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For the next 5-6 months, I will be backpacking solo around South East Asia. From Korea I will be flying into Siem Reap, Cambodia, and starting from there. I am hoping to visit, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar. After that, I will be going further south to Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. I am sure I will not be able to see everything, but I'm reaching for the stars.
I have experience traveling in some of these countries and I do have contacts in all of them. However, I was wondering if any of you TLers are familiar with traveling around these countries as a backpacker/tourist. Any advice and tips would be great! Also, as a Korean citizen, I am unsure how long I can stay within each country on a temporary tourist Visa. In Cambodia, I can only stay 30 days before I have to reapply for a longer stay. Thailand is longer but I am not sure.
Throughout this trip I will be volunteering as well. I hope to learn more about the world outside of my life, and perhaps learn more about myself. I promise to take a lot of pictures.
Once again, advice and tips would be lovely!
Thanks!
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I want to do this so fucking bad  . I'm gonna have to figure out how to do it with a group of people after college or something. I love this idea dude, and go check out some muay thai gyms in thailand and muay lao and the cambodian version too. they are crazy to watch  . Have fun and take some pictures dude. Idk about giving other advice, but enjoy the hell out of this. I'm expecting a come-ing back blog :D.
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United States24771 Posts
I'm sorry that I don't have any advice for you (I don't know much about those areas) but I'm hoping you can explain how this trip will work. I have backpacked, but only for a few days at most.
Can you explain in some detail how much you will carry, how you will resupply, how you will typically sleep, etc? Also, that sounds like a tremendous amount of distance/time to me. What fallbacks will you have in case of emergency?
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I'm pretty sure you'll need a visa ahead of time for Vietnam (I did as a US citizen). I'm guessing you'll probably get in by bus from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City, so you can get one from the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh. It takes 3-4 days.
If you like running and drinking, look up when the Hash House Harriers meet in whatever city you're in at the time. Once (or more) a week a group of people get together, take a bus or something out to the countryside, and follow a trail one of the members had laid the day before, then drink beer and sing offensive songs. It's also a good way to meet people that have been living in that area for a while and can give you good, specific advice.
Do some research on places before you arrive so you can form a plan of the things you'd really like to see/do. I prefer wikitravel, which usually has a lot of good information on sights, activities, food, etc. and has a section about staying safe that'll warn you about any scams or things you need to watch out for.
Other than that, my best advice is to meet and talk to other expats/travelers and also locals and find out what they like about a certain place and then going and experiencing it for yourself.
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Are you going to penisular malaysia or to east malaysia?
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On June 17 2013 12:50 Golgotha wrote:
Also, as a Korean citizen, I am unsure how long I can stay within each country on a temporary tourist Visa. In Cambodia, I can only stay 30 days before I have to reapply for a longer stay. Thailand is longer but I am not sure.
Thanks!
I am fairly certain South-Koreans can stay in Thailand for up to 90 days without a visa, and vice versa as well. It would be a good idea to confirm with the embassy websites for each country you plan to visit though.
I'm not sure what kind of advices are you looking for mainly, but I'm not experienced at all with backpacking anyhow. Note that this time of the year (June-October) is the monsoon season, many popular destinations in the Andaman Sea will be closed due safety issues.
This sounds like an amazing trip that will forever hold a spot in your memories, ahh it's going to be wonderful I'm sure.
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United States24771 Posts
OP, any plans to weigh in on this some more? Or was this a blog-n-run!?
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Bring a sharp pocket knife like a leatherman just incase you have to cut your arm(s) off, or get kidnapped! lol jk
Have fun! Take lots and lots of pictures!
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On June 20 2013 06:51 micronesia wrote:
OP, any plans to weigh in on this some more? Or was this a blog-n-run!?
His name must be Zac. Because only a blob would blog-n-run.
+ Show Spoiler +
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there are some places in malaysia that is experiencing really bad haze that's coming from forest burning in indonesia right now. my home singapore is getting it really bad so i suggest you stay away from some of those places for now until the haze subsides.
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EPT![[image loading]](http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/iEi06JJ_c60/mqdefault.jpg)
