7 Months In Asia Itinerary : Part I
Asia is the continent of dreams. Amazing food, beautiful beaches, remote islands, friendly locals, hammocks galore and of course it’s budget-friendly. During our time on the road, we visited Asia on two different occasions once for 5 months and later again for another 2 months.
With so much to offer, planning our Asia itinerary was both exciting and daunting.
We put together both of our itineraries which takes you from the busy streets of Delhi to the calm waters of Raja Amapt, we hope you find the perfect Asian destination!
Our route took us through 10 Countries and 50 cities.
India
=4 weeks=
Cities: New Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Havelock Island
Our very first country in Asia, was none other than India! It’s a country that completely shaped the rest of our trip. India was everything we imagined it to be and then some. The colors, the smells, the noises, and of course the cows, it took us for a spin but left us always wanting more!
We spent our first few days in Delhi (3 days) taking in the chaos of this unique city before heading over to Agra (3 days) to see the Taj Mahal, of course! Next, we moved west to Jaipur (5 Days) where we explored the colorful markets by day, and by night watched the locals fly hundreds of kites from their rooftops while enjoying a cup of hot chai. We also celebrated Stefano’s 23rd birthday here! Our time on the mainland ended by exploring the Thar dessert and the beautiful Hindu temples in Jaisalmer (5 days). After a 20 hour train ride back to Delhi (2 days) we hopped on a plane to Port Blair, the port city of the Andaman Islands, from where we boarded a ferry to Havelock Island where we had our first experience with island life in Asia. This route is perfect for those that want to take it easy and travel at a slower pace. To get around we used the Indian rail system which besides the delays turned out to be fun and comfortable. Looking back on our route, we could have added one more city and still maintained a slower pace which is exactly what we wanted during our time in India.
Travel Tip: We used the National Train Enquiry website to check for delays before arriving at the station. You don’t want to be like the travelers we met at the station in Agra who had been waiting there for 10 hours due to the continuous delays on our train to Jaipur.
Vietnam
=2 weeks=
Cities: Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
We will start by saying that 2 weeks is definitely not enough time in Vietnam! Our route involved way too many long overnight buses and only scratched the surface of what this beautiful country has to offer.
We landed in Vietnam ready to begin our adventures in Southeast Asia! Our journey began in Hanoi (4 days) where we ate copious amounts of Bun Cha, roamed the old quarter, enjoyed curbside evenings watching life unfold and watched a famous water puppet performance. Four days later we boarded our first ever overnight bus to Hoi An (4 days). After our 18-ish hour bus ride we arrived in this charming quintessential town, filled with Chinese lanterns, free public wifi and a fabulous guesthouse complete with a pool and floaties! Here is where we went wrong, after Hoi An the plan was to go straight to Ho Chi Minh City where we would finish off our time in Vietnam, little did we know the journey would take around 24 hours by bus and in the end cost us about the same as a low cost flight. With our snacks in hand, we boarded our 24-ish hour bus to Ho Chi Minh City where we spent the remainder of our time before continuing on to Cambodia. Looking back, we would have added at least another week and 1-2 more stops, breaking up the long bus journeys and allowing us to see more of Vietnam’s beautiful landscapes.
Cambodia
= 3 weeks=
Cities: Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, Koh Rong (Lonely Beach), Sen Monorom, Siem Reap
Cambodia exceeded all of our expectations. From the wonderful elephant sanctuaries in the northeast to the crystal clear waters of the southern islands, we were blown away by what this amazing country had to offer.
We began our month exploring the unique and somewhat unusual capital city of Phnom Penh (4 days). Like many other first time visitors, we spent some time learning about the dark and sad history of the Cambodian Genocide under the Khmer Rouge regime. Initially Phnom Penh had a rather odd vibe and an uncomfortable chaos to it, but as time went on we began seeing the charm and understanding just how resilient the Cambodian people are and we fell in love with this magnificent country. After Phnom Penh we made our way to what is often referred to as Cambodia’s “Wild West”. We boarded a mini bus from Phnom Penh and arrived in Sen Monorom (4 days), a small village, with dirt roads, one main street and a family run Swedish restaurant that made a killer pasta Carbonara! During our time there we rented a motor bike to explore nearby villages, we visited the largest waterfall in Cambodia and enjoyed some time with 3 lovely elephants rescued from hard labor by the Mondulkiri Project. After a lovely couple of days in this remote area of Cambodia, we made our way south to the famous coastal city of Sihanoukville (4 days) where we spent a few days unwinding and eating amazing Italian food in a small family run hotel.
Not many people associate Cambodia with palm trees and pristine white sand beaches, but little did we know what awaited us on the northern part of the island of Koh Rong. After 5 hours on a small wooden boat we arrived at the Lonely Beach Resort (4 days): a small resort with a private stretch of beach, 10 solar powered beach huts and crystal clear water as far as the eye could see. In our opinion this beach was one of the most beautiful beaches in all of Southeast Asia!
Once we left Koh Rong, we finished off our time in Cambodia with a visit to Cambodia’s main attraction, the beautiful Angkor Wat, located just outside of Siem Reap (4 days). It’s no wonder that some people refer to this place as the eight Wonder of the World seeing as it could easily stand beside the rest in terms of history and beauty.
Thailand
= 3 weeks=
Cities: Bangkok, Chang Mai, Ko Lanta, Ko Lipe
In our opinion three weeks was more than enough time, in the land of smiles. Thailand was beautiful but touristy. We began our journey in Bangkok (7 days), where we scored a fabulous airbnb, with a rooftop pool overlooking the city for only $40 a night! After our week relaxing and exploring, we set off to Chiang Mai (4 days). As we had ethical concerns about the way that elephants are treated in the northern part of Thailand, we skipped out on the very popular elephant experience in the Chiang Man region. Instead we opted to spend our time visiting the countless temples, exploring beautiful waterfalls and visiting the neighboring Dom Inthanon National Park. A word to the wise: while Doi Inthanon National Park is advertised as being in Chiang Mai, it is actually close to two and a half hours away by car, so be ready for a hefty taxi fee and a long day trip or plan to spend a night somewhere in the vicinity of the park.
From Chiang Mai we booked a $30 flight to Krabi where we then proceed onwards to Ko Lanta ( 3 days). Ko Lanta was the perfect island to rent a motorbike and hop around the beaches of the western coast of the island. The Mu Ko Lanta National Park at the souther tip of the island was hands down our favorite spot. From Ko Lanta, we took a rather expensive 6 hours ferry ride to Ko Lipe (3 days). Ko Lipe was crowded and at times felt rather claustrophobic, but our time at Sunrise Beach left little to be desired.
