Planning

Thailand to London: the long way...

Okay, last week we decided to bite the bullet and put down a deposit for our train ticket for the Trans Mongolian express. This then meant I had to research a way of getting to Beijing for the start of the trip.

We could either go a) from Bangkok through Cambodia (via Siem Reap and Phnom Penh) and then through Vietnam from Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi. From Hanoi there is a twice weekly departure to Beijing. The other option b) is to go from Bangkok to Vientiane in Laos and then overland through Laos to get to Hanoi.

Option A
pros: a well used route with lots of different ways of doing it.
cons: it means going south to eventually head north which seems counter intuitive (even for someone like myself, with no sense of direction...)

Option B
pros: It is the most direct route and means we can catch the overnight train to the Laos border.
Cons: There are not much in the way of roads and the bus route through Laos is called 'the bus ride from hell'. And it will be rainy season.

Option A looks like the best bet, however I was told that Option B was "impossible" and not very sensible as there are no roads in Laos and it will be too rainy...This made me stubbornly look at it as a challenge. Option B it is then!