S.E Asia

Has anyone done a bit of travelling through South East Asia?

I've been to Thailand and Malaysia a couple of times and Singapore, but I'm planning a trip in mid Feb - the only catch is that this time I'll be with my wife, a camera bag full of gear and my son, who'll be 18 months old then!

We're planning to go to Hanoi after a couple of days stopover in Hong Kong, visit at least one town I've been recommended near there, get over to Laos, then down to Cambodia and finally down to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and home from there.

I've never travelled with a child before, and I was wondering if anyone had any pointers for me - how are the buses, are flights between close countries/citys very cheap, etc? We'll be on quite a tight budget, so I was originally thinking we could go overland, but spending 20 odd hours on a hot dirty bus with a small child doesn't sound like much fun...

Either way, I'll be sure to post some photos here!

Cheers, Daniel.

I've been to thailand and vietnam. The intercity buses/coaches in both countries are very cold due to the airconditioning and I would advise taking something warm. I took several overnight buss trips and on one occasion is was so cold I had to sleep on the floor - the floor was so hot it was burning my skin!

The accomodation on the cheap can be very good in both countries. Vietnam from memory (Hanoi & Saigon) had some very clean guest houses, almost hotels for about $AU20 a night. Thailand was about $14 for the same thing.

When you go to Thailand go to the nearest TAT (Thai Tourist Authority), they are really helpful and through them you will get information that our local people just won't have. When I go overseas I don't book anything until i get there, you'll save thousands.

It might be a good idea to have night here and there in a nice hotel (as we do) with a pool etc so you can relax from the travel a bit better.

We don't have kids so I couldn't be much help there. You'll have to be careful about food and water for the little one though.