After weeks of indecisiveness about where to go for my 3 weeks off, I have decided on SEAsia.
I have found a flight from Toronto to Hanoi and returning from Bangkok to Toronto for $1595CAD with Singapore Airlines for Aug 15th-Sept 5. It seems to be the best deal I have found, unless someone can offer me some advice on that aspect.

If anyone could comment on my itinerary it would be really helpful.

Day 1-2 Hanoi
Day 3-5 Halong Bay (boat cruise)
Day 5 Halong back to Hanoi to catch a flight (?) to Phnom Penh
Day 6-7 Phnom Penh (killing fields, tigers)
Day 8 travel to Angkor Wat
Day 9 Angkor Wat daypass
Day 10 travel to Bangkok by train? (or Chiang Mai if i can find a cheap flight)
Day 11-13 Chiang Mai (elephants, cooking class)
Day 14 travel to Bangkok
Day 15 Bangkok
Day 16 travel from Bangkok to Koh Samui by train?
Day 17-20 check out the islands & beaches
Day 21 travel back to Bangkok
Day 22 flight home

This itinerary doesnt leave alot of time for the beach/southern islands which is something I did want to spend more time at...but I onyl have 3 weeks unfortunately. Would you suggest taking anything out or switching things up?

Also i'm really curious as to what kind of budgets people follow for this region of the world. I know i've had to increase my budget in Europe but have been able to travel pretty cheaply in South America. Would I be able to do all this for $1500? (not including the intl flight) I would be looking to stay in hostels and there are 2 of us.

Thanks in advance

Hmmm... So you're basically going to Vietnam just to see Ha Long Bay? It's a beautiful spot, but I don't think it's THAT nice. Besides, you arrive there in the middle of the rainy season. While the way to do it certainly is on an overnight cruise, that only applies when the weather is nice. I wouldn't book the trip until I arrived in Hanoi and knew the weather forecast.

While you're in Vietnam anyway, you may want to do your hiking in the hills there instead of in Thailand. It's a similar experience, and getting between Bangkok and Chiang Mai (and back) by train isn't necessarily a comfortable way to go. If you do go to Chiang Mai to do some trekking, DO get a cheap plain to wherever afterwards. Otherwise you'll have to travel via Bangkok, and that steals time from your itinerary.

There is no train from Siem Reap/Angkor to Bangkok. One option is a really bumpy ride to the border, and then a smooth ride to Bangkok from there (it takes a full day in total, dawn till dusk), the other option is a flight from Siem Reap to Bangkok. Sometimes you can get cheap tickets on that.

Angkor Wat is worth more than a single day's visit! Take your time and do it thoroughly, on foot, with the occasional moto-bike ride when you have some distance to cover. Chauffeurs are everywhere!

I think I'd do it like this, and not book anything in advance:

Day 1: Hanoi
Day 2-3: Ha Long Bay overnight cruise
Day 4: Hanoi
Day 5-7: Trekking in the hills
Day 8: Fly to Siem Reap, sunset at Angkor
Day 9-10: More Angkor
Day 11: Boat/bus to Phnom Penh (get a feeling for basic, rural lifestyle on the way)
Day 12: Phnom Penh
Day 13: Get to Sihanoukville
Day 14-15: Beach Sihanoukville, daytrip to nice island/national park
Day 16-18: Move up the coast, stop in Cambodia or Koh Chang/Samet in Thailand (NOT Pattaya!)
Day 19: Get to Bangkok
Day 20: Explore Bangkok
Day 21: Daytrip (Kanchanaburi/Ayuthaya/whatever)
Day 22: Flight home

It's still busy... But hey! It's your trip, you decide! #8D)

Generally, you'll get more for your money in Cambodia than in Thailand, so you can save some money by beaching on the cheaper side of the border. None of them are particularly expensive at that time of the year. And you should really have a plan B ready, if the monsoon is in a bad mood. (It's likely to be not too bad, but it COULD be really rainy. You just don't know what it'll be now.)

Happy trails,

Bjørn
http://bjornfree.com/

That's a pretty ridiculous travel schedule.

1. I hate vietnam but there is a lot more and nicer things to see than Halong Bay.
2. You're all over the place! You're travel costs are gonna be high and remember: travel in southeast asia is LONG and not very easy. It's going to take more time than you realize.
3. You're never gonna get anything from these destinations but photographs. Go and ENJOY them.

You have 3 weeks. Pick one country and enjoy your stay there!

Thanks for your replies.

Upon further consideration, I'm just going to spend the 3 weeks in Thailand with the possibility of flying to Siem Reap/Angkor Wat if the budget allows for a couple of days.
I think this will be a much better plan, as I have experienced travelling in South America packing what I feel was too much into too little time. So hopefully this will be more relaxing!

My NEW itinerary is:
Fly into Bangkok then head north to Chiang Mai for maybe a weekish (maybe less) and do an elephant trek and cooking class. Then fly back to Bangkok and spend a couple days there, maybe fly to Angkor Wat for a few days (budget allowing). Then head down south and spend about 10 days island hopping.

Can anyone comment about the "rainy season" in Thailand and their experiences, from what I have read on this other sites, the rain isnt too big a problem, with it only affecting about an hour of the day.

Also, I have read that the eastern islands (koh samui etc) are drier than the western (phuket, phi phi) in august. I was hoping to get to some on both sides, any advice?

Thanks

In general Samui and Koh pangan are drier in July and August but it is still the rainy season and you never know. I have been to Ko phangan in July for a week and didn't see any rain but a friend who was there the week before said that the rain didn't stop for the entire week.

If you want guranteed nice weather fly down to Denpasar and goto Bali or the Gili Ilands as its peak season in Indonesia at that time of the year.