Hello David, and thanks for your advice
I have to admit, I did not explore the site enough - when I posted the first time
Simply had no idea who David was, and why everybody was refering to Davids map, his site, etc ... Now, of course I know, and I am happy that I even got a reply from you.
It's like I joined a happy family !
It is such a fantastic tool .. to use the internet. How amazing!
I mean, you have a dream .. spread the word ..do your research .. and boom: you in the middle of it. - Think about it: I am in the middle of Manhattans dschungle in New York City and soon I'll be in a place where people might have no clue where I am from, might not know what a skyscraper is .. etc.
About 3 years ago I went to SouthEast Asia for the first time, after my best friend from Germany visited me in New York .. onhis way back home from 6 month traveling in SEA.
I asked him what he enjoyed most .. and he refered to Cambodia. - Until then, the only thing I remembered that there were riots in Phnom Penh, Pol Pott's horror .. from the days when I was a klittle kid .. but I never heard of Angkor, nor did I see images of this amazing place.
I choose to investigate .. and 3 month later I was there, to see first hand how amazing it is. I felt in love with Cambodia, the people .. and of course Angkor. I was so taken by the entire SouthEast Asian experiance, that I returned 3 time. Since I work in the corporate world (advertising), I could only take 2.5 weeks vacation at the time and I usually spend 2 days in Bangkok, then headed out to Phnom Penh, went up the river to Siem Reap, maade friends with some people up there, and finished the trip with 5 days in a b eautiful bungalow on the island of Koh Samui. I loved this combination so very much, that I always had a difficult time to stray away from that plan, and in the end almost did the same trip 3 times. The last time I rented a bike in Phnom Penh and headed down to the Shianoukville.
What an amazing experiance that was! I simply could not believe what I saw.. even I got totally drenchged in the rain (may), then just stopped somewhere, hung out with locals to wait for the rain to stop,- they cooked for me .. I loved it. Going through the rice field when the sun went down .. I mean, how can one describe that to people who have not seen that or been there?. It is so insane .. so beautiful. - I think these days on the bike were some of the most amazing in my adventourous life.
I decided to come back to that beautiful part of the world, but this time I have to add a new part: a new adventure. While on Cambodia, I met many people who've been to Laos and all of them praised the degree of friendlyness over there. I also heard about beautiful mountains, the Mekong river ..... many, many adventure stories,etc. Surfing the web forever, I came accross the GT riders board and I loved what I read.
Originally I wanted to go to the NorthEast of Cambodia this year, but since there is a high chance that my buddies won't come along and I'll be on my own .. I thought Mondulkiri and San Monorom might be too dangerous for me.
I figured that this would also be a good excuse to spend some time in Laos, and the more I read on the GT board .. the more it became clear, that I want to see Luang Prabang, etc. but I still need to see the south of Cambodia again.. and I still need a few days at the beach in Thailand.
I know: one cannot have it all ..so they say .but if I make a compromise .. I might get a taste of everthing .. and still be happy with my program? - Here's the trip that I put together for May 2004 .. let me know what you think .. and if anybody else wants to give me his/her 2 cents .. feel free to e-mail me. I'd appreciate every response.
I got a good deal on a flight from New York to Bangkok. Origiany I wanted to spend more time there, but I cut it down a bit here and there, so I have more time (just a bit) in Laos:
Bangkok Air only flys to LP, so I decided to go with Lao Air
They offered me a good deal on: Bangkok-Vientiann, Vientianne - Phnom Penh all for 5800 THB, and from Phnom Penh back to Bangkok I'll take President Air for 2800 THB)
I am a bit under time pressure, that's the reason why I have to take the plane.
Unfortunately the flight out of Bangkok to Vientiane does not leave early in the
morning, but at 3:00 PM in the afternoon .. and arrives at 4:00 pm ..guess
with customs, etc .. I will be in town around 5:30 PM .so way to late to
rent a bike at PPP and go up to Vang Vieng, where I planed to spend the
night. - Looks like I will get stuck in Vientiane that night ,which sucks
.because of that afternoon flight out of Bangkok ....there is not much I can do that day
.sort of a lost day ..which is NOT good.
here';s the plan for my trip:
MAY 20th
THURSDAY: NYC-TKO fly from New York to Tokyo
FRIDAY: THAILAND TKO-BKK
fly from Tokyo to Bangkok, arrive late night
SATURDAY: THAILAND BKK
spend the day in Bangkok, meet friends etc
SUNDAY: LAOS BKK-VTE
morning in Bangkok, then take the 3 PM flight to Vientiane in Laos,
spend the night in Vientiane, pick up the motorbike from PVP rental
MONDAY: LAOS VTE-VV
get up early and ride up to Vang Vieng, check out
stuff in and around town, sspend the night in Vang Vieng
TUESDAY: LAOS VV-LP
ride from Vang Vient to Kasi.. have lunch, then
continue to Luang Prabang, check out town etc, spend the night in LP
WEDNESDAY: LAOS LP
ride around Luang Prabang, check out Waterfalls by
bike, can I make it to Muang Kkam that day and back? spend the night in LP?
THURSDAY: LAOS LP-VTE
ride from Luang Prabang back to Vientianne via Ang
Nam Ngum and check out the lake, arrive early evening in Vientiane, return
bike, spend the night Vientiane
FRIDAY: CAMBODIA VTE-PNH
fly from Vientiang to Phnom Penh, arrive around noon, hang out in town,
hook up with friends, check with bike rental, stay in PP
SATURDAY: CAMBODIA PNH
rent a motorbike and ride from Phnom Penh to Skone
(50 miles) to check out the spider snacks they have for sale everywhere,
return to Phnom Penh
SUNDAY: CAMBODIA PNH-SV
take off after breakfast for Shianoukville via
Kompomng Speu on route 4, check out the ocean, stay in Shianoukville
MONDAY: CAMBODIA SV-KEP
spend the day in and around Shianoukille at the
beach, afternoon ride via Kampot to Kep, spend the night in Kep
TUESDAY: CAMBODIA KEP-PNH
ride from Kep via Takeo to Phnom Penh, return the
bike, spned the night in Phnom Penh
WEDNESDAY: THAILAND PNH-BKK-KS
fly from Phnom Penh to Bangkok, drive down south to Koh Samet
THURSDAY: THAILAND KS
relax at the beach in Koh Samet
FRIDAY: THAILAND KS
relax at the beach in Koh Samet
SATURDAY: THAILAND KS-BKK
in the afternoon: drive from Koh Samet to Bangkok,
spend the night in Bangkok
SUNDAY: BKK-TKO-NYC early morning flight from Bangkok via Tokyo back to
New York a .arrive 3:15 PM local time
MONDAY: NYC return to work at 09:30 AM
Hey, thanks for reading all this ... on the othet hand: maybe I inspired one of you to do a similar tour .. I am sure it will be great and yet another adventure in my book. Wish I had more time .. like so many others who travel for month at the time .but unfortunately that is not the case and I have to live from adventure to adventure .........well: living in New York ain't that bad either ..been here for 12 years.
If somebody could let me know if I have to go up and down from Vientiane to Luang Prabang .. or can I continue my trip from LP .. east and then head down south via Pakxan? .. and then back to Vientiane? Is that possible at all.
Have a good weekend, greetings from Manhattan .getting warmer here .. but still pretty cold (like 4 C)
NY1
