From Wikitravel

This article is an itinerary.

This page gives an iterinary for a month-long whirlwind tour of the highlights of Southeast Asia.

[edit] Prepare

[edit] Get in

Most major international airlines fly into Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, while a significant number also fly into Manila but there are dozens of daily connections to surrounding countries.

[edit] Go

Spend a week and half in Malaysia.

Fly to kuala lumpur. spend a night in KL. Do eat and shop for electronic stuff.

Another popular destination for food is penang (north of malaysia, aboout 4-6 hours by bus).

Fly to Sabah. Air asia offer a good price. about 2.5 hours to kota kinabalu and 3 hours to tawau.

Do climb Kinabalu Mountain (the highest mountain is south east asia). (2 days)

Experience tropical rainforest is sukau, sandakan. (2 days)

Dive at the world top diving site in Sipadan and mabul island in semporna. (2 days)

• Spend 2-4 days in Bangkok.
• Fly (45 mins) south to the Ko Phi Phi Ko Lanta or Ko Pha Ngan islands for one week.
• Fly from Phuket to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam (2 hours). Spend 1 week visiting the surrounding area.
• From Ho Chi Minh City travel through the Mekong Delta to Cambodia. Spend 3-4 days in Phnom Penh and 3-4 days in Siem Reap visiting Angkor Wat.

OR From Hanoi in the north or Da Nang in central Vietnam cross the border into Laos by bus (8-12 hours). Spend a week visiting ruins and the Mekong river area.

• Fly (1 hour) or take a bus (8-14 hours) from Siem Reap, Cambodia, or Vientiane, Laos, back to Bangkok.

OR

• Spend a week in Bali The Island of God
• Including Kuta Beach, Jimbaran, Nusa Dua, Uluwatu and Nusa Penida Archipelago.
• Go to Lombok Island by ship and spend your Time in Nusa Lembongan and the Volcanos.
• Then go to Yogyakarta a traditional city, with an exotic culture. See Borobudur, the biggest temple in the World.
• Spend your time in West Java the greatest province in Indonesia, with the beautiful mountain, beach, and an exotic city.
• Bandung is a must. Called Paris Van Java. Famous by 5f (Food, Fashion, Female, Flower dan Fame Station).

One Month in The Philippines

From Europe, fly direct via KLM to Manila; from the US, fly direct via Philippine Airlines; from Australia, fly direct via QANTAS.

• Club in top clubs like the Embassy at the Fort, Ascend, Warehouse 135, Alchemy, M Cafe.
• Check out the World's Third Largest Mall - Mall of Asia with its sprawling Manila Bay sunset view of top-class restaurants that also includes Southeast Asia's only Olympic size skating rink.
• Stroll the Old Walled City of Manila called Intramuros and Fort Santiago and be thrown back in time of the Spaniards.
• Visit Manila Ocean Park, one of Asia's largest Oceanarium and have a foot spa treatment with the famed doctor fish.
• Check out Greenhills for bargain South Sea and Philippine pearls. Hop to Greenbelt for gastronomic delights of international and fusion restaurants.

Head north to Subic Bay.

• Dive at the wreckage of World War II ships and go on a Tiger Safari at the Zoobic Zoo and watch dolphins at play at Ocean Adventure.
• Plunge into the sulfuric waters of the crater of Mount Pinatubo, whose eruption in 1991 was deemed as the world's biggest volcanic eruption in a century.

Head east to Clark Airfield (during February)

• Watch and ride hot air balloons during Southeast Asia's biggest and grandest International Hot Air Balloon Festival. Lessons available in flying light aircraft as well as the occasional skydiving. During December head to one of the nearby towns for the annual Giant Lantern Festival.

Fly to Caticlan going to Boracay

• Named as one of the top World's Best Beaches it is famed for its sugary white sand and crystal clear waters unequalled by any other beaches in the region: activities abound: clubbing, kiteboarding, sailing, parasailing, skimboarding, diving, horseback riding, snorkeling etc. etc. Most come here to stay for 3 days and end up staying for months and years.

Jump off to Kalibo (during January)

• Experience the most riotous Philippine style Mardi-Gras with 3 days of alcohol-fueled, hedonistic dancing every 3rd weekend of January. Filipinos know how to party it hard and this festival is one of the primary examples. Don't forget to get your piña cloth souvenir to take home to Mommy.

Fly to Bohol via Cebu

• Over a thousand similar looking hills dubbed as Chocolate Hills, Bohol is an island of wonder. Have a lunch and cruise down the Loboc River, visit Churches like the Baclayon Church and laze for more sun at the Panglao Beach. Catch the dolphins at Pamalican Island!

Fly to Donsol via Naga City

• Have a close encounter of whale sharks locally known as butanding. Swim with them! And take a side trip to Southeast Asia's largest wakeboarding center near Pili.

Other sites to consider:

• Palawan - The Philippines' last frontier. Famed for highly exclusve beaches and top-class diving destinations. (Check out El Nido, Coron, and for the high-end travellers - hie-off to Amanpulo Resort - secret hideaway of the world's rich and famous!)
• Baguio - The Philippines' Summer Capital and former American retreat.
• La Union - The Philippines' Surfing Capital, also don't miss Siargao, a surfing destination that also faces the Pacific Ocean where the famous Cloud 9 surf is unrivalled nowhere else in the planet.
• Tagaytay and Taal Volcano - One of the smallest active volcano in the world! (1-2 Hours drive south of Manila.) Go horsebackriding, and get some really exquisite bed and breakfast at The Boutique Hotel.
• Batanes - windswept hills and craggy cliffs lend character to the northernmost province of the Philippines. On a clear day, you can even see island of Taiwan. (Take Asian Spirit flight from Manila to Basco.)

For budget travellers, Air Asia, Tiger Airways, and Cebu Pacific flies to the Philippines daily from other leading Asian cities.

[edit] Stay safe

[edit] Get out

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