Home >  The Gap Year >  The Route > South East Asia Home The Gap Year New Travels Ask Simon Other Bits Contact Me The Route Overview USA New Zealand Australia South East Asia Getting around South-East Asia involves a whole myriad of forms of transport. From comfortable Thai sleeper trains; to being crammed into a sawngthaew with 2 dozen other people & a variety of livestock; to luxurious tourist buses in Vietnam; to nippy motos and their death-defying drivers; to nerve-wracking flights with Lao Aviation. Looking back on it, I have to agree with the old saying: getting there is half the fun! The sheer diversity and wonder of South-East Asian transport is all part of The Experience. I can't help thinking that if I used first class coaches to get around Laos, I would have missed out on a lot of that country's charm. There are two rules to getting around Asia comfortably: (1) Unless you're on an overnight sleeper train, keep journeys short; and (2) don't be tall! Asian transport is not made for big farangs, anyone over 5ft 9 is going to suffer! I spent 4 months in Asia, so I visited countless places, the route I took is detailed below: From... To... Date Cairns (AUSTRALIA) [via Darwin] Denpasar (BALI) (1) 27/2/02 Denpasar (BALI) (1) Singapore (2) 16/3/02 Singapore (2) Kuala Lumpur (MALAYSIA) (3) 20/3/02 Kuala Lumpur (MALAYSIA) (3) Hat Yai (THAILAND) (4) 21/3/02 (overnight) Hat Yai (4) Nakhon Si Thammarat (5) 23/3/02 Nakhon Si Thammarat (5) Koh Samui & Koh Pha Ngan (7) 24/3/02 Koh Samui & Koh Pha Ngan (7) Surat Thani (6) 29/3/02 Surat Thani (6) Bangkok (8) 30/3/02 Bangkok (8) Nakhon Pathom (9) 1/4/02 Nakhon Pathom (9) Damnoen Saduak (10) 1/4/02 Damnoen Saduak (10) Kanchanaburi(11) 2/4/02 Kanchanaburi (11) Bangkok (8) 3/4/02 Bangkok (8) Phimai (13) [via Khorat (12)] 5/4/02 Phimai (13) Phitsanulok (14) [via Khorat (12)] 7/4/02 Phitsanulok (14) Sukhothai(15) 8/4/02 Sukhothai (15) Chiang Mai (16) 10/4/02 Chiang Mai (16) Luang Prabang (LAOS) (17) 14/4/02 Luang Prabang (17) Huay Xai (18) (via Pakbeng) 15/4/02 & 16/4/02 Huay Xai (18) Luang Nam Tha (19) 18/4/02 Luang Nam Tha (19) Muang Sing (20) 20/4/02 Muang Sing (20) Nong Khiaw & Muang Ngoi Neua (21) 22/4/02 Nong Khiaw & Muang Ngoi Neua (21) Luang Prabang (17) 25/4/02 Luang Prabang (17) Vientiane (23) [via Vang Vieng (22)] 29/4/02 Vientiane (23) Vang Vieng (22) 1/5/02 Vang Vieng (22) Vientiane (23) 3/5/02 Vientiane (23) Hanoi (VIETNAM) (24) 8/5/02 (overnight) Hanoi (24) Halong Bay (25) 14/5/02 Halong Bay (25) Hanoi (24) 16/5/02 Hanoi (24) Hue (26) 18/5/02 Hue (26) Hoi An (27) 22/5/02 Hoi An (27) Nha Trang (28) 24/5/02 Nha Trang (28) Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City (29) 27/5/02 (overnight) Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City (29) Mekong Delta (30) 3/6/02 Mekong Delta (30) Phnom Penh (31) 5/6/02 Phnom Penh (31) Sihanoukville (32) 9/6/02 Sihanoukville (32) Phnom Penh (31) 10/6/02 Phnom Penh (31) Pursat (33) 11/6/02 Pursat (33) Phnom Penh (31) 13/6/02 Phnom Penh (31) Siem Reap (34) 14/6/02 Siem Reap (34) Bangkok (8) 18/6/02 Bangkok (8) Hua Hin (35) 22/6/02 Hua Hin (35) Bangkok (8) 24/6/02 Bangkok (8) Krabi & Ko Phi Phi (36) 24/6/02 (overnight) Krabi & Ko Phi Phi (36) Bangkok (8) 29/6/02 Bangkok (8) London (UK) - HOME! 3/7/02 To know the road ahead, ask those coming back GoGap.com is created and owned by Simon Hooks. (mail@gogap.com).