(One fun way to get up to Chiang Mai is the overnight train. a shopping mall food court at a place like MBK, where you can sample just about any Thai dish imaginableįrom the Thai capital, you can travel up to the northern city of Chiang Mai or down to some of the beaches, depending on your inclination.Soul Food Mahanakorn restaurant in Thonglor.Lumphini Park - great for a walk or jog, especially in the mornings and evenings, when it’s a bit cooler.Smalls, a new-ish neighborhood bar on Soi Suan Phlu.the roofop bar at the Banyan Tree hotel.the restaurant Arun Residence, from which you can take in Wat Arun, across the Chao Phraya.Chatuchak Market, the famous weekend bazaar, great for shopping - or simply people watching via the handful of bars and restaurants there.The Jim Thomspon House - an excellent first-day-in-Bangkok place to visit, with a lovely shaded restaurant where you can have a cool drink after the tour.Those who do even a little bit of investigating will a find a much more complex place than the one featured in movies like “The Beach” and “The Hangover Part 2.”Ī few of my favorite Bangkok destinations and activities include: has food and lodging that are relatively inexpensive.it’s right in the middle of the region, with good transport links.For longer trips, use Bangkok as a BaseĪgain, this may seem obvious, but a good approach, especially if you’re traveling on a limited budget or have a a lot of time - as in, months - and a flexible schedule, is to fly into the Thai capital. (This is, of course, generally good travel advice wherever you’re going: It’s better to focus on one or two destinations and explore them well than to visit as many places as possible but only get to know them superficially.) 2. Longer than two weeks is even better, if you can swing it. If you’re coming from the U.S., for example, you really need two weeks at a minimum, otherwise you’ll be jet lagged much of the time you’re here, and will simply spend too much time on the airplane compared to your time actually on the ground. Transportation links are pretty good, but things can take a little longer in Southeast Asia, which is part of its charm anyway. This is a no-brainer for seasoned travelers, but it bears repeating.Īs Rolf Potts says in his excellent 2002 book “Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel,” few regions in the world offer such diversity of culture, within such close proximity, that can be visited as easily and cheaply as Southeast Asia.īut don’t hurry to try to do too much all at once, with a rapid-fire itinerary like you would compile for a trip to the U.S. Also, a warning that things change quickly: small, once-quiet towns become overrun (I’m looking at you, Pai, Thailand) and cool new bars and restaurants pop up unexpectedly where they once didn’t exist.I’m also throwing in a few specifics, of course, but this post is meant to be a starting point for trip research and planning. You will certainly be able to find specific tips by simply Googling your potential destinations and interests, but what I’ve aimed to do here is provide mostly my big-picture thoughts - the most important principles you should know when planning a trip. The Web abounds with detailed suggestions on where to go and what do in the region.I spent a decade living and reporting in Southeast Asia: eight years in Bangkok followed by just over two years in Singapore.īetween work trips and vacations, I’ve visited every sizable country in the region, and most on several occasions: Myanmar, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.įriends sometimes ask me for tips on visiting the region, so I decided to compile my advice here, in one place. ![]() Don’t Overpack, But Bring the Right Stuff.If You Must, SIM Cards are Wi-Fi Widely Available.Next, Look Beyond Thailand to Cambodia, Laos, and Especially Vietnam.For longer trips, use Bangkok as a Base.
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