South East AsiaDiscover 10 South East Asian Countries

in 25 DaysFor Only $2,000

Cheap Travel

South East AsiaDiscover 10 South East Asian Countries

in 25 DaysFor Only $2,000

South East Asia is a beautiful and exotic place to visit. It is full of culture and history. It will be an experience that you will never forget. It is also pretty inexpensive to travel and explore, and is relatively safe. Here we will go over the best destinations on a shoestring budget. Who doesnt want to spend 25 days in a tropical paradise while living like royalty?!

So you want to travel the world, huh?Here are the cities we will visit:• Guanzhou, China• Phuket, Thailand• Mandalay, Myanmar• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia• Brunei Darussalam• Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam• Manila, Phillippines• Phnom Penh, Cambodia• Bangkok, Thailand• Hong Kong, China

Best Times

To Travel The best times to travel in South East Asia is between November and February, with the exception of Indo-nesia and Malaysia. Their best travel window is April through October be-cause of the monsoon season. If you dont mind a little humidity and wet-ness, then you’re good to go. For the sake of this trip, I am going to say that December is the best time to visit most of the countries in South East Asia.

While looking for the hottest deals, you may come across the Air Asean Pass. This pass allows you to purchase 10 or 20 travel credits.These travel credits are good towards several cities in SE Asia, however there are restric-tions and seating is not always guar-anteed. You also have to pay extra for taxes, fees and baggage, so do your homework before buying one as they are nonrefundable and not always eco-nomical.

Air aseapass

Why Not say “Phuket!” and go to Thailand!!

We will first depart from San Fransisco, USA to Phuket, Thailand. I found that the best airfare rates come from a website called “Vayama.com.” It is similiar to Priceline.com where you are shown a variety of different rates and carriers so that you may choose the most econom-ical means. Since we will be leaving December 1st and returning on December 26th, China Eastern Airlines is the cheapest at $ 536.00 for round trip airfare. We have 1 stop, an 18 hour layover in Shanghai, China. We will spend 5 days in Phuket and there is much to do! Stay at the Bodega Phuket hostile, room with others and make some friends! Total cost for 5 days is $60.15 and it is right by the beach. Tour Phang Nga Bay, see Old Phuket Town, party on Bangla Road or pray at Wat Chalong Temple.

After about 18 hours, we will have arrived in Shanghai, China. We will have an 18 hour layover here. Some of the things you could do in the 18 hours would be to ride the train to downtown, if you aren’t too tired from the flight that is, and view of the skyline is breath-taking.

Myanmar Our first stop will be in Burma and we will be staying at the Lit-tle Yangon Hostile. This is a gem in the heart of downtown Myanmar. with walkabl distance to many attractions such as Sule Pagoda (5 min-utes), Bogoke Mar- ket (10 minutes), China Town, Ban- doola Park, Ministry offices, Botahtaung jetty and so on. And at $10 per night, it just can’t be beat!! You will be nearby the famous Yangon Chinatown where the locals come to drink. One fun fact is that you make a kissing sound to attract the server, one or two kisses will suffice. A cus-tom in Burma is to eat with the right hand. It is considered rude to eat with the left had as this is the hand used for personal hygeine.

There are few ATMs in Myanmar, so visitors need to bring plenty of U.S. dollars. The higher the denomination, the better the exchange rate.Your greenbacks should be squeaky clean -- that means no creas-es, stains, marks or tears. A note that’s folded or even a little worn is worthless in Myanmar.The local currency is the kyat (pronounced “chat”) and U.S.$1 will get you about 882 kyat. The new 10,000-kyat note (less than U.S.$12) is the highest denomination -- be prepared for a bulging wallet.There’s little worry about carrying a lot of cash. Crime against foreigners is rare and the Burmese -- the vast majority of whom are Buddhist -- are generally honest.

