Southeast Asia Backpacking Route: 3 Weeks on $1,500 Budget
The first time I sketched a three-week Southeast Asia route on the back of a hostel napkin in Khao San Road, I wrote down nine countries and ran out of paper. The second time, after actually doing it, I crossed out six of them. Trying to pinball between Bali, Singapore, Manila, and Yangon in 21 days is how you spend a vacation in airports. This route is what I’d give a friend who has $1,500 to $2,000, a 21-day window, and zero interest in doing the same trip everyone else does badly. It’s a single overland line — Bangkok → Chiang Mai → Luang Prabang → Hanoi → Hoi An → Ho Chi Minh City → Siem Reap — that uses the geography of mainland Southeast Asia instead of fighting it. Every transition is a bus, a slow boat, a sleeper train, or a $35 short-hop flight. No cross-region wing-flapping. ...