Asia Travel Forum

hey all

i'm heading to taiwan to visit a friend in late march for a few days, and then am taking the next 12 days to travel in southeast asia. the problem here is a good problem - too many places to go and not enough time.

i've asked around to friends and family and have received so many "you have to go here" responses, which leaves me with 12 days and recommendations for 7 countries. i want to pose it to this group as i assume many people have been to a lot of these countries and can match me with what my friend and i are looking for.

i've never traveled to SE Asia and to be honest, have traveled little over my life (never really had the money). looking to get the best feel for the local cultures and history, avoiding overly-touristy areas. i love the outdoors, so am more than happy to hike or walk a lot, and some jaw-dropping sights are a must (beaches, islands, etc).

here's what i'm between:
- Thailand (the most popular answer, but is it too popular?)
- Laos (told that if you dont get there within a year or so, it'll be too late with the touristy goons taking it over)
- Malaysia (mixed reviews, but it seems to have the most stunning beaches/islands)
- Indo/Bali (everyone just mentions Bali but nowhere else)
- Cambodia (seems like a historical gem, but is it worth it beyond that?)
- Vietnam (i almost see this as a rite of passage and would love to go there, but i know little of it)
- Singapore (could package together if going to Malaysia)

for the record, i am not considering the Philippines or any other Asian countries.

any advice is more than welcomed!
thanks
brian

Hi Brian, For 12 days I'd do Singapore & Malaysia.

Singapore is very modern & compact - good for some shopping if it's of any interest.

Malaysia has great nature, beaches, culture, and cuisine!

Thailand is more touristy.

Vietnam is amazing, but does not have 'wow' beaches :-(

Cambodia - seeing the temples, but otherwise a pretty dry land.

Laos is great (nature, history, more rural), and if tagged to northern Thailand (less touristy) it is a good choice. Of course you may want to check out the amazing & impressive Thai capital & at least one beach of Thailand!

I would recommend Vietnam. We recently visited there and loved it. So much to see and do, and very cheap. The people are freindly and willing to help with any problems you may encounter. If you do go ensure that you do a night cruise at halong Bay.....an absolute gem.
Chers

This is a very difficult question to answer as it really depends on what you yourself like - something only you can answer.
We've traveled throughout SE Asia including Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia (Bali), Cambodia, Hong Kong.
We loved Cambodia - yes for the temples - but can be crowded.
Loved Bali but, depending on time of year, can be crowded. June/July are the best months as it is dry and less crowded. I'd stick to the UBUD area. Plenty of hikes, much culture and gorgeous scenery.
You can also take day trips to the beaches.
Malaysia - put me down for very mixed reviews. Crowded and we were not particularly impressed with it but again, we've only been to KL
Loved Thailand as it had a bit of everything. Beaches in Phuket/Ko Samui/Phi Phi as well as hustle and bustle of Bangkok with day trips outside and then the mountainous jungle of Chiang Mai/Chiang Mai.
Travel within Thailand is easy, cheap and fast.
Additionally, in 12 days, you can easily do 5 days in Phuket, hop over to Siem Reap Cambodia for 3 days on Bangkok Airways and then finish off with 4 days in Northern Thailand! Get a bit of it all that way avoiding the hustle and bustle of the big city.

Homer

I second Singapore and Malaysia. Your interests of course will help you to decide.

Compact Singapore has LOTS to see and do, and its very easy to navigate.
Suggest that you read more on VT- for info on any of the places that you are interested in, go to search box (top right of page) enter DESTINATION- and then GO.
You will find that planning your itinirary (especially such a short time period) much easier once you read more about each country or city.

You have certainly got to the heart of the problem, 12 days is not a vast time in such a huge region. Let's go through them.

Thailand is undoubtedly the most touristed of the countries mentioned, although there are still plenty of places you can avoid the worst of it. The benefit of this is that for a self-confessed relatively inexperience3d traveller there is a good tourist infrastructure to back you up should something unfortunately go wrong (unlikely as that is), good medical facilities, tourist police etc. Transportation nis also better than average for the region.

Lao is a great favourite of mine and, although I have not been there for two years, I would suggest that the year before tourist armageddon theory is maybe a bit overblown. Certainly, it is more touristy than it used to be but you can get away from that easily. I am a great fan on Luang Prabang which is always high on my list of visited places but may not be what you are looking for. There are a couple of drawbacks for you. Firstly, it is landlocked so beaches and islands are in short supply apart from the delightful 4'000 islands in the South of the country but I am not sure if that is what you had in mind. Second drawback is hiking. Simply put, do NOT do it. Never walk off a track you are unsure of. The problem is unexploded ordnance from the American wsar and it is a continuing and very serious problem. If you do decide on it, make sure to get a good local guide. I do not wish to put you off, as I say, Lao is a favourite of mine but this is important.

Malaysia. Some years since I have been but it has a good tranport infrastructure, health facilities etc and also some stunning beaches as you say. As for hiking, a few days in the gorgeous Cameron Highlands might suit you nicely.

Bali, again a long time since I was there. Some nice beaches but even a few years ago, very tourist orientated.

Cambodia is worth seeing for the Angkor complex alone, although I shall make a suggestion shortly for another similar place. Siem Reap and Angkor is pretty tourist orientated now. Phnom Penh is OK to visit for a few days and there are some nice beaches on the South coast. Again, if you decide on some hiking, same advice as for Lao.

Unfortunately, I have not yet managed to visit Singapore or Vietnam, so I won't comment.

Now, you say you are not considering any other countries, but I am going to throw this piece of advice in anyway. If you want somewhere non-touristy (although this may change soon with political changes) you should consider Burma / Myanmar. The Bagan complex, in my opinion, is easily the equal of Angkor and you might only see ten other people in a days sightseeing round it. Your timescale would allow time in Rangoon, Bagan and Inle Lake (possibly a short hike in the Shan Hills) without rushing too much. Just something to consider.

Your first port of call should be a trawl through some VT pages, there are some excellent ones. I particularly recommend VT member picek (Vesna) who is somewhat of an expert on the region. I kinow she has assisted me greatly in the past.

Hope this assists,

fergy.

Of all those, I think Vietnam fits the bill for me. Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An, Saigon and just right in 12 days. Probably a little touristy now but less so than Thailand.

Laos is great but no beaches, Myanmar is still unspoilt but the beaches aren't great, Cambodia has Angkor Wat but it's packed with tourists, Bali has some good, quiet beaches if you can find them and Singapore I find a little too clinical.

Malaysia would come a close second - Langkawi or Penang (or both) have great beaches (but a little busy now), Kuala Lumpur is a good city to explore for a couple of days and Kuantan to Marang is a good stretch of coastline (Cherating) on the east.

Eventually - do them all!

I support Gunar on Viet Nam. One of the friendliest country I have been to, the best cuisine in the World, spectacular landscape, low cost. I agree with what Marabuzo writes about Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, but personally I just hate Singapore. It's a commercial hell of a police state, lacks all the charm of other Southeast Asian cities and violates the human rights constantly.

I am another one flying the flag for Malaysia and Singapore. My other option would be Thailand and Cambodia, but I would limit yourself to bkk, maybe koh samet and Siem reap.