*Both itineraries are similar from Day 1-11 as we would have to cover these places anyway; note the changes from Day 11 onwards which is a pretty drastic route change. This itinerary is a worst case scenario already i.e. overland trvaelling by day if we cannot find overnight transport to our next destination.
Note: Charter – private bus, motorbike/tuk-tuk or taxi
Bus – Public transport
| Day /Time | Morning | Afternoon | Night | Comments |
| Day 1 – 04/12/08 | - | SIN (1735 ETD, Meet at 1615 budget terminal!) | (2000 ETA in | |
| Day 2 – 05/12/08 | HANOI-MAI CHAU (approx. 2 hours by charter, 4 hours by bus) | MAI CHAU-NA MEO (approx. 4.5 hours) NA MEO-VIENG XAI (approx. 2 hours by bus) | VIENG XAI | |
| Day 3 – 06/12/08 | VIENG XAI ( | VIENG XAI | VIENG XAI | |
| Day 4 – 07/12/08 | CIP (VIENG XAI OR SAM NEUA) | CIP (VIENG XAI OR SAM NEUA) | CIP (VIENG XAI OR SAM NEUA) | Note: approx. 1 hour by charter between both villages |
| Day 5 – 08/12/08 | SAM NEUA | SAM NEUA | SAM NEUA | Can be based in either village given close proximity for CIP |
| Day 6 – 09/12/08 | SAM NEUA-PHONSAVANH (approx. 10-12 hours by bus) | SAM NEUA-PHONSAVANH (approx. 10-12 hours by bus) | PHOSAVANH | |
| Day 7 – 10/12/08 | PHOSAVANH (Plain Of Jars) | PHOSAVANH | PHONSAVANH | Given only one attraction worth seeing, we may leave in the afternoon for Luang Prabang and spend the night there instead of Phonsavanh. |
| Day 8 – 11/12/08 | PHONSAVANH-LUANG PRABANG (approx. 8 hours by bus) | LUANG PRABANG | LUANG PRABANG | |
| Day 9 – 12/12/08 | LUANG PRABANG-UDOMXAI (approx. 5 hours by bus) | (approx. 5 hours) | LUANG | If possible, we would get a straight ride to Luang |
| Day 10 – | LUANG | LUANG | LUANG | Given travelers’ accounts,2 full days is already the bare minimum to spend here. |
| Day 11 – | LUANG | LUANG | LUANG | |
| Day 12 – | LUANG (approx. 1-2 hours) | MENGLA-JINGHONG | JINGHONG | |
| Day 13 – | JINGHONG | JINGHONG | JINGHONG | |
| Day 14 – | JINGHONG | JINGHONG | JINGHONG | There are overnight sleeper buses (8 hours, Dog) but irregular. |
| Day 15 – | JINGHONG-KUNMING (approx. 8-10 hours by charter) | | | |
| Day 16 - | KUNMING-LAO CAI-HANOI (2 days by train? Overnight sleepers OR 10 hours from Kunming to Hekou by bus then overnight sleeper from Lao Cai to Hanoi) | Have to check exact time and train route beforehand! | ||
| Day 17 – | ||||
| Day 18 – | | | SIN-HANOI (0400 ETA) | |
| Day 19 –22/12/08 | SIN | | | |
2 comments:
Just a few questions abt itinerary ver 2...
Day 7: i'm not sure if out of town buses run in the afternoon & nights.
Day 8-9: you arrive at LP at night and you are leaving immediately the day after?
Day15: if you go from Jinghong to Kunming and then Kunming to Hanoi, are you paying extra for distance? Why not find a route from Jinghong to nearest town on train route into Hanoi?
Day 7: I am assuming Phonsavanh has only the Plain of Jars to offer as an attraction, thus I plan to leave in the afternoon or night if possible. As you can see in the itinerary, it is perfectly fine to leave the next day as long as it is within schedule.
Day 8-9: Good question! We are rather turned off by the high costs of staying there for a few days, so we would rather move on and spend time somewhere else with lesser farangs and more tranquility. Unless you think there are things we should see there, since we have never been there ourselves.
Day 15: Apparently Kunming is like a transport hub in the region to Jinghong and other places, thus we chose to go there as many travelers' accounts include the city as their stop before moving on. However you have a point there, so I will get back to your query ASAP. Thanks!
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