THE SOLO DRIFTER: Indochina 1 (Vietnam-Cambodia-Thailand) Travel Guide, Budget and Itinerary

This article was first published on 3 June 2018, 1:41PM PST; updated on 3 June 2019, 8:12PM PST and 8 July 2023, 2:05am PST.

Hi, VoicePoints readers! It’s me again. I know you miss my #WhereIn series which features places and cuisine. I am changing the name of my travel corner. I now call it “The Solo Drifter”. I have been featuring landmarks, new spots and cuisine solely for years so I decided to change my corner to #TheSoloDrifter.

In this first episode of #TheSoloDrifter, I am featuring three countries from Indochinese Peninsula or Mainland Southeast Asia – the most visited in the world, Thailand, and two of the famous countries from French Indochina which are Vietnam and Cambodia.

I also wrote a detailed travel guide for tourist visiting the following countries:
Vietnam
Cambodia
Thailand

After the pandemic, I went back to my favorite country, Thailand and neighboring countries Vietnam and Cambodia, here are the videos summing up my activities with my family:
Vietnam
Cambodia
Thailand

In May 2018, I had a three-day Asia-Pacific Conference in Bangkok, Thailand so I used this opportunity to visit the neighboring countries of Thailand. I prepared a video of each country and uploaded it in YouTube. Please follow the link below:
Vietnam
Cambodia
Thailand

In May 2019, our conference was held in Ho Chi Minh and I uploaded my videos here:
Vietnam
Cambodia
Thailand

In this article, I am sharing my suggested itinerary and budget:

Time	Place	Remarks	PHP	USD	THB	VND	KHR
DAY 1 – Nature
1:30AM	Manila International Airport	Flight to Bangkok, inclusive of travel tax of PHP1,620	6,785
4:10AM	Suvarnabhumi International Airport	Give at least 45 minutes for immigration processing			700
4:10AM	Suvarnabhumi International Airport	Taxi fare going to hotel, plus toll fees			700
6:00AM	Maitria Mode Sukhumvit 15 Bangkok – A Chatrium Collection	Check in	4,396
6:30AM		Travel time to Ekkamai. Take Grab			188
7:00AM	T-Tour Station	Travel time to Pattaya			190
9:00AM	Pattaya Beach				100
10:30AM	Nong Nooch Garden				500
12:30PM	Elephant Jungle Sanctuary		3,748
6:00PM		Travel time to Bangkok			150
8:00PM	Khao San Road	Budget			500
DAY 2 – Temple Run
7:00AM		Travel time to Ayutthaya			150
9:00AM	Ayutthaya Historical Park				150
	Wat Maha That
	Wat Phra Si Sanphet
	Wat Lokayasutharam
11:00AM		Travel time to Bangkok			150
1:00PM	Chatuchak Weekend Market	Budget			500
2:00PM	The Grand Palace (opens until 3:30PM)	Entrance fee, including taxi fare			750
	Wat Phra Kaew (opens until 3:30PM)
	Wat Pho
	Wat Suthat
	Wat Arun
8:00PM	Asiatique The Riverfront	Budget			500
10:00PM	Chinatown	Budget			500
DAY 3 – Markets and Cruise
10:00AM	Damnoen Saduak Floating Market and Maeklong Railway Market		2,159
6:00PM	Chao Phraya Cruise		1,526
DAY 4 – Bangkok to Siem Reap
1:00AM		Travel time from Bangkok to Siem Reap	1,558
11:00AM	Little Prince Resort & Spa	Check in		29.67
12:30PM	Khmer Cooking Class		1,278
5:30PM	Pub Street	Budget		10
8:00PM	Phare: The Cambodian Circus	Entrance fee	1,520
DAY 5 – Temple Run
4:30AM	Angkor Tour	Service and Angkor Pass		37			100,000
12:00PM		Travel time to Phnom Penh	715
5:00PM	Ohana Phnom Penh Palace Hotel	Check in		38
6:30PM	National Museum of Cambodia	Plae Pakaa Cambodia Living Arts Show	1,247
DAY 6 – Phonm Penh and Ho Chi Minh
9:00AM	Royal Palace			11
	Wat Moha Montrei
	Wat Phnom
1:00PM		Travel time to Ho Chi Minh	703
5:30PM	A25 Hotel	Check in				660,000
7:00PM	Ben Thanh Market					1,000,000
DAY 7 – Ho Chi Minh
5:45AM	September 23 Park	Morning walk
	Saigon Square
	Bitexo Tower and Sky Deck
	Opera House
8:00AM	TNK Travel	Meet up for Cu Chi Tunnels tour
9:30AM	Art Shop (Agent Orange victims), Cu Chi Tunnels and Mekong Delta Tours		3,362
10:00PM		Ho Chi Minh to Manila	5,165
Sub-total (in local currency)			34,162	125	5,028	1,660,000	100,000
Total (translated)			54,284	977	34,307

If you are planning to visit Malaysia-Singapore-Indonesia after Thailand, here’s my travel guide.

