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10 Tips for your long Indochina Trip

Angkor Wat Temple Sunrise

  1. Know the Do’s and Don’ts of each countries you are visiting.  Greet the locals properly with their language and respect their local customs.  They might require you to remove your shoes or dress up accordingly, especially when visiting temples.
  2. Considering the weather and Tip #1, wear comfortable clothes and shoes good for walking a few miles. Don’t bring too much clothes.  Make use of the hotel’s laundry services… it wont cost you much than to pay for an extra weights on airline luggage.
  3. Create a travel itinerary.  Plan ahead!  It helps a lot to get the best of your time during your travel.  Read blogs, reviews and testimonies of the places you are going to visit or the activities you are going to do.  Though itineraries are ideals, consider a list of other places to visit or things to do with-in the area of  your stay for “Plan B”.   Hiring a local guide is also advisable to give you a depth understanding of the culture and story behind of the places you are visting.
  4. Print out your airplane/bus tickets.  Also, keep a printouts of your passport and other secondary ID’s with emergency contact person and numbers at the back.  Of course you can have it on your mobile, but having a printed copy as backup adds peace of mind.
  5. Prepare an offline or printed map with local translation.  It is easier to pinpoint and ask help of the locals when searching for directions using maps with local names of the place, especially when riding a taxi or tuk-tuks.  Uber or Grab taxis are available on some cities and provinces with-in Indochina region, but you need an Internet data connections to book their services.
  6. Enjoy local cuisine and drinks to get the best experience and save moolah.  Observe or ask the locals not the tourist.beers-of-indochina
  7. Bring your meds and also for flu, diarrhea and also a mosquito repellant.  It is safer to have those meds with you when you need it than to ask a local pharmacist.  Keep away from places that might have mosquitos or insects that may cause sickness.
  8. Stay hydrated and drink plenty of clean water especially while enjoying #6.  Drink only from a bottled water or bring water filter with you just to be sure.
  9. You might need to bring a universal travel adapter plugs to charge your gadgets on wall sockets for your power bricks. Check your local standards and compare it to the countries you are visiting.  And also… Most of the hotel rooms have limited power sockets, a lightweight power strips can also save you from hassle of charging multiple gadgets.
  10. Use sling bags or belt bags to secure your gadgets, passports or wallets. Place it in-front of your body and keep on eye on it while walking on city streets and on busy area like public markets.   Although it is less likely to happen, but don’t give pick-pocketers a chance to do it.
  11. [Bonus] DO NOT use public WiFi.  Use VPN to protect your information and privacy and enable firewall on your PCs/Macs. There are many tutorials on YouTube about using VPN for travelers to learn from.
  12. [Bonus] Learn to bargain and practice your acting skills when dealing with the locals.  Don’t look at their eyes if you are not interested. Use #1 as leverage and negotiate using their local language.
  13. [Bonus] Organize your currencies.  Use envelop or currency pouch to separate paper bills and coins.
  14. [Bonus]  Instead of US dollar money changers, use ATM to get local currencies from your beloved currency.
  15. [Bonus] Some countries offers GST refunds on goods and services upon exits.  Keep your receipts to avail if you have plenty of time to line up and filling up forms on airports and on border exits.
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INDOCHINA+SG 8 Day Travel Itinerary 2017

