Map image: paths travelled Map image: countries visited

Trip to SE Asia, 2006-2007

by Gerald Oskoboiny


I did a 5-month trip around Japan and Southeast Asia from Nov 2006 to Apr 2007, first attending some meetings in Tokyo, then spending about a month in each of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Laos. I worked my usual job while I was on the road which went OK but turned out to be much more difficult and time-consuming than I expected.

My original plans were to cover much more ground, including New Zealand, India, Nepal, and many more countries in between. But these plans were very unrealistic even if I hadn't been working along the way.

My itinerary ended up as:

Nov 15 (Wed)
Boston to Tokyo via Detroit
Nov 16-25
Worked from Tokyo, went sightseeing on eves/weekends
Nov 25-27 (Sat-Mon)
Weekend in Kyoto with Roger and Marj
Nov 27 (Mon)-Dec 6 (Wed)
Meetings in Tokyo; stayed at the Nikko hotel. Itin:
Nov 28-30
AC meeting etc
Dec 1
Team meeting
Dec 3
Day trip to see Mount Fuji
Dec 4-5
Sysweb meeting
Dec 6
Flew to Bangkok, met up with Roger, Marj, Bert et al. on Ko Samet
Dec 7-23
Lazed around Ko Samet, stayed at Jep's most of the time
Dec 17-19
Trip to Bangkok to apply for a Vietnamese visa
Dec 23
Flew to Hanoi, Vietnam
Dec 24
Flew to Hoi An, met up with Roger and Marjorie
Dec 24-28
Hoi An, Vietnam
Dec 29-Jan 14
Ho Chi Minh City, stayed at Luan Vu guesthouse most of the time
Jan 11
Cu Chi tunnel tour
Jan 12-13
Mekong Delta tour
Jan 14
Flew to Phuket, Thailand
Jan 15
Met up with Jeremy in Patong
Jan 15-21
Went Scuba diving the Similan Islands, Thailand (left from Patong Jan 15 21:00, returned Jan 21 15:00)
Jan 22
Flew to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Jan 22-Feb 3
worked from Kuala Lumpur, stayed at Travellers Palm for the last week
Feb 1
Thaipusam festival, Batu Caves
Feb 3
Flew from KL to Tawau (Sabah, Malaysian Borneo)
Feb 4
Took a bus to Semporna, got a room at Scuba Junkie
Feb 5
Went diving at Mabul island with Uncle Chang
Feb 5-7
Worked from Semporna
Feb 8
Went diving at Sibuan island with Scuba Junkie
Feb 10-13
Went diving at Sipadan island with Uncle Chang, stayed at their guesthouse on Mabul
Feb 13-14
Worked from Semporna, stayed at Scuba Junkie
Feb 15
Flew to Kuala Lumpur, stayed at Equator Hostel
Feb 16
Flew to Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Feb 16-28
Stayed at Okay Guesthouse, Phnom Penh
Feb 28
Bus to Siem Reap, Cambodia
Mar 1, 5-8
Dirtbiking with Hidden Cambodia
Mar 2-4, 9-17
Worked and visited the temples of Angkor, stayed at Two Dragons.
Mar 17
Flew to Vientiane, Laos, stayed at Soukchaleun guesthouse.
Mar 18
Flew to Luang Prabang, Laos.
Mar 18-Apr 2
Worked from Luang Prabang, stayed at Rattana guesthouse.
Mar 25-26
2-day trekking/kayaking trip with White Elephant tours
Apr 2
Slow boat to Nong Khiaw
Apr 2-5
Visited Nong Khiaw and Muang Ngoi
Apr 6
Buses to Luang Nam Tha
Apr 7
Went biking with Hanita and Veronika
Apr 8
Bus to Huay Xai
Apr 9-11
Gibbon Experience, Bokeo, Laos
Apr 12-15
Songkran (Thai New Year) in Chiang Mai, stayed at MD House.
Apr 16
Returned home! Flew to Bangkok, then Tokyo, San Francisco, Vancouver.

My travel weblog has notes and stories on places I went, and my list of photos has links to various photo galleries.

Useful stuff for trip planning:

Inline maps above courtesy of MyWorld66 and Great Circle Mapper.

Original plans

My initial unrealistic plans for this trip were as follows: countries I had hoped to visit:

Factors influencing my route selection:


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Gerald Oskoboiny, <[email protected]>