Help please!
What is the most interesting way to travel from Siem Reap to Vientiane? then from Vientiane to Luang Prabang? Then from Luang Prabang to Hanoi? Any ideas?
Thanks!
transportation: Siem Reap - Vientiane - LuangPrabang -Hanoi
There are only a few options: 1) Hire own fast-speed boat on the Mekong and other rivers. Very expensive (about $1000) and very dangerous, or low-speed (several days) for slightly less, maybe around $600. If you like to wager your life you can always take a bus! Cheap, maybe $50 -100 for your itinirerary. 2) Hire cars and drive yourself = you will be lucky to survive! 3) Hire car and driver -- same risk as previous option but very expensive. Bottom line: FLY! Risks with Indochina airlines are considerable but safer than road/river transport. Good luck, you will need it. I have 20 years experience traveling in Indochina.
transportation: Siem Reap - Vientiane - LuangPrabang -Hanoi
Ha Ha! The above oomment makes me smile! I have a feeling your 20 years travelling around Indo-China took place some while ago. I live in Laos and travel these routes regularly.
The information regarding boats is 100% wrong. The Mekong, along all of these routes, is unnavagable. (waterfalls, for a start, pose a large problem to boats!) There are some shorter trips you can that can be travelled and they are nowhere close to the costs mentioned.
Renting a car - ridiculous f for so many reasons (costs, need to return it from the city you got it from, cannot cross borders without correct permits)
Flights are possible on all of these routes. Costs, environmental impact and missing the sights are reasons I would avaoid flying if i could.
Siem Reap - Vientiane. Its a long journey however you travel. There is an overnight VIP coach offered from offices in the centre of Siam reap. It%26#39;s safe, though long and not so exciting. Alternatively, you can travel to Champasak in Laos, then cross to Pakse, then upto Vientiane. Its a nice route. More common perhaps though is crossing back to Thailand and travelling either a) through the Isan or b) into Bangkok and taking the sleeper train to Nong Khai (Border town with Vietiane.
Vientiane - Luang Prabang. Can be a a little more scary, but is one of the most beautiful bus rides you%26#39;ll ever take. More common is first Vientiane to Vang Vieng. Take a break then continue to LP. VIP and local buses cover this route with lots of buses. If you fly this you are missing out!
LP to Hanoi - over land is spectacular but a monster journey. Possibly the most interesting journey Ive taken in South East Asia taking in some incredible places (Vieng Xai inparticular). Its a mission, but if you time well worth it. Otherwise you fly this one. You can also go up into China and take a train around. time consuming, but very interesting (and not very well travelled)
';Risks with Indochina airlines are considerable.'; they haven%26#39;t been in years! Where are you getting this outdated information from?
I would certainly fly from Siem Reap to Vientiane and definitely from Vientiane to Luang prabang. The bus trip is not pleasant as the road is very windy. The plane does not fly that high, so you can see a lot of the landscape anyway. If you enjoy 10 hours on a bus, I certainly don%26#39;t.
I did all these routes almost year ago, but not in the order you wish to travel. I flew each time. Time constraints mostly being the reason. SR to V, probably only flying makes sense. Also, LP to H. But, if you have the time, the bus from V to LP - with stops along the way, especially to Viang Veng - will get you a fabulous insight into the rural beauty of the country and how the Lao people really live. Regarding the airlines. All the guidebooks and other information I had told me, don%26#39;t use Lao Air, and if you do, only fly routes where they use French built ATR 7 aircraft - the newest in their fleet. We still used them, had no other choice - and they switched plane on us to old Chinese ones which rattled and shook, but just cleared the treetops and mountains. That would probably certainly qualify for your %26#39;interesting%26#39; way to travel. I%26#39;m still here to tell the tale, however! (Actually, we found airlines in SE Asia to be way better than the local ones that we encountered in Latin American, surprisingly.) Better airlines in these parts include Vietnam Air, Siem Reap Airways and Bangkok Airways, all of whom cover all or most of these routes. Thai is the best, but also the most expensive. Can%26#39;t help with prices as aviation fuel costs will affect prices today. We never used a %26#39;fast%26#39; boat, but did use a few slow boats for short side trips. Slow is the word, so unless you really have a long time, and travel downstream always, this would be very tedious for these long journeys. The fast boats certainly zip along, but I never met a local who would use one if they could afford one! The roads are a serious challenge, especially across borders - for any number of reasons, including: They get washed away each rainy season, and most are dirt track for much of their route. Accurate road maps don%26#39;t exist.
Good luck with the travels - a fascinating part of the world to visit.
SWT
