Asia Travel Preparations

I'm starting this blog off with my upcoming trip to southeast Asia and mainland China. I have been traveling and backpacking quite a bit over the past two years but have been terrible at putting together photos and stories to share with friends and family. I hope to use this blog as a documentation of my trips and plan to use it a motivation to get through the 40 hour work week when I'm not out traveling. On to my May trip.

I am taking a month off in May to travel for the first part of May with my friends Michelle and Azrina in southeast Asia and end the trip with by visiting my grandparents and extended family in mainland China. I have purchased all the plane tickets for the places I will be visiting. Below is a google map I have created for the places I will visit. Below is a rough itinerary of the trip: 

• May 3-May 8: The first stretch of my trip will be Malaysia. Since Azrina currently lives in Kuala Lumpur, we will be traveling around the country with her car and staying with her family. Malaysia will also be a home base for us as we travel around southeast Asia. 
• May 8-May11: Siem Reap, Cambodia to see Ankor Wat and surrounding area
• May 13-May 16: Azrina and I will be getting to Bali while Michelle heads home to northern California

Trip Preparation:

Traveling to Asia does not require too much preparation, visa is not required or can easily be obtained at the airport for most of the places I will be visiting. However, mainland China's visa has to be applied in the US and the nearest Chinese ambassy is in downtown LA. I decided to pay a local travel agency to help me get the visa, in addition to the $140 visa fee, they charge $40 dollars to bring my passport and application to the Chinese embassy. The visa application process usually takes 7 days. Tip for others, make sure you give yourself enough time to obtain this visa, I was cutting it really close on with mine. 

No visa is required for Malaysia but there is one required for Cambodia and Indonesia. Both of these visas can be obtained upon arrival at the airport, make sure to bring exact cash as the custom people do not always have the right change. Cambodia offers a online visa for a 30 day tourist entry for $20 with a $5 processing fee, I applied for the e-visa to avoid the airport traffic. The Camobida e-visa takes 1 to 3 days to process. Bali's visa is also $20 for a 30 day entry, I plan to apply for it at the airport as they do not offer online visas.