 Angkor Wat Temple Sunrise
Day 1
02:00a – Travel to Manila International Airport Terminal 1
05:00a – Fly from Manila to Singapore by Tigerair 
08:55a – Arrived at Singapore
09:55a – MRT to Orchard Road and eat Chicken Rice
12:00p – Back to Changi Airport
03:30p – Fly from Singapore to Vietnam by Tigerair (conn’ing to SGN)
04:20p – Arrived at Ho Chi Minh City… then taxi to Pham Ngu Lao Street
05:15p – Check-in and rest @ Saigon Backpackers Hostel
07:00p – Foodtrip and night market along Pham Ngu Lao Street
10:00p – Lights-out and rest
Day 2
06:00a – Wake-up call!
07:00a – Breakfast at Pham Ngu Lao Street
08:00a – Pick-up for Cu Chi Tunnel Tour
08:30a – Bus traveled to Cu Chi Tunnel
09:45a – Arrived at Agent Orange Workshop for a quick tour
11:17a – Arrived at Cu Chi Tunnel Tour
12:37p – ate kamote in Cu Chi Tunnel
01:00p – Travel back to Ho Chi Minh City
02:30p – We getoff the bus along the way to see Notre Dame Cathedral, Saigon Central Post Office
02:43p – Late Lunch @ McDonalds hehe
03:49p – Visit Vietnam History Museum
04:43p – Travel back to hotel in Pham Ngu Lao Street
05:30p – Rest and wash-up
07:45p – Food trip and Night Market @ Ben Tanh Market
10:00p – Back in the hotel to rest and pack-up for tomorrow’s long bus journey to Cambodia
Day 3
06:00a – Wake-up call to check-out in Saigon Backpackers Hostel
08:00a – Mekong Express Bus Station in Pham Ngu Lao Street
08:30a – Bus going to Siem Reap, Cambodia by Mekong Express Bus
09:54a – Stopover:
01:42p – Cross-Border Vietnam-Cambodia
05:35p – Stopover:
08:30p – Arrived at Siem Reap Bus Station, Cambodia
08:57p – Check-in at King Boutique Hotel in Samdach Tep Vong Street
09:50p – Explore Pub Street
10:30p –  Rest and lights-out
Day 4
06:00a – Wake-up call and prepare for Angkor Wat Tour
07:30a – Hotel Tuktuk Pick-up for Angkor Wat Tour Day 1
07:57a – Angkor Wat Tourism Center to purchase 3-day Pass
08:25a – Explore Angkor Thom
12:04p – Lunch
12:29p – Explore Ta Prohm
02:27p – Explore another temple
03:00p – Back to hotel to rest and wash-up
07:00p – Pub Street and Art Center Nightmarket
08:29p – Back to hotel to rest and prepare for Angkor Wat Tour Day 2
Day 5
04:00a – Wak-up call and prepare for Angkor Wat Tour
05:00a – Hotel Tuktuk pick-up for Angkoer Wat Tour Day 2
06:30a – Sunrise at Angkor Wat Temple
07:15a – Explore Angkor Wat Temple
09:15a – Explore Angkor Thum
11:31a – Lunch at Angkor Flower Restaurant
01:23p – Explore Preah Kahn Temple
02:49p – Explore Neak Pean
03:42p – Book Apsara Cultural Dance and Buffet
04:00p – Back to hotel
06:27p – Watch Apsara Cultural Dance and eat Cambodian Food Buffet
08:40p – Back to hotel and pack-up for Cambodia-to-Thailand Crossborder
Day 6
06:00a – Walk-up call
06:47a – Check-out and go to Mekong Express Van Station
07:20a – Travel to Bangkok
10:18a – Cambodia-Thailand Crossborder
01:35p – Stopover:
03:41p – Arrived in Mekong Express Station Bangkok
03:50p – Check-in at Chang Siam Inn, Bangkok
06:15p – Walk to Neon Nightmarket
06:35p – Visit CentralWorld Mall and watch people celebrating Songkran festival
07:49p – Back to Neon Nightmarket for foodtriping
09:00p – Back to hotel and rest
Day 7
07:00a – Wake-up call
07:30a – Breakfast with Cup Noddles, thanks to 7-11
08:54a – Off to Wat Pho Leaning Buddha
10:36a – Visit The Grand Palace
11:52a – Back to hotel and rest (sobrang inet)
05:28p – Baiyoke Tower View Deck
09:18p – Food trip at Neon Nightmarket
09:45p – Back to hotel to rest
Day 8
08:00a – Wake-up call
07:30a – Breakfast with Cup Noddles, thanks to 7-11 again hehe
10:35a – Check-out from Chang Siam Inn, leaving our backpacks in the hotel lobby
11:00a – Explore and eat at CentralWorld Mall
04:00p –  Back to hotel to get our backpacks
05:00p – Arrived at Suvarnabhumi Bangkok Airport
09:20p – Fly to Singapore from Bangkok Airport
12:00a – Arrived at Changi Airport, Singapore
01:30a – Fly to Manila from Changi Airport, Singapore
05:30a – Arrived at Manila International Airport Terminal 1, Philippines
06:15a – Home sweet home
 I’ll be posting more photos and budget breakdown soon.
 Thanks for reading!