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This past Friday, I reserved an airplane ticket for a six-week trip starting late December this year. I'll be heading for Bangkok, one of my least favourite cities in a country I don't particularly like. Bangkok though, will be only be a transit point. My next destination will be either Phongsali, Laos or Yangon, Burma. Visit both websites at least. They are nice.

I had previously decided on Laos, but I remember freezing a couple of Januarys ago in the highlands of northern Vietnam. Yangon is starting to look much better as January is said to be the most comfortable month to visit. I like pre-McDonaldized cities, and I expect Yangon to be something like Shanghai or Hanoi's old quarter, Phnom Penh or Luang Prabang - all great places.

Lonely Planet Online is a great reference for travel. I never use a guide book when I travel, but whenever I take a trip, I make sure to read all their entries for my destination, and that includes the posts from The Thorn Tree. Sifting through the perenial flame wars, there is usually something interesting. I like to travel light and though I do reserve space for several books, these are for entertainment - usually some thick novels.

My advice is to gather the information you think is necessary before you go and write it down in a small note book. Usually for me this is just an address of a hotel that looks promising and perhaps some information about what bus or train I need next and where I can get it. This should cover the first 12 to 24 hours of my stay, always the most confusing part of a visit. After that, things will get easier. On arrival, I try to get as good a map as possible in English and the native language, and a small compass doesn't hurt. If you find yourself in desperate need of a guidebook, just ask any tourist you see. Most have them literally at hand.