toyota hiace myanmar

What are your recommendations/advice for a 6 month trip to South East Asia?

If you have six months you should attempt the legendary trail Australians and New Zealanders have been doing since the 1960s. Used to be Bali to Bangkok or The Road to Manadaly ( Bali to Yangon) or now its Bali to Hanoi Bali a climatise - side trip to Flores Ferry to Java by city to city, volcanos by volcano, terraced vallies, jungle walks, by mini bus/ tuktuk across Java Jogjakarta - rest Jakarta - this is an Asian Capital get in you Choice Then either over to Singapore via a resort Island - then train up the peninsula of Malaysia or Up Sumatra to Medan visiting jungles and parks engaging with interesting minority peoples Medan to Malaysia fly or ferry (if it is running) it is close. Mulluca, KL, Genting Highlands, Penang, up the coast into Thailand. Choice Turn left in you are a full moon, duff duff beach party person and head towards Koh Samui or Continue up the coast to Krabi and the small islands for natural beauty, kyaking etc Head up to Bangkok rest relax and enjoy get out to ancient capital, do the temple thing enjoy amazing food, river boat rides and big city stuff. Train to Chang Mai and Chang Rai treking and arts Choice Then you need to make a call, Myanmar, Yangon, Manadaly and hipster credits for the road less travelled or up north along the Mekong and up to Vientien in Loas ( this will cut time off from the BKK, PHN, SGN HAN leg ) or Back down to the coast and East skipping Pattaya toward the Indo China head down the for a bit of Island hopping towards Cambodia Koh Samet is the first port of call and they get better and better as you head towards Siem Rip in Cambodia. Seim Rip is a great coastal town to plan relax and shop. You are an expert now and you have been on the road for 5 months, follow your nose along the back packer trail through Angkor and Phnom Phen and into Vietnam following the coast and the train from South to North. Finish with spending a little money on a better quality Ham Long Bay Cruise and dont forget a cooking course in Hua Hin. Note : You could in theory get Loas and Myanmar in if you whistle stoped a few places and wanted to focus on seeing it all, Air Asia has great cheap flights to bounce between cities, you dont have to do it old skool in the Toyota HiAce Van and on the train. Tip,, do not aim to arrive in Northern Vietnam after 25 October it can be cold and rainy. In six months you are going to hit the monsoon somewhere, get over it before you board the plane. If you are female travel safe: Take your own tampons, you are not getting them outside the biggest cities, if you are in an Urban Chemist it is polite to ask for the female assistant rather than cause embarrassment among conservative chemists Remember the pill is unreliable with tropical medicines and when you have bad guts (which you will get) If you want do that thing don’t buy condoms in an open air market, they may be degraded by high UV, take you own. At least back packer/traveller a month in diagnosed in Australia with HIV from a tattoo they got in Asia and dozens and dozens are undiagnosed and hundreds get Hepatitis A, B and C - DONT. Keep your the top of your arms, chest and thighs covered outside the beach in Malaysia and Indonesia, that is men and women but especially women, it is disrespectful to most Muslims male and female. In the country women do not touch men even in an informal ad hoc way, it can lead to embarrassment for them (most westerns don’t care so it does not effect them). Don’t try to go in a Hindu or Buddhist Temple / Wat with shoes on, short shorts, sleeveless tops, especially a non touristy one, it is highly disrespectful .