Plan a route that includes Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. These "fab-four" are a great start for your trip around Asia. All four offer great markets, biking expeditions, wonderful local cuisine and breathtaking museums. When in Thailand, be sure to see the misty valleys of Mae Hong Son. When you finish, head over to Chiang Khong for a great crossing point into Laos. Spend a couple of nights in the beautiful ancient village of Luang Prabang before heading into Vietnam. Be sure to visit Ho Chi Minh, where you can recuperate at the Vietnamese Traditional Medicine Institute with a relaxing massage. Once you are ready to continue on, cross into Cambodia. You can travel by bus through the beautiful countryside into Phnom Penh or plan a route through the Mekong Delta. Both routes will bring you into Phnom Penh, the crossing point into Cambodia.
Fly into Bangkok. Spend the first hours exploring the lively markets and religious temples as you take in the eccletic local cuisine. The city is a great springboard for the rest of your trip. Kanchanaburi is hours away and is the location for such noted tourist destinations as the River Kwai and the Death Railway, the Erewan National Park and the Three Pagodas Pass near the Myanmar border. When ready to leave the Bankok area, take a train to Chiang Mai. This beautiful village is a great bridge to other destinations in Thailand and Laos. Be sure to take in the valleys and visit the rice-paddy fields before leaving Chiang Mai for your other destinations.
Travel by public bus, train and boat. Ditch the city taxi for the public bus. With extended city bus routes available throughout Asia, go for this less expensive option to gain a more expansive experience of the cities on your itinerary. Many bus and train routes are mapped at each station and provide detailed illustrations that offer easy to follow directions. Simply follow the numbered regions of the city and cross-connect these numbers locations to find a route to your destination. The illustrations are tourist-friendly and require only a basic understanding of the numbered system for comprehension. In most cases, you only need to locate the name of the city on the map in order to find your route, as a series of numbers will direct you incrementally from the start of your trip to the ending destination.
Think quality over quantity. Shorten your trip to allow for deadline contraints or a greater assimilation into the culture. The trick to backbackping through Asia is to take it all in at your own pace. Plan an itinerary that allows you to take in more of the culture and geography. Make sure each day includes a trip to a local market, bike or walking tour and an opportunity to try local cuisine. Avoid doing too much over too many countries. Instead spend a few more days taking in the vastness of a few key cities or villages. This will allow you to really immerse yourself as you learn about the cultural and religious influences within each location.
