On the 18th of September we met the end of the S.E. Asia segment of our trip which included Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to get to Laos but hope to on a future trip.
We had an awesome experience while in S.E. Asia, we did all that we set out to do (and them some), stayed healthy and been blessed with great weather, except Koh Chang where it rained for days and days. We’ve written about the highlights in other posts so this is just about logistics and a little info on the next segment of our journey.
Nuts and Bolts of this Segment
Lodging - In total we spent 44 nights in S.E. Asia; 23 in Thailand, 14 in Vietnam and 7 in Cambodia. Of these nights nine of them were spent in five star hotels and the rest predominantly in three star hotels. Our average cost per-night for a hotel room was just under $50 USD which matches our original budget. Most rooms were booked online using services like Hotels.com or Agoda.com. We could have easily stayed in much-much cheaper hotels through-out but our goal was to stay in the best hotels we could get for our money, and I believe we succeeded in that.
Transportation – We used Vietnam Airlines to get us from place to place in Vietnam at a very cheap price. Booking directly on VietnamAirlines.com saved us quite a bit of money, in the end our average plane ticket in Vietnam cost $35 USD. In Thailand we used Thai Airways and buses to get around. Thai Airways is definitely more expensive that Vietnam Airlines but their Intra S.E. Asia flight awards are very cheap. For example, we only used 10,000 miles each to fly between Chiang Mai and Hanoi, a flight that would have cost us a few hundred dollars. Getting into and out of Cambodia was done by bus and was a terrible experience. If we ever come back to Cambodia we will definitely be flying.
Budget – We’re right on track with our $50 USD average daily budget for this portion of the trip, in fact we’re a couple dollars under budget. If this was a shorter trip we could have easily purchased 10x the amount we did.
Lodging - In total we spent 44 nights in S.E. Asia; 23 in Thailand, 14 in Vietnam and 7 in Cambodia. Of these nights nine of them were spent in five star hotels and the rest predominantly in three star hotels. Our average cost per-night for a hotel room was just under $50 USD which matches our original budget. Most rooms were booked online using services like Hotels.com or Agoda.com. We could have easily stayed in much-much cheaper hotels through-out but our goal was to stay in the best hotels we could get for our money, and I believe we succeeded in that.
Transportation – We used Vietnam Airlines to get us from place to place in Vietnam at a very cheap price. Booking directly on VietnamAirlines.com saved us quite a bit of money, in the end our average plane ticket in Vietnam cost $35 USD. In Thailand we used Thai Airways and buses to get around. Thai Airways is definitely more expensive that Vietnam Airlines but their Intra S.E. Asia flight awards are very cheap. For example, we only used 10,000 miles each to fly between Chiang Mai and Hanoi, a flight that would have cost us a few hundred dollars. Getting into and out of Cambodia was done by bus and was a terrible experience. If we ever come back to Cambodia we will definitely be flying.
Budget – We’re right on track with our $50 USD average daily budget for this portion of the trip, in fact we’re a couple dollars under budget. If this was a shorter trip we could have easily purchased 10x the amount we did.
What’s NextWe are now in chaotic Kathmandu, Nepal. We just finished a 12 day tour consisting of trekking, a jungle safari and rafting. This was our first group tour of the trip and we think it really well not to mention all the new friends we’ve met. We have quite a few things to write from our experience here in Nepal so please stay tuned. From here we fly to the Maldives via Sri Lanka for what we hope is the most beautiful and romantic stop of our year long honeymoon. We have seven nights enjoying island life in the Maldives before we’re off to a Tiger Safari in India.
Thanks so much to everyone reading this blog. We hope you find the posts interesting and always welcome any ideas or comments you have.
Cheers for Now -
Pamela and Dave
Cheers for Now -
Pamela and Dave
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| Hangin Out in Thailand |
Awesome, you two!
ReplyDeleteTerri and I are so very proud of how you are managine AND ENJOYING your honeymoon.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry we didn't connect 'telephony-wise' on our Thursday evening. I was about to stand, yet again, in front of another Hi Def, digital camera(s) for a T.V. show that I can only reveal will premiere in November. I still don't know if my parts will appear in the first episode. I'll try to reveal more when I learn which episode I will be featured in.
I am adding more videos to my Youtube Channel at;
http://Youtube.com/user/Escolarfilms and I hope they don't embarrass my sons and daughters-in-law too much.
Dave has a tiny bit and a few words right at the end of "The Assassin and the Crock Hunter" and Dan is featured in "Tico Tico No Fuba" as the extremely 'cute' pipe player.
It looks like the Wells family are having some very interesting adventures in several places all over the planet. Terri and I are looking forward to either being the proud parents/pit crew help with Dan and Rainbow's WRX racer but I don't think I am young enough to enjoy riding in their newest car getting up to 140 mph in the 2011 Subaru. We'll leave that up to the younger Wells'.
We love you. We miss you!! We hope every day from now on, in your honeymoon is better than the day before, knowing you have already had a fantastic, lives changing beggining to your married life.
Love, Dad-Mark