Bangkok and Chiang Mai On a Rope. Larry Stein
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Lightweight clothing, such as polo and other cotton shirts for men, and palazzo pants for women, are often available at bargain prices.
For emergencies, bring some dry detergent for hand washing. For men, order some quick drying underwear for the trip. The main brand is Exofficio, which is available from Amazon and many other providers. Made primarily of nylon, a pair will dry over night.
Pack warm weather clothing. Pants are preferable to shorts because they offer better mosquito and sun protection, particularly if treated with permethrin. Pants are also more consistent with the cultural norms. Lighter weight pants save money compared to jeans, because laundry is often charged by weight Bring comfortable walking shoes, sandals if possible. Sandals are easier to take off than tennis shoes, at the many wats that require covered shoulders and bare feet. For some northern cities you might want a light sweater or windbreaker. Bring sunscreen and as mentioned above, mosquito protection.
Bring a bathing suit for daytime dips, and a flash light for the, sometimes dark night time streets and paths. Bring toilet paper for when nature calls and your hotel is too far away to hear. A helpful hint is that American fast food restaurants, in places like Bangkok may serve crap, but they are a clean place to excrete.
Bring any and all medication that you might need. If you use glasses, take a back up pair. Take sunglasses and a hat for the sun. Make a photocopy of your passport and bring extra passport photos. Pack, or carry, a secure way of holding your money and passport. I use a travel pouch that hooks to a belt, or in my case, suspenders. Two top brands are Eagle Creek and Lewis N. Clark. Bring a camera and enough memory chips. For more on cameras see the section on ” Vacation Photography.”
Most importantly, bring a sense of adventure.
Jet Lag
In the future I wonder if there will be space or rocket lag. To minimize jet lag I have two techniques, one common, the other a bit controversial. On the overseas flight I take a sleeping pill (Ambien) to sleep at the same time that I would sleep at my destination. So If I'm taking a day flight, I will time my sleep so that I'm sleeping at what will be nighttime hours when I arrive. It's the only time I use a sleeping pill. Of course, check with your doctor. The more conventional remedy is to avoid sleeping during the day, and getting as much sunlight as possible, painfully easy in Southeast Asia. Sunlight resets your internal clock. The only time I had serious jet lag was during a perpetually overcast November in the Benelux countries.
Overseas Flights
A wide range of carriers connects the US with Southeast Asia. In large part because of exchange rates and taxes, airline prices vary far more than is the case with domestic flights, or travel to Europe. Comparison shopping is crucial. Recently, Korean based airlines have had a price advantage. Some years back, EVA, a Taiwanese airline, offered the best rates.
But, for a long flight, quality of food and service, and particularly seat size and pitch, must also factor into your decision. A great source for information and rating of airlines is Skytrax, http://www.airlinequality.com. Be sure to check out their chart of seat pitch, the distance between any point on a seat and the same point on the seat in front and in back of that seat. Greater pitch means more legroom.
If Bangkok is the start and end point of your trip, consider Royal Thai. The food and service are excellent. Coach has a 34” pitch, tied for the best among Asian airlines. Some flights offer premium economy, a chance for better seating at a price far below business class. Nonstop flights are offered from New York, and in the past, have been offered from Los Angeles. Skytrax rates royal Thai 4 stars. In recent years, prices have been on the high side.
Another 4 star rated airline, EVA Air flies from Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York to multiple destinations in Southeast Asia by way of Taipei. EVA offers some advantages. Economy pitch is 34”. But at only a 10% surcharge, 38” pitch seats are available in premium economy on most flights. If EVA again becomes one of the lower cost options, it merits serious consideration.
Three 5 star airlines fly from the US to Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, from Los Angeles, Singapore Airlines stops in Tokyo and Singapore before landing in many Southeast Asia destinations.
Cathay Pacific and Asiana, each have excellent reputations. Cathay Pacific stops in Hong Kong, on the way to Southeast Asia. Asiana stops in Seoul. Both offer exquisite service, and wall-to-wall food, even in coach. But Asiana has a number of advantages. On many routes it's about 200 dollars cheaper. In economy Asiana has a 34” pitch as compared to Cathay Pacific’s 32” pitch. Finally, on the return to Los Angeles, there is an 8 hour layover on Asiana. Sounds like a disadvantage, but Asiana is busy making those lemons into lemonade. Asiana offers a choice of a free tour of Seoul, including lunch, or an airport hotel. The overseas flight on Asiana, is the best coach flight I have ever taken. Incheon airport is modern and efficient. If you are going to Phnom Penh you will probably be at Gate 35 or 36.
Southeast Asian Flights
Nok Air and Asia Air are excellent budget friendly airlines. Nok air flies within Thailand. I have flown between Bangkok and Chiang Mai as well as from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son. Legroom is limited, but the Recaro seats (the company known for high-end sports car seats) are comfortable for the short trips.
Air Asia is even better. I have flown from Phnom Penh to Bangkok, and from Bangkok to Mandalay. If you order food at the same time that you book your reservation, you will have a choice of several tasty options for 4 dollars each. Also worth doing is paying 9 dollars to upgrade your seat. The upgraded seats have more legroom. The most popular are the ones in the front, but choose the exit rows in the middle of the plane. Because we have long legs my wife and I choose aisle seats across from each other. On both flights we had rows to ourselves. Passengers on this economy airline are pinching pennies, so spend an extra 900 and have your own row.
You will often read that fares are cheaper if you book them in Southeast Asia rather than pre-booking in the states. This isn't the case with discount carriers. Very low fares are offered for those who book early. This is also the case with some full price carriers such as Bangkok Airways. On some popular routes, such as between Chiang Mai and Bangkok, Bangkok Airways has competitive fares for early bookers.
Sometimes, buying in country can result in savings of up to 20 per cent. I booked a flight on Laos Air from Siem Reap to Luang Prabang before leaving on my trip. In Siem Reap my friend saved about 15 per cent booking the same route on Vietnam Airlines leaving and arriving about 10 minutes later than my flight. It was not until we arrived at the airport that we discovered we were on the same plane.
Selecting Hotels
The old saw is that the three most important things in real estate are location, location, and location. Hotel selection is much the same. Of course, in both cases the saw cuts too deep. There are other considerations.
The most obvious is price. Set a desired price point. Next start reading reviews, here, on Tripadvisor, Lonely Planet, Travelfish, and any other sources that come up in your search. If no hotels in your price range receive favorable reviews, most likely for cities in Myanmar, you will need to adjust your price range, or lower your expectations. To get the lowest price, if you have the time, write directly to the hotel. Often you can get a discount. Some arguments for a discount include one person staying in a double room that includes breakfast, or a stay longer than that of the typical guest.
Once you have selected a few possible hotels, study location. This is important and complex. You must factor in your priorities and the nature of the city. Swimming back through your data dip, proximity to one or more of the following will be most important: historical sites, shopping, restaurants and food stalls, drinking and nightlife, public transportation,