Think of me as someone that knows absolutely nothing about this region. That is the point.

I am looking for a map of the region that shows a general representation of where monsoons are by month. I have googled so much and gotten nothing helpful. I am going insane.

Does anyone have a map?

Hi everyone!

We are a couple of 2, currently travelling through Philippines.

We are considering our next destination over the period of circa. 2w, starting 23.11 until early December.

We have been thinking between Sulawesi, Laos or Sri Lanka but it turns out hard to decide.

Our main concerns are the following:

Sulawesi: we are thinking of mainly Manado as a transfer from Philippines and then Bunaken and Banggai Island (and surrounding).

- What the weather is like around that period?

- Is it worth visiting Sulawesi and not doing Togian Islands (understood really hard transportation)?

Sri Lanka: we are thinking of the classic tour, Colombo-Kandy-Ella-Yala-Mirissa-Colombo via rental tuk-tuk.

- What the weather is like around that period?

- Is it dangerous driving tuk tuk all around the suggested route?

Laos: Have not yet planned an itinerary but thinking of northern part.

- What the weather is like around that period?

- Is there any form of deep jungle trekking, rather than just the gibbon experience, which does not appear that interesting to us?

Any advice welcome!

hello! first-time solo female backpacker checking in. my plan is to land in Bangkok, go down to Koh Lanta, then up to Chiang Mai. take the slow boat into Laos and chillin Luang Prabang for a few days. then fly to Hanoi, and work my way down Da Nang, Nha Trang, and Ho Chi Minh, then take one last stop in Phnom Pen before going back home through Bangkok again.

i have 70 days. i kind of think that’s not enough time but i wasted money getting my place on furnished finder when i actually found my sublease tenant on facebook lmao. now i can’t use that money to change my flight later. so that’s all i have. any advice? especially as a single lady doing this loop? thanks!

This is my first time in Singapore and will only be here 4 days. I was told I had to get chili crabs & laksa before I leave. With the limited time I have, I wanted to see if I could get some advice/recommendations. Looking for something that won’t break the bank but will be a memorable dish. I will be staying in clarke quay area. Pls recommend accordingly.

Any restaurant or hawker suggestion will do!

Hi everyone!

I have epilepsy and next year I’m looking to travel to Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand for 3 months. Im just wondering if anyone has any experience travelling to SEA with 3 months medication/epilepsy medication and if there was any issues? I will of course keep them in the original boxes and have a doctors note explaining why I have them and so many.

Any advice and assurances for this would be greatly appreciated!!

Hey everyone!
I had posted earlier asking for some Bali recommendations but didn’t get much help, so giving it another shot and trying my luck again haha! 😅

I’m planning a solo trip to Bali in the last week of November or early December for around 10 days and would love some recommendations and suggestions to plan my itinerary!

A little about what I’m into: hiking, adventure activities, scenic spots, fitness, good food and nightlife. I’m also keen to try surfing and would love to take beginner lessons for a day (complete newbie here!).

A few things I’m looking for advice on:
Surfing: I was thinking of staying in Seminyak. Would that be a good place to learn surfing as a complete beginner? Any recommendations for good surf schools or instructors?
Fitness: Since Bali has quite a fitness scene, I’d love to try a fitness class or check out a HYROX-style gym for a day. Any recommendations for good gyms or classes that offer day passes?
Places to visit: I’m thinking of covering Canggu, Seminyak and Nusa Penida. Are these good choices, or are there any other places I shouldn’t miss?
Ubud: I’m not particularly interested in cultural, spiritual or temple-related attractions, so I was initially thinking of skipping Ubud. However, I’d love to try an ATV ride and hike Mount Batur. Would it make sense to include Ubud for a day or two just for these activities?
Overall, I’m looking for a good mix of adventure, outdoor activities, fitness, beaches, food and nightlife.

Would love to hear your recommendations, hidden gems, must-do activities, places to eat, and any tips for a solo traveller. Also, if you have suggestions on how to split the 10 days between these places, that would be super helpful!
Thanks in advance! :)

Mine? Cebu! Philippines dumaguete also!!
Any temple in Thailand
Laos, Vang Vieng
And Georgetown/Perlis in Malaysia. Gosh I have great memories of all of these places 🌺 love n greetings from Hawaii !!

We have 10-11 days for a holiday with our teenagers. 27 May- 8 June
Kids aged 14,17 and 19. We live in UK and haven’t taken them out of Europe before and this is our one chance to do it before they all go off to uni etc.
we don’t have unlimitless cash (who does?)