TRANSPORTATION

Cebu Pacific (MNL-SGN, MNL-BKK, REP-MNL)
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

12Go Asia (Bus Booking)
Website

Busbud (Booking)
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Bookaway.com (Booking)
Website | Facebook | Instagram

VietnamBusTickets (Booking)
Website

TravelMart Bangkok (BKK-REP, REP-BKK)
Website | Facebook

Virak-Buntham Express (PNH-HCM, PNH-REP, REP-BKK)
Website | Facebook

Mey Hong Transport (PNH-REP)
Website | Facebook

Long Phuong Cambodia (SGN-PNH)
Website

Danh Danh Express Bus (HCM-PNH)
Website | Facebook

Kumho Samco (HCM-PNH)
Website

Siem Reap Angkor Transport Services
Number (WhatsApp): 088 84 14 866 or 081 42 47 11

ACCOMMODATION

Booking.com

Ohana Phnom Penh Palace Hotel
Website | Facebook

Little Prince Resort & Spa (Siem Reap)
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

A25 Hotel (Ho Chi Minh)
Website | Facebook | Instagram

Shangri-La Hotel (Bangkok)
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Rex Hotel Saigon (Ho Chi Minh)
Website | Facebook

Maitria Mode Sukhumvit 15 Bangkok – A Chatrium Collection
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Wild Orchid Villa (Bangkok)
Website

RECREATION AND ADVENTURE

Elephant Jungle Sanctuary
Website | Facebook | Instagram

Chao Phraya Princess Cruise
Website | Facebook | Instagram

Khmer Cooking Class
Website | Facebook | Instagram

Experience Cambodian Living Arts
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Chatuchak Market
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Bossotel Spa (Thailand)
Website | Facebook

Klook (Booking)
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

TNK Travel (Indochina)
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Asiatique The Riverfront (Thailand)
Website | Facebook | Instagram

FOOD

Vietnam

SH Garden
Website | Facebook
Monday-Sunday, 10AM-11PM

Ngo Saigon Street Cafe
Website | Facebook

Cafe Cheo Leo
Facebook
Monday-Sunday, 5:15AM-6:45PM

Morico
Facebook
Monday-Sunday, 9:30AM-10PM

Fanny Ice Cream
Website | Facebook
Monday-Friday, 8AM-11AM; Saturday-Sunday, 8AM-11:30PM

Broma: Not a Bar
Facebook | Instagram

A Square Coffee
Website | Facebook

Thailand

Peppery Thai Bistro
Website | Facebook

Golden Mango
Facebook
Monday-Friday, 9AM-10PM; Saturday, 10AM-10PM

FIRE & DINE Bar n’ Restaurant
Facebook
Monday-Sunday, 5:30PM-1:00AM

Bogie Cafe & Bistro Maeklong Railway Market
Facebook

Cambodia

The Red and Green Curry Angkor Restaurant
Location
Mon-Sat, 9am-11pm; Sun, 2pm-11pm

Yi Sang Restaurant
Facebook
Monday-Sunday, 6AM-10PM

La Croisette
Website | Facebook

Sik Gaek Korean Restaurant
Facebook | Instagram

Harry’s Phnom Penh
Website | Facebook

About the Author

Paul Michael JaramilloChief Executive Editor

PJ is a CPA, writer, storyteller, environment and youth advocate. As a writer, his articles on national development were published in a Spanish newspaper and local news network Rappler. As a storyteller and environment advocate, his documentary films on mining and environment were featured by ABS-CBN News and GMA News. He launched his career as a CPA at KPMG in the Philippines in late 2015. He started his professional journey as an external auditor of a global workspace provider (the largest audit client of KPMG in the Philippines), global bank, leading MFCG in the Philippines and a number of shared service centres. As an auditor, his team won the KPMG Asia-Pacific Data & Analytics Challenge and coached the Philippine team that placed third to the KPMG GlobalRunner Cup. More than two years later, he led KPMG in the Philippines’ Network of Audit Innovators and Data & Analytics Champions and its academic arm, while serving as a member of the KPMG Asia-Pacific Audit Digital Transformation Workstream. He served as a member of the Audit Methodology Group and Root Cause Analysis Team of KPMG in the Philippines. He was a regular training facilitator of KPMG on audit methodology, innovation, data and analytics, professional standards and regulatory updates. He also served as a coach for newly promoted supervisors. PJ was also the Firm’s System of Quality Management Implementation Manager and a Workforce of the Future Champion. He was also a Sampling Specialist of the Firm. In 2019, PJ was a member of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA)’s Technical Working Group on Audit Methodology. PJ led in developing some of the innovative solutions of KPMG in the Philippines. Above all, PJ is a people investor. He invests on people who have potential and talents. That makes him a coach and mentor to some young professionals in the profession and served as a People Committee member of KPMG in the Philippines. He leads advocacy projects that help communities. He produces vlogs thru his YouTube channel, PJspirations which features stories of different individuals. As a volunteer, he is the Academic Master and Head Coach of PREMIER International Learning and Development Center, which provides coaching, mentoring, training and learning programs and platforms that promote growth and development in every individual’s life and career. He is also with the Middle East and Caspian regions of KPMG as a member of its Professional Practice group and Audit L&D for the Saudi Levant Cluster, providing subject matter knowledge and guidance on audit methodology, and learning and development programs to its offices. He is a proud Ilocano and a graduate of Northwestern University.

He also conducts #IamRemarkable sessions, a program initiated by Google for women and underrepresented groups.