just leave the country for a day or two every 30 days.. its easy..

yes but they say you cant be there for more than 90 days in a 180 day period, so that would work if I wanted to be there for say 4 months?

No, you can't just go out and come back omce a month. It used to be true, but no longer. Contact your Thai embassy about getting a visa in advance, and ask if there are extensions available.

Indonesia is even less expensive than Thailand, and you can get inexpensive Air Asia flights from bangkok to Bali.

Thanks for your comment Kathie I will look into it, was going to call the Thai embassy just thought I would ask first, to see if anyone knew first hand.

& that's good to know about Indonesia
Thank-you
C x

Indonesia is a big diverse country which offers a good value to budget travelers. I'd suggest that you get a copy of Lonely Planet for an overview and itinerary ideas.

Bali and Java are the most traveled areas but there are many other off the beaten track locales as well. It really depends on your interests -- e.g., culture, nature, history, handicrafts, performing arts.

On arrival in Indonesia you can get a 30 day visa which can be extended for an additional 30 days in country. I believe you can also secure a 60 day visa at an Indonesian Embassy/Consulate in the UK, but it's a little more complicated than a visa on arrival.

okay thanks for your help.

I'm thinking of Flying from London to Bangkok, spending a month in Thailand,
then flying from Bangkok to Bali travelling around Indonesia for a while
and then up through Singapore,
(would like to maybe do this by boat, anyone done this before?)
as I really want to travel through Singapore & Malaysia
then through Thailand again where I hope to spend another month, rather than flying back to Bangkok from Bali
then onto Cambodia/Vietnam, & back into Thailand where I would fly home from.

I want to really Immerse myself into the culture of the countries I travel in, I enjoy nature & wildlife, so would like to see as much of that as possible, also the Temples & ruins really interest me

wondered if anyone had stayed in Thailand over Christmas & could possibly recommend any hotels/villas/etc.

really enjoying hearing from everyone and their different opinions, also enjoying readings others reviews & trips.

C x

Hi Chelsea, Your trip sounds fabulous - For input from travelers closer to your age, you might want to post on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree forum. You will also find lots of ideas - and photos - on the AFAR site. Lots of great info here, but many of the people giving advice are in their 50s and 60s.

Yes, the Lonely Planet Thorntree will be helpful once it is back online. They were offline completely for three weeks, and in the last week have started getting branches back up. None of the SE Asia branches are back yet.

Indonesian ferries are pretty problematic. Given their history of overcrowding and sinking, I'd advise against it.

Singapore is expensive, so you'll likely want only a brief stop there. There are inexpensive buses in Malaysia, so that will be an easy way to get around. You might go from Singapore to Malacca, then up to KL, perhaps over to Penang (we loved Georgetown). There are also lovely beaches in Malaysia, especially the east coast. If you enter Thailand by land, you will only get a 15 stay, if you enter by air, you get a 30 day stay. Air Asia is the budget airline in the region.

Good news! As of this afternoon, the Thorntree SE Asia branches are back up. Only a small portion of the posts are up, but you can get on and ask questions. Eventually, old posts will be back up and you can do your own research.

Indonesia is geographically broad and the best way to get from island to island is to fly. There are plenty of budget airlines that offer low cost transport. As Kathie says, avoid the long distance ferries. They have a horrible safety record.

Java is the only island that has a train system. In the outer islands there are local mini buses and motorcycle taxis.

Bali is a good place to use as your hub and a good place to extend your visa. From there you can access the other islands.

There are some 17,000 islands so you have lots of choices. My preferences would be -- in addition to Bali -- Central and East Java, Central and North Sulawesi, Sumba or Sumbawa. Maybe Ambon and West Papua if you are really adventurous. There are budget flights to other parts of Asia from many Indonesian cities.

For Indonesia, and for other parts of Asia too, you should make should you have medical evacuation insurance.

Sounds like a great trip Chelsea. A couple of websites which you may find useful:

www.travelfish.org is great for travel in Asia. Aimed at the backpacker and budget travellers, it provides a wealth of detailed information on accommodation, activities, sights etc. www.talesofasia.com is good for current information on Cambodia. There are lots of hotel consolidation and booking sites around but we found www.hostelworld.com and www.hostelbookers.com to be very good. If you are looking for budget accommodation, it is usually possible just to turn up in a place and find somewhere on spec.

Overland travel in SEA is easy and cheap although comfort and reliability vary dramatically between countries. travel infrastructure is well developed in Thailand and Vietnam and improving rapidly elsewhere. Be very careful of scams on buses and watch your bags as theft is still common, notably on some Thai and Vietnamese long distance buses.

Haven't travelled by boat from Indonesia to Singapore ( if I understand you question correctly?) but I agree with previous comments re safety - don't do it!. If you are interested in boat travel then a great way to get back into Thailand is to use the many ferry services that ply the Andaman to island hop along coast of Malaysia and Thailand. We did this in the opposite direction when we got the train from Bangkok to Trang for Had Yao and the lovely island of Koh Libong, form there we got the ferry to Langkawi passing lots of small islands along the way. From langkawi there were lots of boats onward to Penang and further south but I think we eventually decided on the bus. Have a great time and do report back on your journey.