Transport - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 1052

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the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
AIR PASSES
Major air alliances like Star Alliance and OneWorld offer Asia air passes that provide discounts on open-jaw
itineraries to several destinations within Asia. Often your trip must originate in the USA, Europe or Aus-
tralia to avail yourself of these; contact individual airlines or a travel agent for more info.
Bucket shops, consolidators and online search engines offer cheap tickets to the region. If Asia is one of
many stops on a global tour, consider a round-the-world (RTW) ticket, which allows a certain number of
stops within a set time period as long as you don't backtrack.
CLIMATE CHANGE & TRAVEL
Every form of transport that relies on carbon-based fuel generates CO 2 , the main cause of human-in-
duced climate change. Modern travel is dependent on, which might use less fuel per per person than
most cars but travel much greater distances. The altitude at which aircraft emit gases (including CO 2 )
and particles also contributes to their climate change impact. Many websites offer 'carbon calculators'
that allow people to estimate the carbon emissions generated by their journey and, for those who wish
to do so, to offset the impact of the greenhouse gases emitted with contributions to portfolios of
climate-friendly initiatives throughout the world. Lonely Planet offsets the carbon footprint of all staff
and author travel.
Land
The land borders between the Mekong region and the rest of Asia include the Lao and Vietnamese northern
borders with China and the frontier that Thailand shares with Malaysia and Myanmar.
There are only two international trains into the region:
» The twice-weekly international service between Hanoi and Beijing.
» Direct services from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok via Butterworth (Malaysia) and Hat Yai
(Thailand).
From Vietnam you can also take local trains to the towns of Lang Son and Lao Cai near the Chinese border.
There are also two daily bus services from Hanoi to Nanning, involving a change of buses at the border.
Reports from Nanning-bound travellers indicate that the bus is less hassle and quicker than travelling by
train.
See the Border Crossings chapter ( Click here ) for more on entering the region overland.