Southeast Asia Trip - Thailand Forum - Tripadvisor

Southeast Asia Trip

Ware, United Kingdom
Level Contributor
29 posts
5 reviews
2 helpful votes
Southeast Asia Trip

Hi all, I am travelling for 7 weeks around southeast Asia with my boyfriend. We leave on 22nd May.

We are staying 16 nights in Vietnam, 16 nights in Thailand, 13 nights in Bali and then travelling via Singapore on the way back to the UK.

I was wondering if anyone had any tips for us on our travels.

Also- I am trying to decide on Pro-Biotics. Do you think that it is worth taking probiotics/ travel biotics before and throughout the trip? Will it help to keep us from getting ill? If so, do you have any brands that you recommend?

7 replies to this topic
Thailand
Level Contributor
23,664 posts
4 reviews
8 helpful votes
1. Re: Southeast Asia Trip

There is no magic pill that will prevent getting ill while traveling. Each persons susceptibility to travel bugs is different. Some get sick from everything, others go for years without catching anything. Your choice of places to eat, your hygiene, your general health all factor in more than anything.

Loughborough...
Destination Expert
for Bangkok
Level Contributor
21,294 posts
67 reviews
119 helpful votes
2. Re: Southeast Asia Trip

I spend around 5 or 6 months of the year in Thailand. Every morning when there I have an electrolyte drink, a sachet (there are several brands) that you can buy - usually between Thb 5 to 8 per sachet. They help to combat dehydration and help to replace minerals lost through sweating. Take with water.

No idea what a pro-biotic is, sorry. Sounds like marketing hype?

United Kingdom
Level Contributor
23,292 posts
142 reviews
71 helpful votes
3. Re: Southeast Asia Trip

Never taken Pro-Biotics and rarely get ill, once in India and once in Myanmar.

Tips you should plan your route. I suggest Thailand first then Vietnam then Bali. It is the start of tge rainy season in Thailand in May. June should ok in Vietnam although getting hot. Bali is dry season, May-September. You Could sway Vietnam and Thailand around, don't think will make that much difference, weatherwise.

16 days is not long for Thailand or Vietnam, 13 days for Bali maybe too long? Bali is quite a small island, the beaches are not that good.

Edited: 6:53 am, April 24, 2024
United Kingdom
Level Contributor
23,292 posts
142 reviews
71 helpful votes
4. Re: Southeast Asia Trip

Don't try to do too much or you will spend a lot of the time travelling between places and you may get sick of airports. Can take most of day between places.

Edited: 7:33 am, April 24, 2024
England, United...
Level Contributor
5,612 posts
2 reviews
1 helpful vote
5. Re: Southeast Asia Trip

Given that the trip is less than a month away, I presume flights are already booked, so a change of schedule is unlikely. This has also been posted on Bali and Vn forums, so plenty of other advice already.

I'm with Ray on don't try to do too much. It's a common mistake and apart from a tick on the been there seen that list you spend lots of time travelling, little time at the sights and a very frenetic trip. It might seem like a long way away or the trip of a lifetime, but in reality all those countries are only 12 hours-ish away and can be visited again if you like what you see.

Why wait till you go abroad to improve your gut health. My advice is to eat as varied a diet as possible. Lots of veg, fruit, nuts, etc. Anything to improve your guts and get it used to different food types. Chili's may be a useful addition. I'm always sceptical of commercial 'improvers' as they often contain lots of unnecessary additives to flavour or preserve. They may also temporarily upset your stomach.

Sheffield, United...
Destination Expert
for Cambodia, Burundi, Malawi, Rwanda
Level Contributor
13,877 posts
8 reviews
4 helpful votes
6. Re: Southeast Asia Trip

If there was a magic potion to prevent illness then someone would be very rich.

I would google how to stay healthy abroad or similar not for products but for basic guidelines and I would ensure my vaccinations are up to date. Many people forget that in SEA western food items such as mayonnaise can be a problem

New Zealand
Level Contributor
2,899 posts
58 reviews
25 helpful votes
7. Re: Southeast Asia Trip

Hey, we travel like your plans regularly and I would firstly say that honestly we found Thailand to be considerably the best country in SEA to travel at the moment. We found the environment to be cleaner in the tourist spots as well as in cities. Also the quality of food better and clener. We had no issues on our last 10week trip around SEA including 7 weeks in Thailand. Perhaps we were lucky although we were more aware of what we ate. We ate in street food type places in Thailand but found those places too grubby in the other SEA countries we visited. It is worth taking probiotics I think starting before you go. The other option is to eat organic an apple most days including the core which is full of probiotics. (but not the seeds), and make some effort to eat healthily before you go. Avoid over processed fast food in the airports.

We take a filter bottle (eg Fill2pure) and filter tap water, saves wasting so many plastic bottles.

It is worth doing a bit of research on antibiotics in case you do get a bacterial infection (eg dysentery through food)

TBH with 7 weeks I am tempted to suggest Thailand only as it has such a variety of history, beaches (way the best), culture, and the most fun. Bkk then South then North Is a long way with so many fabulous stops with nice rooms and brekkie for around 1000-1500 baht even in beach areas.

Happy planning

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