Southeast Asia is where the trail begins for most backpackers. From the chaos of Bangkok to the tranquility of Pai, from Bali's rice terraces to Angkor Wat's ancient temples — this is the banana pancake trail, and it's been calling travelers for decades. It's the cheapest, easiest, most social region on the route, which is exactly why it comes first: you learn how to travel here, then take that to India and the Andes.
Route: Bangkok → Chiang Mai → Pai → Laos → Hanoi & the north → Siem Reap → Koh Phangan → Bali
Destinations
Bangkok, Thailand — Where every backpacker trip begins.
Chiang Mai, Thailand — Temples, night markets, and the best khao soi.
Pai, Thailand — The hippie mountain town everyone falls in love with.
Bali, Indonesia — Rice terraces, surf breaks, and sunset temples.
Siem Reap, Cambodia — Gateway to Angkor Wat and Pub Street.
Hanoi, Vietnam — Egg coffee, street chaos, and the best pho on earth.
The route, in order
Almost everyone lands in Bangkok, because that's where the cheap flights go, and almost everyone makes the same mistake of staying too long. The loop that works: go north first while you're fresh (Chiang Mai, then Pai), cross into Laos on the two-day slow boat down the Mekong, drop through Vang Vieng into Vietnam, ride Vietnam top to bottom, cut across Cambodia for Angkor, and land back in Thailand for the islands at the end, when you want to stop moving. Bali is the final flight — for passports that can enter Indonesia. Two months covers the loop at a fair pace; three to four is what most people on the big trip actually take.
Bangkok, 2-3 days — Land, sleep off the flight, sort a SIM and cash, eat, leave. The city is better on the way back, when you know what you want from it.
The north, 2-3 weeks — Chiang Mai for temples and cooking classes, Pai for doing nothing well. The Pai stop is the one that quietly eats a fortnight.
The slow boat to Laos — Chiang Khong to Luang Prabang, two days on the Mekong with a night in Pakbeng. Slow, cheap, and the classic crossing — book a day ahead in high season.
Vietnam, north to south — Hanoi, the Ha Giang motorbike loop (3-4 days, the highlight of the region for many), then sleeper buses down the coast through Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh City. Three weeks minimum.
Siem Reap, 2-3 days — Angkor Wat at sunrise, then the quieter temples by bicycle or tuk-tuk. A three-day pass is the right amount.
The islands, last — Koh Phangan for the Full Moon Party and the yoga side of the island, Koh Tao for the cheapest dive certification on earth. Save them for the end — they are hard to leave.
What it costs
This is the cheapest region on the trail. On the mainland — Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam — $25-35 a day (as of 2026) covers a dorm bed, three meals from stalls, local transport, and a beer. The Thai islands in high season and Bali run $40-50. Two things blow the budget every time: drinking at the party stops, and flying legs you could have bused. Everything else is cheap enough that you stop counting.
Beds — Dorm beds $5-12, private fan rooms and beach bungalows $15-30 (as of 2026). Hostels are social by design here — the dorm is where your travel group forms.
Food — Street food and market stalls $1-3 a plate; the local dish is always the cheapest and best thing on the menu. Western food costs three times as much and is worse.
Moving around — Overnight buses and trains $15-30 a leg; scooter rental $5-8 a day; ferries to the islands $10-20. A budget flight for a long jump is $30-80 if booked a few weeks out.
The big tickets — Angkor three-day pass about $62; a Koh Tao open-water dive course $300-350; a Ha Giang easy-rider tour $150-250 for three or four days (all as of 2026). Budget for them separately — they are the trip.
Cash — Thai ATMs charge a flat fee per withdrawal (around 220 baht as of 2026), so pull out the maximum each time. Vietnam and Cambodia are cash-first outside the cities; Cambodia runs on US dollars.
When to go
Mainland Southeast Asia has three seasons. The cool dry season, November to February, is the best weather everywhere and the peak crowd. The hot season, March to May, is brutal in the lowlands and hazy in the north, where crop burning smokes out Chiang Mai and Pai in March and April. The monsoon, June to October, means afternoon downpours rather than washed-out weeks, and the countryside is at its greenest. Vietnam runs on its own clock: the north is genuinely cold in December and January, the central coast gets its rain October to December, and the south is dry December to April.
November - February — Best weather, biggest crowds, highest prices on the islands. Book island beds a few days ahead; everywhere else you can still walk in.
March - April — Burning season in the north — skip Pai and Chiang Mai then, or accept the haze. Songkran, the Thai new year water fight, is April 13-15 and worth planning around.
June - October — Monsoon on the mainland: cheaper, greener, and fine for most of the route. The Gulf islands (Koh Phangan, Koh Tao) are wettest October to December; Bali is at its best, dry from April to October.
