Solo travel using this travel itinerary to Indochina. I’ve always been fascinated by the mystical beauty of Indochina. The ancient temples and grandeur architectural designs of their buildings are really outstanding! It has a lot of character that reflects their culture and traditions.
So after being inspired by a good friend who lives in Siem Reap, who has never failed in promoting all the best things to do in Siem Reap and Bangkok, Thailand (other than shopping!)
I’ve decided to tackle solo travel to Indochina starting from Siem Reap to Singapore on a shoestring budget. So after reading loads of travel guides to Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia, I’ve finally gotten to a solid-ish plan (this travel itinerary to Indochina) on where to go and what to do in Siem Reap, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur.
DIY TRAVEL ITINERARY TO INDOCHINA (CAMBODIA, THAILAND AND MALAYSIA)
DAY 1: Manila, Philippines – Siem Reap, Cambodia
7 PM: Departing Manila, Philippines to Siem Reap, Cambodia.
I arrived in Siem Reap around 10 PM; the tuk-tuk airport pick-up was complementarily arranged by the hotel.
All hotels in Cambodia provide a free airport pick–up. So get in touch with the reservation of your hotel to arrange one.
DAY 2: Angkor Wat – Temple Tour
4 AM – Pick-up time to start the Angkor Wat Sunrise tour. The tuk-tuk driver took me to the Ticket centre to buy the Angkor Wat site ticket day pass for all the temples for $37USD.
5:30 AM – Angkor Wat temple waiting for the sunrise. Here are the best temples to visit around Angkor National Park.
As you walk towards the Angkor Wat temple, the best vantage point for taking awesome pictures will be on the left side of the lake.
Make sure you’ll get to the temple as early as you can to bag the perfect spot. You need to bring a tripod for your long exposure shots, or carefully use a stone from the lake bank to get a steady shot. Also, take a flashlight (torch) with you! The temple ground is pitch black when you get there before dawn.
6 am – 2 pm Temple tour. Make sure you bring and drink plenty of fluids because it’s so warm and humid while walking around the temple grounds.
2 pm – 5 pm Rest (catch up on my sleep!)
Around 6 pm, I went out to Siem Reap Night Market before meeting up with friends who live in Siem Reap.
DAY 3: Siem Reap, Cambodia – Bangkok, Thailand
Before I left Siem Reap in the afternoon, I’ve decided to walk around the nearby area towards the Pub Street. Pub Street is known for its vibrant and colorful nightlife.
1 PM: I checked out at the Sarybotr Angkor Boutique Hotel heading to the airport. It’s 5 USD one-way going to the airport.
3 PM: Departure flight to Bangkok.
4 PM: I arrived in Bangkok, it took me an hour to get through the long queues at the BKK airport.
5 PM I managed to get out of the airport! Finally, and took an Uber ride to my guesthouse near Khao San Road.
When I finally reached the area, the Uber driver dropped me off at the wrong end of the street where my guesthouse was located.
It’s ok; I managed well amidst the busy and crowded street. I found my guesthouse at the other end of the street after asking some locals where it might be!
After dinner, I asked the reception at our guest house if there was any available Bangkok temple tour for tomorrow (Sunday). After a few phone calls to their travel agents, the answer is NO. Since I haven’t pre-booked the tour and I’m a solo traveller, they can’t accommodate me.
So I made my own Bangkok temple tour itinerary, of course, while drinking a bottle of Chang! You can also check this alternative itinerary around Thailand.
DAY 4: Bangkok City Tour – Temples – Chao Phraya Cruise
8 am – Headed out to start my DIY Temple tour of Bangkok. I took the tourist ferry to the Grand Palace for 40 Baht!
here is a cheaper type of ferry with an orange flag, for only 15 Baht. The tourist ferry with the Blue flag was less crowded, and the facilities were better including the audio guide while cruising the Chao Phraya River.
I started my tour at the Grand Palace, but since wearing leggings were also prohibited, I bought a sarong for 100Baht outside the palace gates.
Make sure to bring your passport with you when you are visiting the Grand Palace because the palace security needs it for inspection and validation.
The entrance fee to palace’s gate was 500 Baht.
After roaming around the Grand Palace, I went to the Wat Pho temple where you can find the reclining Buddha.
After visiting Wat Pho, I went to grab lunch before heading to Wat Arun, across the Chao Phraya river.
