Part 1: Thailand

We'll be starting off the trip in Bangkok, Thailand - the hub of SE Asia. You'll find that most flights into and out of this region will be from Bangkok, and serves as a good starting point for anyone interested in going.

The diagram on the left (click to enlarge) is the travel itinerary for the first two or three weeks:

1) Fly into Bangkok from Tokyo, Japan for two days to get all VISA permits figured out to Laos - the next country on the list.

2) From Bangkok, we'll be heading to an island called Ko Pha-Ngan for the hugely popular and monthly full moon party. I hope to toast my skin whilst sipping on fresh coconut juice on a picturesque white-sand, blue water shoreline. :) We're supposed to be meeting up with one of our friends who is currently in Malaysia on an international exchange... hopefully she can make it up for the party!

3) After a relaxing week in Ko Pha-Ngan, we'll make our way over to Krabi, where there will be a lot more beach, and fun activities like snorkeling and rock climbing. Krabi is known for its beautiful mountainous coastline, and its clear blue waters, which you can read about at this link (jealous yet?). Unfortunately, my arrival falls in one of its two seasons: monsoon. Its not as bad as it sounds - although rainier than the other season (hot), the sporadic downpours aren't a constant shower. I hope to rent a scooter or motorcycle and putt around this region while I'm there...

4) After contracting skin cancer from sitting in the sun so much, we'll be heading back to Bangkok to meet up with another one of our friends from Taiwan. We'll stay another weekend to experience eating at the night markets, and hopefully bomb around in the infamous tuk-tuk's.

5) Next stop: Chiang Mai - a very culturally significant city in Northern Thailand. There are various Buddhist temples and other sight-seeing opportunities scattered within and outside of this city. One of the stops is the Chiang Mai Zoo, where you can see PANDA'S! I'm no fan of captive animals, but this exhibit is supposed to be quite astonishing.

6) The first leg of our trip in Thailand will be ending in Chiang Rai, where we'll be getting our VISA's to Laos, and crossing the Mekong River - the border separating Laos and Vietnam.

I've left a lot of details out of the trip, mainly because this trip is supposed to be quite open-ended. We'll be going with the flow on this one! :) More updates soon...