bus from Saigon/HCMC all the way to Bangkok via Cambodia. It's easy and a great way to see the countries. I'm pretty certain you can travel from Phnom Penh to Vientiane by bus but let me offer a better suggestion...
> 
> ...


Thanks Serendipity2
Any tips on currency to be carried? Amounts? Are there ATM's, Do credit card function? I was thinking , NOT knowing, to go from HCMN City to Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and back to Hanoi.
Is bus travel reliable? What about budget Airlines? Blue Star et All?
What about Visas? Thailand is open I believe for 30 days , Laos? Cambodia? Costs?
Can you recommend an Informative site on Visas in these countries?
Does this make any sense? All experiences advise is greatly appreciated.
Davidseattle


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## Guest (Jul 13, 2010)

Air Asia is pretty cheap. Dollars are good for Cambodia, they are accepted just about everywhere. You will need a lot of small denomination notes. Visa on arrival in Cambodia I forget for how long (payment in dollars). Same in Laos. Bear in mind that if you enter Thailand via a land crossing the VOA is only for 15 days (30 days if arriving by air). Have the dollars available to pay for the visa when you arrive in Cambodia, or an unscrupulous official may give you a very unfavourable rate for Thai baht/euros whatever.


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## Serendipity2 (Feb 22, 2009)

Davidseattle said:


> Thanks Serendipity2
> Any tips on currency to be carried? Amounts? Are there ATM's, Do credit card function? I was thinking , NOT knowing, to go from HCMN City to Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and back to Hanoi.
> Is bus travel reliable? What about budget Airlines? Blue Star et All?
> What about Visas? Thailand is open I believe for 30 days , Laos? Cambodia? Costs?
> ...


Davidseattle,

Carry US$ and lots of small denominations - $1 & $5 bills. You'll need a visa for Vietnam before you arrive and it's about $100. Check on the Internet. Laos will cost $25 for a visa, at least if you arrive by aiar and Cambodia charges $20 for entry and another $20 departure - again by aircraft. I'm not sure if a border crossing will cost the same but think it will. Thai visa you can get on arrival but unless arriving by air I think you only get 15 days. Hop on the Internet and check visa requirements for each country. Check directly on that country's homepage and you don't need a 'facilitator' to get a visa. Maybe for Vietnam but as I remember I applied directly. Make sure you bring several passport size photos. In the major cities you will have access to ATM machines and can use credit cards but out in the hinterlands cash is best. You can only use local currency in Thailand [baht] and Vietnam [dong] but Cambodia and Laos will gladly take your US$. 

You can probably fly directly from, say, Saigon to Phnom Penh and from Phnom Penh to Bangkok but it's probably a lot cheaper to fly Air Asia to your destinations. But only if you book a few months in advance. As they fill those seats the price goes up. The other aspect of that is that all flights are to/from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia but a great place to visit too.

Serendipity2


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## Davidseattle (Aug 9, 2009)

*Thank You*



frogblogger said:


> Air Asia is pretty cheap. Dollars are good for Cambodia, they are accepted just about everywhere. You will need a lot of small denomination notes. Visa on arrival in Cambodia I forget for how long (payment in dollars). Same in Laos. Bear in mind that if you enter Thailand via a land crossing the VOA is only for 15 days (30 days if arriving by air). Have the dollars available to pay for the visa when you arrive in Cambodia, or an unscrupulous official may give you a very unfavourable rate for Thai baht/euros whatever.


Mice Person you are!!
Thank you


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