There was a 4-baht boat fare to cross the river.
After visiting the Wat Arun, I finished my day cruising back to the ferry station near my guest house by Khao San road.
Day 5: Bangkok, Thailand – Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
The side trip to Kuala Lumpur was just to see Batu Caves and Petronas Tower before I head towards Singapore to visit my friends. I know this will be the “amazing race” leg of the trip where I have to rush everything.
But, as a travel photographer, I can’t miss the chance of taking the shot!
I headed to Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok around 10 am to catch my midday flight to Kuala Lumpur.
I arrived in Kuala Lumpur around 4 pm, so to make the most of my stopover in KL, I took an Uber car that took me directly to the Batu caves which were on the other side of the city!
After roaming around Batu Caves around 7 pm, I headed back to KL Sentral to finally check-in and rest.
Day 6: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Singapore
It’s a pretty early start for me!
I left the hotel around 6 am and took the metro to KLCC from KL Sentral to see the Petronas Towers and city tour.
After taking a few shots of the landmark, I headed back to the metro to catch my KL Express train back to the airport to catch my flight to Singapore to meet my friends.
Visa Requirements
I travelled around these countries using my Philippine passport. Visa is not required. Find out more about how I travelled as a dual citizen using two different passports.
If you are looking at how to get an ED visa and how to get a Thai tourist visa you can check these helpful guides.
In case you would need travel insurance for your trip, I recommend Safety Wing!
BEST TRAVEL INSURANCE
If you are looking for reliable and comprehensive travel insurance, I highly recommend SafetyWing. They offer flexible and affordable travel insurance for travellers or digital nomads. Rest assured that you are covered for whatever travel emergencies.
Trip Budget
Since this is a backpacking trip, going cheap and quality is the goal. I recommend using Skyscanner in searching for your flight deals. For the best hotel deals and reviews, always check Tripadvisor.
Here’s the breakdown of the cost of this trip. Since I have used two currencies GBP and PHP, I have included the conversion in the table below.
| Travel Essentials | Description ( Cost) | Total Amount Spent |
| Flights | Flights from MNL-REP-BKK-KUL-SIN-MNL | £156.00 | Php 10,000 |
| Airport Transfers | using tuk-tuk and UBER | £37.00 | PHP 2,347 |
| Accommodation | budget hotels, B&B and hostels | £103 | PHP 6,570 |
| Activities | Entrance to various attractions etc. | £57.54 | PHP 3,670 |
| TOTAL COSTS | £353.54 | PHP 22,540 |
Suggested Accommodation:
SARYBOTR ANGKOR BOUTIQUE HOTEL
🛏️ #781, Vihear Chin Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia
🌟 4.5 / 5 – ratings
👍 Good location and great value for the price
A and A GUESTHOUSE
🛏️ 30 Rambuttri Street, Banglampoo, 10200 Bangkok, Thailand
🌟 3.5 / 5 – ratings
👍 Good location and budget-friendly
HOTEL SENTRAL KUALA LUMPUR
🛏️ No.30, Jalan Thambypillai, Brickfields, Brickfields, 50470, Kuala Lumpur
🌟 3.5 / 5 – ratings
👍 Great location and budget-friendly
I hope that you find my travel itinerary helpful as you plan your tri-city trip on the Indochine route.
Have you been to Indochina?
Share with us your travel experience below!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ryazan Tristram
Travel Writer & PhotographerRyazan has a Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism and Hotel Management. She also has more than 10 years of work experience gained from working in the hotel and travel sectors in Asia and Europe. Her work has been featured and published in BBC, Huffington Post, Reader’s Digest, Discovery Channel, World Travel Guide, MSN, CNBC, GMA, Daily Mail UK, Lonely Planet, and many more. She is currently living in the UK as a dual citizen (British-Filipina). Join her in travelling around the UK, Europe, and beyond with a mission to promote sustainable tourism and share travel guides, travel tips, foodies, history, and culture.
Wow, this is a well written post and so much detail. Even just looking at the photos is making me want to visit Indochina even more. I havent been there yet but its been a long time coming. I love checking out temples in other parts of Asia and so want to check this out.
Thanks, Danik! Yes, I bet you will also have a great time in Indochina. Keep us posted. 🙂
This is such a detailed post! Love the Instagram photos – they are all so beautiful! Good tip to go to the left side of the lake at Angkor Wat for photos! I’ll definitely refer to this next time we are travelling through South East Asia
Thanks a lot Kim-Ling! 🙂 I’m glad that you find this post helpful.