Full Moon — The Koh Phangan party runs every month on the full moon (dates shift around Buddhist holidays). Island beds triple in price the nights around it.
Getting in and around
Visa rules change, so treat these as the 2026 picture and check before each border. Thailand admits most passports visa-free for 60 days. Vietnam needs an e-visa (90 days, about $25) applied for online a few days before you arrive. Laos and Cambodia issue visas on arrival or online for around $30-40 — carry US dollars and passport photos for the land borders. Indonesia sells a 30-day visa on arrival, extendable once, but does not admit Israeli passports at all, so for most Israelis Bali is off the route. Overland, the region runs on overnight buses and trains, ferries, and the Grab app; scooters do the rest, and are also the single biggest cause of injury on the trail.
Thailand — 60-day visa exemption for most nationalities on arrival (as of 2026), extendable once at an immigration office.
Vietnam — E-visa, 90 days, multiple entry, through the government portal only — the copycat sites charge triple. Allow three to five working days.
Laos and Cambodia — Visa on arrival or e-visa, roughly $30-40 each as of 2026. Land borders want crisp US dollar bills and a spare passport photo.
Indonesia — Visa on arrival (about $35, 30 days, one extension) for most passports. Not available to Israeli passport holders.
Overland — Sleeper trains Bangkok-Chiang Mai, sleeper buses the length of Vietnam, the slow boat into Laos. Book the popular legs a day or two ahead; the rest you can buy at the station.
Scooters — You need a motorbike licence or an international permit for your insurance to pay out — most travelers ride without one and find that out in hospital. Helmet on, sober, daylight.
The scene
The trail's crowd clusters in a handful of places, and you will keep running into the same people from Bangkok to Bali. Khao San Road and the quieter Rambuttri next to it are still the arrival strip. Pai is the north's traveler village, one of the trail's true little Israels, with Hebrew on the hostel signs and a Chabad house. Vang Vieng has cleaned up since the tubing years and is now lagoons and hot-air balloons. Koh Phangan splits in two: Haad Rin for the party, Srithanu for the yoga crowd. Chabad houses run Shabbat dinners in the main stops — Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pai, Koh Samui and Koh Phangan, Phuket, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Luang Prabang — and welcome anyone who books; see the Chabad house guide for the list.
Bangkok: Rambuttri over Khao San — Same neighbourhood, half the noise. Chabad is a short walk away.
Pai — The stop where the trail slows down. Israeli breakfasts, live music, the Friday-night dinner that becomes the week's meeting point.
Koh Phangan, both halves — Full Moon at Haad Rin once; then move to Srithanu on the west coast, where the long-stayers are.
Hanoi's Old Quarter — Beer corner, the walking street on weekends, and the hostels that organise the Ha Giang loop — the trail's social hub in Vietnam.
Practical Info
Budget: $25-35/day on the mainland, $40-50 on the Thai islands in season and in Bali (as of 2026). Dorms $5-12, street food $1-3 a plate, overnight bus or train $15-30 a leg. The budget breaks on alcohol and on flights taken instead of buses, not on beds or food.
Best time: November to February for the dry, cool season across the mainland — also the peak crowd. March-April is burning season in the north; June-October is monsoon, which is cheaper and still very travelable. Vietnam runs on its own seasons (cold north in winter, central coast rains Oct-Dec) and Bali is best April-October.
Getting there: Fly into Bangkok (BKK or Don Mueang for the budget carriers) — it has the most flights and the cheapest fares from Tel Aviv, Europe and Australia. Kuala Lumpur and Singapore are the other cheap entry points if a fare lines up; both connect to Bangkok for under $100.
Budget: $25-35/day on the mainland, $40-50 on the islands and Bali (as of 2026) — dorms, street food, and buses.
Best time: November to February for the dry, cool season; June-October monsoon is cheaper and still fine; avoid the north in March-April burning season.
Visas: Thailand is visa-free for most nationalities (60 days); Vietnam needs an e-visa; Laos and Cambodia issue visas on arrival. Indonesia is a paid visa-on-arrival — and Israeli passports can't enter Indonesia at all, so for most Israelis Bali is off the route.
Scooters: the number-one injury on the trail. Licence or international permit for the insurance, helmet, no drinking, no night riding on mountain roads.
Scams: in Bangkok, anyone telling you a temple is closed and offering a tuk-tuk tour is selling you gems. On the islands, watch your drink at the parties. Neither is dangerous if you've read this sentence.
Connectivity: an eSIM bought before you land beats hunting for a SIM shop at 2am — see the best eSIM for backpacking.
Insurance: scooter accidents and dengue are the real risks here, and neither is cheap without cover — see travel insurance for backpackers.