Hi,

I plan to head out to Pakistan to visit an uncle, and from there I plan to get a train to India... I hope to spend about 3 months in India and the South East area (Thailand, Laos, Vietname, South West China...). I was wondering if anyone has any tips for this. Are there any places that people would rate as a must see? Any specific things I should be aware of?

How easy is it to travel around by land in the area around Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Kunming... Is it really slow?

Owen

Well, obvious "must-sees" are the Taj Mahal (India) and Angkor Wat (Cambodia). Travel in both Thailand and Malaysia is fast and efficient - there are excellent roads, many bus services and frequent trains.

Things in Cambodia are somewhat slower - even the best roads in the country are no more than a narrow single lane in each direction. Many roads are unbelievably bad (eg. Poipet on the Thai border to Siem Reap via Sisophon). There is only ONE train service in the whole of Cambodia, a ONCE-WEEKLY train from Phnom Penh to Battambang and back again, and it is V*E*R*Y slow. Guide books may say that this train runs alternate days in each direction, but this is not true - it only runs once a week in each direction.

Another way to get around is via low cost ticketless airline Air Asia (www.airasia.com), which lets you fly cheaply and quickly between many cities in SE Asia.

Any specific things I should be aware of?

If you use a train, plane, take a bus - keep your valuables with you at your seat. Don't put anything of value in your checked in luggage.

Make a photo-copy of the information page that is in your passport. This will help when or if your passport comes up missing.

Thailand is easy to travel in. Terrorist activities in some parts of Southern Thailand where you want to go to. Phuket is okay though.

Enjoy life while you still can breathe!

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