"Where to?"

Following on from the question of "So, are you excited", the other question i normally get from people i talk to about my trip is "Where are you going?" My answer is always "everywhere and anywhere".

I really have no set schedule of where i want to go. Mainly because i'm lazy and the most constructive thing i have done thus far to plan an itinerary is to buy a lonely Planet book (which i have read a total of 2 pages from.) The main reason however is that i want to be flexible, and i think if you try and plan more than a few months in advance you're eventually going to change it due to factors beyond your control, so why bother in the first place!?

Having said that, me and my travel buddy Alex do have a vague idea of where we'l be going first and the places we would like to eventually see at some point during the trip. We will be starting in Bangkok, and here is the current itinerary for the first few months on the road:

1. Thailand - Starting in Bangkok. This is an obvious starting point for anyone going to SE Asia because it's central and fairly easy to get too. (Minus the nightmare 25 hour journey including a 15 hour stop off in Delhi airport which we mindblowingly decided to opt for.) From Bangkok we will head south, spending the next couple of weeks in the Gulf of Thailand, taking in the usual backpaker hot-spots, Phuket, Ko Tao, Ko Phanghan, Ko Phi Phi etc

2. Cambodia - This is where the prior planning stops. However, some of the places i would like to go are Angkor Wat, Battambang, Shanoukvile and Kampot.

3. Vietnam - One of the places i'm most looking forward to on the trip, and in particular mopedding, most probably illegally, across the vietnamese countryside. Other places to go include Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hoi An, Nha Trang.

4 - Laos - The main reason for goign to Laos, and im sure the reason why most travellers go to Laos, is of course to go tubing. The idea being getting into a rubber ring and floating down a muddy river, stopping off at various 'drinking holes' along the way to get drunk! Sounds all good to me!

If you have any recommendations of places you have been to, or places you would recommend to go en route then get in touch!

Stay tuned!