Basics - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 24

Getting there
The quickest and easiest way to get to
Southeast Asia is by air. One of the
cheapest options is to buy a flight to one
of the region's gateway cities, such as
Singapore or Bangkok, and make onward
travel arrangements from there. If you're
keen to combine your trip with a visit
to India or China, you could consider a
stopover or open-jaw ticket, which flies
you into one country and out of another,
allowing you to explore overland in
between. If you're planning a multi-stop
trip, then a Round-the-World or Circle
Asia/Pacific ticket offers good value;
the least expensive and most popular
routes include one or more “surface
sectors” where you have to make your
way between point A and point B by
road, rail or sea or by a locally bought
flight. As an alternative to air travel,
you could consider taking one of the
world's classic overland trips, the Trans-
Siberian Railway, through Russia and
Mongolia to China, and continue from
there to Indochina.
The biggest factor affecting the price of a ticket
is the time of year you wish to travel. High season
for many Asian destinations is over Christmas (when
much of the region is experiencing its driest
period), during the UK summer holidays, and over
Chinese New Year. As such, you should book well
in advance during these periods. Some airlines and
travel agents charge more than others, so it's always
good to shop around. Discount-flight agents often
offer the best deals. You can also get good deals
if you are a student or are under 26 with discount
agents such as STA and the Canadian company
Travel CUTS.
Flying into Southeast Asia on a one-way ticket is
fairly inexpensive and gives you plenty of options
for onward travel, but it could cause problems at
immigration (for example in Indonesia; see p.164).
Stricter o cials might ask to see proof of your

onward or return transport, while others will be
more satisfied if you can give details of a convincing
onward route, with dates. Showing proof of su -
cient funds to keep you going (even if this just
means flashing a couple of credit cards) will also
placate immigration o cials. It's pretty rare for you
to be asked for this information, but there's no harm
in being prepared.
In some countries, you may have to apply for a
visa in advance if arriving on a one-way ticket,
rather than being granted one automatically at
immigration, so always check with the relevant
embassy before you leave. If you are continuing
overland, you should research visa requirements
at the border crossings before leaving home.
Details on overland transport from neighbouring
Southeast Asian countries are given in the introduc-
tion to each chapter.

Flights from the UK and Ireland
It's usually more expensive to fly from the UK and
Ireland nonstop than to change planes in Europe,
the Middle East or Asia en route. Some European
airlines offer competitive fares to Asia from regional
airports such as Glasgow, Manchester, Dublin and
Belfast, although prices may often be higher than
flights from London; Manchester is the only regional
airport from where you can fly direct to destinations
like Singapore and Hong Kong.
One of the cheapest and most useful gateways
to Southeast Asia is Bangkok . London-Bangkok
flights start at about £550 return, rising during
peak times (July, Aug, Dec), and take a minimum
of twelve hours. Another competitively priced
and popular gateway city is Singapore . London-
Singapore flights start at around £600 return, again
rising during peak times (mid-July to Sept), and
take at least twelve hours; flights to Kuala Lumpur
are similarly priced.
If you want to go to China as well as Southeast
Asia, consider buying a flight to Hong Kong . Direct
London-Hong Kong flights start at about £550
return, and take at least eleven hours. Hong Kong
gives you easy and inexpensive local transport

A BETTER KIND OF TRAVEL
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