Yangon (formerly Rangoon) is a city of temples, markets, food stalls and ill-maintained colonial architecture. Highlights include the golden Shweda-gon Pagoda, one of the most spectacular Buddhist structures in Asia; Bo-gyoke Aung San Market, a great place to bargain for handicrafts; and the fascinating colonial district around Sule Pagoda. Outside the capital, visit the Naga-Yone enclosure near Myinkaba, with a Buddha figure entwined and protected by a huge cobra - a combination of Buddhism and Brahman astrology.Attend scheduled nightly performances

of Myanmar’s traditional dance, marionette theatre or anyeint (comedy) in Mandalay. Alternatively, look out for performances during religious festi-vals, weddings, sporting events and funerals – sometimes they last for an entire night, and include nat pwes, an event which pays homage to the spirit world. Lastly, One of the easiest trips from Yangon is to Bago, which has a col-lection of Buddhist buildings and monuments. They include the golden Shwemawdaw Pagoda – with the tallest stupa in the country – as well as the Shwethalyaung Buddha, which is considered one of the most beautiful re-

Flight to Myanmar: $113Flying Air Asia

Flight to Kuala Lumpur: $125Flying Air Asia Kuala Lumpur We will be staying at Dorm KL for our stay here, it is a brand new hostile right in the bustling part of KL! We will be here for 3 days and spend a grand total of $20 for our lodging. The first thing to do is to visit the Petronas Towers. There are 2 of them complete with an observation deck atop the 86th floor.

One thing you will not want to miss while in KL is visiting the Batu Caves. It’s famous 10 Kilometer gold-en statue can be seen for miles, the 272 steps provide you a great work out while enjoying the view, however be careful of the monkeys as they are very cheeky here.

Flight to Brunei: $33Flying Air Asia Brunei Brunei is a more expensive city in comparison to the ones we have visited thus far. We will be staying at The Jubilee Hotel, which runs $32/night. We will spend 2 days in Brunei but there is still much to see. We will go downtown Ban-dar Seri Begawan. The city is compact and you can reach al-most everythign on foot, there-fore saving on train costs. One thing you must see is the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque! It is pictured right. As you an see, Brunei is a water town and there is much marine life. There is a local market on the river Tamu Kianggeh. If you like interesting scenery, go and see Kampong Ayer. It is a city on stilts above the water and the river is the street. You will need a boat or water taxi to navigate through the streets of Kampong Ayer! But beware, taxis are not easy to find and the buses stop running at 6pm.

Brunei is run by a monarchy, the Sultan is the head of government as Prime Minister.

If you are into trying new and exciting things, which I am sure you are if you are travelling to South East Asia for month! You should try scorpion and snake wine. It is said that the wine is good for you, it is said to improve health and virility. Do not be concerned about the venom kill- ing you, it is cancelled out by the alcohol. Getting around is a bit difficult since the city is so densely populated. It is best to try and travel by foot or mo- torbike. Many of the locals travel by moped and it is a fantastic way to not look like a tourist while still being able to visit all of the sights. One thing to be wary of, is that theives can swiftly swing by you on a motorbike and snatch your handbag, purchased items, or even your phone or your cam-era right out of your hand!! I would keep your money or wallet in your front pocket as pick pockets can also strike.

Flight to Ho Chi Min: $85Flying Air Asia Ho Chi Min We will stay at the Vietnam Inn Saigon. It is very inexpensive and lovely. We will be here for 6 days at a total of $36.00. Vietnam is the only country to have the United States retreat from war. It is a tiny country, but by using tacticle warfare, such as the Cu Chi tunnels, they overcame the enemy. You can crawl through the tunnels as pictured below and even shoot an AK-47!!

Vietnam is not only known for their excellent art of war, but for their Pho! If you love delicous Asian noodles like I do, then Ho Chi Min is the place to eat! One of the most renowned Pho restaurants is in Ho Chi Min and is called Pho 2000. It is very close to the Ben Thanh Mar-ket, making it an ideal place to enjoy. They also speak English here too, which makes ordering a hassle free experience.

Flight to Philipines: $169Flying Air Asia Manila Manila is not a very clean city and it is bustling with citizens and tourists alike. It has a unique atmosphere and can boast of the world’s first Chinatown. That is located in Binondo, which is clad with peddlers and businesses. There is a mysterious aphrodisiac soup called “Soup Number 5” that you can purchase here. It’s main ingredient is bull testi-cles and/or penises and shop owners do not find it good practice to put those ingredients on their menu. If bull testicle soup isn’t your thing, try Seafood Dampa buffet. It is very unique in that you purchase kilos of seafood from the catch selec-tion, then you walk it over to the next door restaurant, then they trans-form everything into tasty dishes for you to enjoy.

