Hanoi - Singapore

Re: Hanoi - Singapore

Hi Dan,

I'm afraid I haven't done the actual trip, but I have done a lot of the ground between the two destinations. I've seen most of vietnam, cambodia and malaysia (mainland and borneo) as well as spending a few days in singapore. All of them have been easy to travel round independently and all have been well worthwhile visiting. Have you though of just getting on a plane and making it up as you go along. English is widespread, and other travellers are easy to meet. You'll always end up as part of a group somewhere. Of course planning is always an extra burden and can be stressful at times, but can also be part of the fun.
In any case, whether you go yourself or as part of a tour, you'll certainly enjoy that part of the world.
Good luck

Jerry

Re: Hanoi - Singapore

Thanks for the help Jerry. I hadn't considered doing it alone as I didn't know how easy/difficult it is. But I'll certainly consider it, like you say although stressfull it could be fun.

T
Dan

Re: Hanoi - Singapore

It really is just a case of how you feel at the time isn't it. Independently you have max flexibility but some extra hassle, whilst on a tour you have an itinerary but no transport or accomodation worries.
I did all my previous stuff on my tod, just running into people as I went along and booking myself on small tours locally to maximise what I saw.
This year though I am going to China in 3 weeks time as part of a tour (Journey Across China with Imaginative Traveller) purely because I thought the hassles would be too much to get anywhere near a reasonable amount of things covered in the time period I could get off work.
Pay your money and take your choice as the saying goes.
Everyone is different. For instance (and now I'm just rambling for the sake of it) I noticed on one of the other forums on Egypt that someone didn't want to do a felucca tour on the Nile as it would be roughing it. I did 3 days on one down the Nile when I was there years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the "at one with Egypt" feel of slow sailing between temples, quiet lapping of water on the boat, and sleeping on the decks under the stars. That and the fact that some of the best food I had in the whole country was cooked in front of us by the boats captain.
Anyway, enough rambling.

Glad I wetted the appetite for adventure.
Have fun,
Jerry

Re: Hanoi - Singapore

Hi

I have just come home from doing the Hanoi to singapore trip. The tribal trails section at the start is fantastic. It is extra good because you go where there are virtually no other tourists and dont have to tag along with big groups that the local tour operators run if you want to go treking or to Halong Bay. Also the Vietnam section is good value for money as the accomodation was much better than I expected and they remove a lot of the hassle. However the Cambodia section was a bit disappointing as much of the time is wasted on very long and uncomfortable bus journeys and I felt that I could have gone it alone and saved a lot of money.

You also miss out on time in Bangkok (one night only) which is a shame because you really need at least 3 days (maybe) more to explore the city. On the whole I enjoyed the trip and travelled with some fantastic people.

Re: Hanoi - Singapore

nats

Thanks for the information it was nice to hear from someone who has done the tour. I'm now booked on the April 12th tour and can't wait.

A few questions. I have 6 days in Hanoi before the tour starts is there anything that you really enjoyed there that I should see? I'm starting to think about things to take with me is there anything that you wouldn't have been without/wish you'd taken/wished you hadn't taken?

Like I say thanks for the help and I hope I enjoy the tour as much as you did.

Re: Hanoi - Singapore

Things that were invaluable were my cotton sleeping sheet and my torch (especially for the trekking bit). Playing cards are good for the long train journeys. I recommend getting some travel sickness pills for the cambodia leg as even seasoned travellers were a little worse for wear.

I took too much stuff with me in hindsight. The t shirts and clothes in Vietnam are extremely cheap so pick things up along the way rather that carrying too much. you can also buy any lonely planet you could ever want from street vendors in Hanoi.

As for your extra time in Hanoi - there are lots of agencies that run trips around the area, a friend of mine went to Sapa and really enjoyed it but I couldnt say myself.

I am jealous that you get to do the trip, it was an amazing experience

good luck

Re: Hanoi - Singapore

thanks again nats for your help, it just sounds great and I really can't wait, man is work becoming a drag waiting 5 months until I go!

One final question for now. As a rough figure how much money would you recommend taking, this is really the only thing now that I don't have a clue on.

Many thanks once again

Re: Hanoi - Singapore

thanks again nats for your help, it just sounds great and I really can't wait, man is work becoming a drag waiting 5 months until I go!

One final question for now. As a rough figure how much money would you recommend taking, this is really the only thing now that I don't have a clue on.

Many thanks once again

Re: Hanoi - Singapore

The answer is how long is a piece of string. Vietnam is very cheap for food and water and stuff like that, I managed on about $300 for those 3 weeks but i wasnt buying much. Cambodia is a bit more expensive as is Thailand. Malaysia is more expensive still. All of these places however are dramatically cheaper than the UK. If you want to do any scuba diving or shopping then take more. I would take as much as you can as its better to have toomuch than not enough, saying that you can get by very cheaply and still have a good time. Make sure you have enough left for Singapore as that was the most expensive place by miles.