Travelling to a new continent can be scary and you will have so many questions. This is why I have put together this post filled with all of your questions answered about Asia to help you book your first trip in the gorgeous continent. I have travelled to quite a few countries in Asia including Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and coming shortly Laos. If you have any more questions that I haven’t answered, feel free to leave them down below or send me an email. Asia is one of my favourite continents as it’s so cheap, everyone is so friendly and there is so much history.

8 OF THE MOST POPULAR QUESTIONS ANSWERED ABOUT ASIA:

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01. What is the best airline to fly with to Asia?

When flying into Asia from the UK, it’s best to fly with a well known airline that does long haul flights. The airlines we have used to fly into Asia have been British Airways and EVA Air. Eva Air are a very good Taiwanese airline that have great services. Your best bet is to search for your flights using Skyscanner and then pick out the best price and airline for you.

02. What is the best way to get to Vietnam?

When we flew to Vietnam, we flew from Cambodia as that was our first destination in Asia a year ago. We had a quick stopover in Bangkok’s airport Suvarnabhumi which is for international flights into Asia. We flew from London Heathrow into Suvarnabhumi with a quick stopover before flying into Cambodia from Bangkok’s Don Muang airport which is for internal flights into Asia. Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports are a short taxi drive away from each other. It can get quite busy on the motorway, so make sure you allow plenty of time to get to the other airport. And pay the taxi driver to use the fast lane on the motorway.

You can fly into Cambodia from either of Bangkok’s airports, but flying from Don Muang will be slightly cheaper. However if you want to save the hassle of getting from one airport to another, flying from Suvarnabhumi will be easier. If you don’t mind the flight being slightly more expensive. After a week in Siem Reap, we flew to Da Nang’s airport, to then travel around Vietnam. It depends which area of Vietnam you want to visit first.

HOI AN  To get to Hoi An, we flew into Da Nang’s airport. Then caught a taxi for the 30 minute drive into the city.

DA NANG To get to Da Nang, we caught the taxi into the city from Hoi An which was a 30 minute drive. If you are coming into Da Nang from anywhere else, you can fly straight into the cities airport internally from Asia.

HANOI  To get to Hanoi, we flew from Da Nang down to the south of the country into the city’s airport. Then our private driver drove us into the centre of Hanoi to our hotel.

HALONG BAY To get to Halong Bay, we hired our private driver again from our hotel in Hanoi to the harbour for our cruise.

NINH BINH and TAM COC After our cruise had ended, our private driver picked us up again. He also took us to Ninh Binh and Tam Coc for a couple of days  with a stay in a small hotel before driving us back to Hanoi and our hotel.

03. How do I get around Vietnam whilst I’m there?

When we landed in Vietnam, we caught a taxi from Da Nang airport into Hoi An. We hired a private driver Binh in Hanoi to take us to and from the airport. And also on our trip to Halong Bay and around Ninh Binh and Tam Coc. We pretty much caught taxis around Vietnam for the longer journeys, whereas we walked around each city to get to the tourist spots or to find places to eat. You can see a lot whilst walking around and getting a perspective of different things rather than being in a taxi.

Some taxi drivers won’t know a place unless it’s a tourist attraction. Make sure you have a map or the address for them to use to get you there. In Da Nang we asked the taxi driver to take us to the Dragon Bridge. It is quite big and a huge tourist attraction for those visiting Da Nang, but he didn’t know what it was or where it was.

04. How do I navigate my way around a certain country in Asia?

When we was in Asia, in some countries our phone contracts wouldn’t allow us to get data or service without it costing us a fortune. You can purchase a local sim card which will connect you to a local network. This will cost a couple of pounds/local currency. (You can either buy these before you land or as you get into the airport).

Buy a sim card which you can load up with a certain amount and use that on your unlocked phone. Or you can download Google Maps for each country whilst you have WiFi connection before you leave your hotel/hostel. In our hotel in Singapore, our suite came with a phone. Which we could use for FREE which was super handy.

READ MORE: Getting Around Singapore With A Handy. Smartphone 

05. What is the public transport like in Asia?

There are so many choices for public transport throughout Asia with most of it being ridiculously cheaper than here in the UK. They have the obvious modes of transport including trains, taxis, buses and airplanes. They also have unique modes of transport which include tuk tuks and sky trains. In Bangkok I recommend using the BTS skytrain and tuk tuks as they are so quick and cheap to get around in for short journeys. For longer journeys I recommend hiring a private driver or taxi which include Grab cars (just like our Ubers).

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06. Are there any scams that I need to look out for?

There are quite a few scams around Asia, but they are nothing to worry about as long as you are aware and vigilant.

• – When catching a taxi, make sure they are official taxis which will usually be metered and have their licences on show. You don’t want to be ripped off by an extortionate taxi fare.
• – In Bangkok when visiting the main temple, make sure you do not fall for the touts outside telling you the temple is closed. They will most likely make up a trip and charge you a ridiculous amount for it. There are plenty of speakers outside the main temple announcing information. This will be a main giveaway that the temple is still open and especially if people are still entering the main gates.
• – In Cambodia and especially when visiting main tourist attractions like Angkor Wat, do not purchase anything from little children or women who approach you. These children will normally be selling things from postcards, bottled water, bracelets and other touristy things. Buying from these children will aid them to not go to school and receive an education. This is quite a huge problem in Cambodia with lots of children not going to school to sell items to tourists for money.

07. Do I need a visa to visit a country in Asia?

Yes you will need a visa depending on where you are travelling from. Visas are very easy to do and can mostly be done online. They can take anything from 24 hours to 3 days to process and accept your visa. You can then print it off and staple it inside your passport.  Most visas for Asian countries can allow you to stay in the country for 30 days but others do stretch to a month in the country as a tourist.

Once that expires you can either apply for a longer visa once you leave the country or will have to leave the country and move onto another country. Make sure you check your local government website for information on visas for travelling. There will be a fee for applying for a visa and you may need to upload a copy of your passport photo to them as well.

08. What injections will I need to visit Asia?

• – Tetanus and Diphtheria
• – Hepatitis A
• – Typhoid
• – Measles
• – Mumps and Rubella

Additional injections you may need are:

• – Cholera
• – Hepatitis B
• – Polio
• – Rabies
• – Meningococcal Meningitis

Depending on where you will be staying and for how long will determine what other injections you will need. Especially if you are staying in a more rural and jungle set area. Please talk to your GP for the other injections you may need for these parts of Asia. Ideally you will need your injections as soon as you can before you travel as there could be a waiting list. The latest you should get your injections is about a month before you leave for Asia.

Have these answered your questions and given you a little insight into the continent? Do you have any other questions that I could answer?

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