backpacking toward the philippines: “the long way home” – not my words

“That’s an unusual route”, deliberated this guy that I’ve met in New Delhi International Airport.  I was waiting for my 11PM flight to Hanoi via Kuala Lumpur to start my backpacking trip within the mainland southeast asia.  The guy is a seasoned backpacker; he’s been to around 70 countries including the southeast asian ones. 

My overland  route: From Hanoi (Vietnam), I will go down to Vientiane (Laos) then further down to Bangkok (Thailand), turn left to Pnom Penh (Cambodia), and push it further to Saigon (Vietnam).  From there, I will fly to Manila.  This should be cheap – even cheaper than what my Lonely Planet Guide “Southeast Asia on a Shoestring” that I bought from Saeed Book Bank in Islamabad, promises. But who knows…

“You see”, he was telling me while I was diligently browsing through my guidebook, “you will be missing some good parts like the Mekong river route from Laos to Hanoi on board the fishermen’s boat.”

“And that can’t be done in reverse because it will be against the river’s current?” I wondered. 

“Most probably”, he said, “but this route might be a different one for you though.”

The LP guide proposes two itineraries to navigate the mainland.  One is Thailand-Laos-Cambodia-Vietnam-Myanmar (or Burma) and the other one is the Mekong River expedition starting from Saigon and ending in Thailand.  I am not following any of  these because (1) my last stop should at least be near Manila for the cheaper flight; (2) while Vietnam and Thailand are common to all the routes, I don’t want to miss Laos and Cambodia – Laos, because Gudang said so and it’s the least developed in the entire region, and Cambodia, for that Angkor Wat of course; and (3) given my very finite resources, my route is actually in the order of my priorities, i.e., if my shoestring would turn out to be much shorter, at least I’ve been to where I think are the best bits.   

Actually, I like the way he said it: unusual route.