Hi Again!

I've decided to go on a 4 month trip starting in Southeast Asia, Hanoi, Vietnam in late September. I'll be travelling through Vietnam (North to South) for 5 weeks, Cambodia for 3, Laos for 2 and then Thailand for 2 weeks, before flying over from Thailand to Sydney, Australia where I will stay for 4 more weeks and then I will be heading home to sunny London in late January.

A couple of days ago I asked about my budget (£5000/$7000 excluding flights and equipment) just to get an idea how long I could be away for. I've chosen my monthly budget of SE Asia to be about £900/$1250 per month for the 3 months I will be there for, which I know is probably pretty high but this is so that I can have a very comfortable 3 months in SE Asia doing whatever excursion/trips I can (scuba diving is something I'd like to do quite a lot of).

I'm not really making a set day-by-day itinerary, I already have all the equipment needed for my backpack, and any flights I may choose to use whilst travelling I will book once I'm over there including my flight home (I have different savings for that). Obviously I have an idea of the places I want to see whilst travelling Vietnam/Laos/Cambodia/Thailand but when it comes to structuring it in a way like 'do this thing on this day' I'm not that bothered and I'd rather just see where I go/end up whilst making time for the things I do genuinely want to see or do.

My mind is set and I am going to stay in Vietnam for 5 weeks, starting in Hanoi for 2/3 nights at a hostel, hopefully meeting some people and if I do then great but if not then whatever and I'll move on on my own to the next destination/hostel and see what arises there, and I will be steadily travelling the country from north to south using public transport (mainly buses as I've heard how horrible the trains can be). Once in HCMC I plan to get a bus over to Phnom Penh where I will travel Cambodia for 3 weeks, then bussing from Vientiane to Pakse, Laos.

I'll then stay in Laos for 2 weeks. Personally I want to go to Laos just to have a bit of a relaxation period amongst all my travels so I think 2 weeks will probably do me perfectly, but I'm open to staying longer or revisiting any of the countries/locations I visit if I like it that much. From Laos I plan to go via bus to Thailand where I will stay and travel the Northern parts for 2 weeks, in all honesty I'm not bothered about going to the South Thailand but I figure since I'm over that way I should probably go see what it has to offer. I've heard AMAZING things about Northern Thailand which is why I do want to venture into Thailand, if there's anything you think I should be visiting in the South of Thailand then feel free to suggest it.

Now that my 3 months in SE Asia are up, going by my budget I will be left with roughly £2300/$3100 which, after buying a flight home will see me very comfortably through Australia for the month (I hope)

After travelling SE Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand) for 3 months I then plan to fly over from Thailand to Sydney, Australia where I will stay out the duration of my trip for the remaining 4 weeks before flying home to London. I have a few good friends who decided to move over to Australia last year together so I'll stay with them some of the trip but will also look to get a hostel for the majority of my time in Australia.

My main questions are: (bearing in mind the trip is 6 months away so there's no panic)

• Does this seem like a plausible plan or am I a total idiot?

• Should I book all flights in advance E.G from Thailand-Sydney and from Sydney-London, or should I book a one-way flight to Hanoi and make bookings as-and-when I need them for?

• Would you recommend extending/decreasing any of the durations in any of the countries?

• Is my budget £900/$1250 per month whilst in SE Asia seem sensible or am I over-budgeting a lot?

• Is a budget of £2300/$3100 enough for 1 comfortable month in Sydney - and could I possibly stay for longer?

• Lastly, give me SEA recommendations please people! Tell me what's REALLY worth seeing and I promise I will go see it!

Thanks for reading!