We’be been to Cambodia and totally loved it! Can’t wait to explore Thailand and Malaysia as well! Thanks for sharing this! 🙂
Thanks a lot! 🙂
We’ve been to Cambodia and totally loved it there. It was the highlight of our Indochina trip (we also went to Vietnam and Laos). Now we can’t wait to explore Thailand and Maylasia as well. Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos!
Thank you very much! I’ve also been to Vietnam and I also loved it there. <3 I would like to visit Laos soon and explore more of Asia.
Sounds like an Amazing Race trip for sure. There are two parts to every show. The race part, yeah, but they never forget the Amazing. We had an opportunity to meet. Phil Keoghan earlier this year and he has a well cultivated sense of amazement. He would have loved how much local color and attractions you put on your trip. It isn’t just traveling from point a to point b at a high rate of speed.
Haha!! Yes, time is a limited resource for me. So I’m trying to experience and visit places as much as I can, but making sure not to over do it.
What an intricate post! I love all of your photos. I’ve never been to Asia at all, but Indochina has always fascinated me. The Reclining Buddha looks amazing. I’d imagine it’s impossible to fit all of him into a photo, haha. Such a big statue!
Thanks a lot, Rachel! I’m sure you will definitely love Asia. The Reclining Buddha is huge. It occupies almost the whole area inside the temple, plus they are currently renovating some parts of it so the whole body shot of the Buddha would be a challenge.
I love reading posts about this area of the World but for some reason planning a trip here feels overwhelming — not now, since you did it for me 🙂
Great info, thank you!
YEY!!! Welcome! I’m glad you find this post helpful.
Wow, thank you for the work you put into this. You got so much into this trip, and your photos are absolutely stunning. We’re going to Cambodia at the end of the year and I will definitely be following some of your itinerary.
Welcome, Lois! 🙂 Thank you so much and keep us updated with your travels.
I loved the ruins of Cambodia, and Thailand is a country that I would love to go any number of times as I could never get enough of the country on my previous trips! I want to check off Malaysia soon and can’t wait to get there. Loved your wonderful pics!
Thank you so much, Reshma! 🙂 I absolutely loved it as well. Malaysia is surprisingly awesome! Keep us updated with your trip.
Amazing instagram shots. Well done!! I went to Angkor Wat for sunrise earlier this year and was unable to capture gorgeous photos like yours. Your Bangkok shots are amazing as well! What a great article with inspiring photos!
Thanks a lot, Rosemary! 🙂
What a great itinerary for some of the most beautiful places! Your photos are absolutely beautiful and would make anyone travel just to get a glimpse of those places. Thailand is one of my all-time favorite places to visit and I can’t wait to go back. Cambodia has been on my list for a long time and I just hope to get there soon. Very cool resource for anyone traveling!
Thank you so much, Mia. I love Cambodia. 🙂 I highly recommend to visit Siem Reap. Safe travels!
Hi Ms. Ryazan, hope you’re having a great day! I read your indo-china trip and amazed by it and makes wanna follow your WHOLE itinerary. LOLS! 😀 The only thing that pulling me back is the air transport. I mean airlines you flew from MNL-REP-BKK-KUL-SIN-MNL. Hoping for your feedback soon. 🙂 thanks and more power!
Mam Rye… hello hehe 🙂 how did u manage to get that cheap airfare? please? 🙂
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Hi,
I am planning on travelling solo next year. Could you give me some tips on solo backpacking trip. I’ am planning to visit Thailand, cambodia and Malaysia.
Thank you and appreciate your reply.
Hi Angel, That’s awesome. Solo backpacking is an amazing experience. You can read some Solo Backpacking tips!. good luck and take care!
Would be helpful if you could provide info on whether lodging and sites are pet friendly or not.
Thanks for sharing this awesome travel post! Your writing and photos have really transported me to the destination you’re describing. One suggestion I have for future travel posts is to include some tips or recommendations for things to do or places to eat in the area. As a reader, I love getting insider tips from locals or experienced travelers. Additionally, it might be helpful to include some practical information, such as the best time of year to visit or any important cultural norms to be aware of. Overall, great job and I’m looking forward to reading more of your travel content!