Transport - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 1051

GETTING THERE & AWAY
Entering the Region
All the countries in the region have international airports, but Bangkok is far and away the most important
hub. There are long-haul flights linking Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to Europe and North America,
but Phnom Penh and Vientiane are only accessible via a regional gateway such as Bangkok, Hong Kong or
Singapore.
When it comes to land borders, Thailand is linked to Malaysia for those visiting more of Southeast Asia.
Myanmar (Burma) looks like a tantalising option for overland travel to India, but this is not currently permit-
ted. Both Laos and Vietnam share borders with China for those heading deeper into Asia or planning an epic
overland trip to or from Europe.
Flights, cars and tours can be booked online at www.lonelyplanet.com/bookings .
Passport
To enter the Mekong region countries, your passport must be valid for at least six months from your date of
entry, even if you're only staying for a few days. You may be refused entry if your passport doesn't have
enough blank pages available for a visa.
Air
Tickets
» The major gateways for budget flights in Southeast Asia are Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
» Other popular jumping-off points for flights into the Mekong region are Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Seoul,
Taipei and Tokyo.
» Bangkok is the best place to shop for onward tickets and tickets around the Mekong region.
» When researching and buying tickets on the internet, try flight-comparison sites like kayak.com or skyscan-
ner.net .
» Note that some popular budget airlines, such as Air Asia, are not covered by online travel and flight-com-
parison sites, so it pays to check the airline websites separately.
Other useful sites for booking tickets in the Mekong region:
Lonely Planet ( www.lonelyplanet.com ) .