We will stay at the Lions Den Hostile at $7/per night for 3 nights.

One fun way to see the city is to ride around on a Jeepney! Manila has several World War II Jeeps rolling the streets and they are also inexpensive to ride. The drivers are like maniacs, jerking and slamming on the brakes as if there are no passengers in the back. This makes you bounce about and the most bounceiest place is the very back seat; you can get like 3 feet of air going over a bump!

Manila also boasts the world’s smallest active volcanos. It is called Mount Taal. It is a few hours away from Manila but still worth the visit, I mean, when are you in the Philipines?! You have to take a boat across the lake to get to the volcanic island. It takes about an hour to hike to the top and the view is breath-taking!! This picture does not do Mt. Taal justice, but bring your high resolution camera anyway as this is a sight you will not want to miss!!!

Flight to Cambodia: $112Flying Air Asia Phnom Penh Angkor Wat is listed as a world wonder. It was built in the 12th cen-tury (113-5BC). the largest monument of the Angkor group and the best preserved, is an architectural masterpiece. Its perfection in composi-tion, balance, proportions, relief ’s and sculpture make it one of the finest monuments in the world. We will stay at the Lovely Jubbly Villa for 3 days totalling $10.50.

One must see location in Phnom Penh is the Choeung Ek. 40 years after the Holocaust, a man named Pol Pot took over the city. At first the Cambodians celebrated as this put an end to their civil war. But it was the con-trary, every intellectual Cambodian became an enemy. Those that refused to cooperate were executed. Their bodies were dumped into mass graves for all to see.

As with all of the markets in South East Asia, Phnom Phen’s is no different. There is one exception to keep in mind, local markets work on a barter sys-tem. The seller will list a price, and you should suggest 50% less than that and then settle somewhere inbetween. You must also see Independence Monument. The monument was de-signed by Cambodia’s famous architect, Vann Molyvann, it marks the indepen-dence of Cambodia from the French. They light it up at night and it is a sight to behold. Lastly, stop at the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda. The entire establish-ment is not open to the public, the east-ern Victory Gate leads to the entrance of the throne hall and is used only by royalty and VIPs. The executing gate was used to escort prisoners exiting the palace to be killed. The southern gate is reserved for use by commoners and it is through this gate the public reaches the Silver Pagoda.

Flight to Bangkok: $60Flying Air Asia Bangkok Flight to Hong Kong: $89

Flying Air Asia Hong Kong We are back in Thailand! This time in the capital city. First thing is to visit the Grand Palace, this is probably the most famous landmark in Bangkok. Be sure to check out the main throne hall which contains an Emerald Buddah. This is the most revered Buddah in all of Thailand. You can get to the Grand Palace by taking a Khlong, which is a type of riverboat.

If you’re not sick of tem-ples by now, or even if you are, you won’t want to miss the Wat Arun; which means The Temple of the Dawn. It symbolizes the birth of the Rattanakosin period. Lastly, for the bustling metrop-lex that it is, you have got to see Siam Square! The lights, the cre-ativity and the mix of hipsters and professionals gives the at-mosphere of all things cool.

There is way too much stuff to do in Hong Kong, the world’s most visited city. That can be a trip in itself, but just to say we have been there, go see it! First thing to do is get a drink with the expats at a bar or restaurant in the high-end Soho district. Then take the funicular up to Victoria Peak, which is the highest moun-tain on Hong Kong Island and be sure to take a selfie of the sprawl-ing horizon line behind you. Next, get another drink and party on a junk boat in the harbor, you can get beautiful pictures here as well.

A famous monument in Hong Kong, climb over 200 steps to view the bronze Tian Tian Big Buddha statue. Your pictures will look like you Photoshopped him in! We will have missed the Dragon Boat Race festival, but you can still see a rce if you’d like. Sadly, our trip has come to an end. We have visited 10 citites, learned many words in multiple languages; but, we cannot leave without one more bowl of noo-dles. Get your last bite in at Tsim Chai Kee Noodle Shop. Now get your passport- back to the US!!