Like most backpackers who come to the Indochina region of South East Asia, I started my trip in Thailand. I traveled around the northern part of the country for 30 days, which was the maximum length of stay that my free visa on arrival allowed.

I didn’t plan on staying four weeks in just one country, considering my whole trip was only supposed to last 10 weeks and there were four more countries on my itinerary.

My first stop, Chiang Mai, was the culprit! The city fascinated me so much that I didn’t realize I had already spent almost three weeks there and only had a little more than a week to explore the rest of Thailand before my visa expired.

I continued my trip southwards to see the Thee Lor Su Waterfall in Umphang Wildlife Reserve, Tak Province, and then made my way to Kamphaeng Phen and Sukhothai to see ancient temple ruins.

Then, I backtracked northwards to Phrae and then spent a few days in Chiang Rai to see the amazing White Temple and Black Houses. Finally, I got on a bus to Chiang Khong, where I crossed the border to Laos for the next leg of my Indo-china adventure.

Itinerary Rundown

DestinationsDetails
Day 1
  • Kuala Lumpur
  • Clark to Kuala Lumpur
  • Kuala Lumpur Layover
Day 1 to 19
  • Chiang Mai
  • Kuala Lumpur to Chiang Mai Flight
  • In and around Chiang Mai
  • Mae Ya Waterfall
Day 19 to 23
  • Umphang, Tak Province
  • Chiang Mai to Umphang
  • In and around Umphang Village
  • Thee Lor Su Trek and Camping
Day 23 to 26
  • Kamphaeng Phet
  • Sukhothai
  • Umphang to Kamphaeng Phet
  • Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park
  • Kamphaeng Phet to Sukhothai
  • Sukhothai Historical Park
Day 26 to 30
  • Phrae
  • Chiang Rai
  • Chiang Khong
  • Sukhothai to Phrae
  • In and around Phrae
  • Phrae to Chiang Rai
  • In and around Chiang Rai
  • Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong
  • Thailand to Laos via Chiang Khong – Xuay Xai Border Crossing
Next
  • Laos: North to South Traverse
Top
  • Indochina Itinerary (10 weeks): Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar

Trip Date — August 2012

Route Map