James M

myself and a few mates are looking at this for next year, to spend a few months going through india and then onto thailand/cambodia/etc. i'm presuming that buses and trains are fairly cheap, but does anyone have any experience of this? any tips to pass on? gonna ask the same thing on lonely planet as well, seems like the best way to find out.

mark24cde

Do it but dont bank on your mates all coming one by one they'll drop out

Rocky Rockstar

my sister went travelling aroung india/cambodia/thailand with her bf last year. Think they used the train mainly but from what i heard it was utter utter chaos to the extreme.

James M

yes, there are only 3 of us and it was the idea of the three of us together rather than a "let's get a big group of us" idea. i think it'll work.

train does appear to be the best way around. chaos doesn't really bother me as we're hardly going on a luxury trip. want to experience loads of small towns and villages and everything as we go west to east.

finneys13

Will hijack this, a friend floated an idea that him and I go to Central Asia (esp. Uzbek and Kazakistan) and Mongolia this summer, or maybe the summer after.

Any people that have done similar to that? Get ourselves to Tashkent, maybe train it to Almaty, fly to Ulaan Baater.

Sir Bert Preast

Don't fall off the carriage roof.

finneys13

Surely cow class wouldn't be that expensive in India?

mark24cde

Train - Indian sleeper trains are fb get the upper tier whole shelf to yourself and lie down and watch india go by fantastic

Docker

Yes.

Trains need to be booked way in advance, but you can easily bribe your way on through a travel agent who "knows someone in the booking office".
First class is good, but second/ sleeper is just as good and you get to meet lots of people.
Whenever a Chai wallah comes along, always buy his wares.

The ticketing is the same for buses, the best are on the tourist routes and go overnight.
Make sure you book a sleeper berth (2 x people) and get on early so that you're not over the wheels or at the back.
Local buses are good but don't allow for comfort or speed or anywhere safe to store your bags except on the roof.

Docker

btw if you want to go to Cambodia, I can put you in touch with my mate who runs a Beach Bar on an island who will welcome any paying customers!