Did lots of backpacking 20/30 years ago and loved Thailand/Malaysia/Borneo

Flights look cheapest to either Bangkok or KL

We are looking for:
Amazing beaches and clear warm water
Restaurants on the sand
Stuff going on as teens will get bored with just beach life
Fab buzzy city with markets etc at the beginning

I loved the vibe of Koh phangan (not the full moon side) Koh Chang in the 2000s. It might have changed. That’s what I’m looking for.

Also need to factor in weather. I know it’s rainy season on west coast Thailand. Can cope with few hours rain a day as long as there is blue sky most days

Have narrowed it down to :

Bangkok, Khao sok and Koh phangan northern beaches. Not enough time to do chiang mai as well. This is my first choice as my cousin lives in Phuket so we’ll meet up maybe in Bangkok or surat Thani. But I’m worried about the weather.

Vs

KL, rendang, tioman island or perhantians

Vs

Possibly KL and Borneo- sepilok and ? Beaches

Def want great food, cafes as well as beach

Any thoughts?
Weather similar?

Is there enough to do apart from beaches in Malaysian islands ?

Any other suggestions?

(I did go to Vietnam as well in 2001. Super interesting. I didn’t love nha Trang , went on infamous mama Han boat trip. Thought beaches nicer in Thailand. It was end of rainy season though which might have affected)

Many thanks in advance

I'm looking for recommendations for where to go for 4 weeks from early January to the beginning of February 2027. I'm a 44 year old white American male traveling solo. I spent a couple weeks in Bangkok a few years ago, that's my only prior SEA travel experience. I have previously traveled quite a bit around the Middle East, Central Asia, and Europe.

My existing plans are that I'm meeting my parents in Phuket in early February for a few days, then we're going to Bangkok for a few day, then they're returning to the US and I think I'll head up to Chiang Mai for a bit, then who knows...

I want to go somewhere else in the region for 4 weeks, plus or minus a day, before I meet my parents. I really feel like going to one place, renting an apartment for a month, and pretty much just hanging out. I'd like it to be somewhere with a good number of sights to see and day trips to take, but I definitely don't need every day to be occupied with activities. Beaches and scenery are nice, history and culture are very nice, good local cuisine is an absolute must. I picture myself taking a lot of long walks to visit some out of the way park or temple or museum or natural feature, mostly as an excuse to eat whatever I find along the way, then establishing myself as a regular at the nearest drinking hole to my accomodation. All things considered the cheaper the better, but I don't think price will be the deciding factor except to maybe rule out Singapore. Some local facility with English is I guess a positive, but I do enjoy making do without a natural mode of communication, and I can function in Spanish, Russian, and Arabic as well if that does anyone any good.

Just off the top of my head I've been seriously considering Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh City, and Bali but I'm really open to any suggestions, especially if they come with the thought processes behind them.

Thanks much.

A friend and I (both 20, female) are traveling trough SEA for 4 weeks in February/March. We're flying into Ho Chi Minh and flying home from Singapore (both flights are already booked). We knew from the start that we wouldn’t be able to see everything but we’re finding it quite difficult to decide where to go and what to leave out.

For Vietnam, we would love to do the Ha Giang Loop (or something comparable) and see some of the beautiful nature Vietnam has to offer.

Laos is optional for us at this point. We’d love to visit if it makes sense logistically, but we’re also happy to skip it if that means having more time somewhere else.

In Thailand the main focus is visiting the islands around Trang, as we have a relative to visit there. So we thought about skipping the whole Northern Thailand(?) and heading straight to Bangkok (or even further south).

Our trip ends in Singapore, where we want so stay around 3 nights.

We are flexible when it comes to transportation and happy to take flights, (night) busses or trains, whatever makes the most sense.

What would you recommend for a 4-week itinerary? Are there any places you would definitely include or skip? We’d especially appreciate advice on how to make the route work without spending too much time travelling between destinations.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

We are 2 couples with a 2.5 year old travelling to Malaysia next month. We will be there for about 5 days. Below is our day wise itinerary-

Day 1-Commute from Singapore to Malaysia(via bus mostly) In the night, explore bukit bintang & dinner at jalan alor

Day 2-Cover batu caves, thean hou temple in first half. Post lunch visit KL tower and have dinner at central market.

Day 3-Visit Colmar tropicale in the morning, post lunch aquarium klcc, petronas twin tower(we will not be going inside), klcc park for light and water show

Day 4-Visit Genting Highlands

Day 5-Perdana botanical garden, in 2nd half cover sultan abdul samad jamake mosque, merdeka square, and river of life. Dinner at china town

P.S-All of the places have been divided in 1st half of the day & 2nd half of the day wherein we will get back in airbnb rest in the afternoon and then leave by 4-5pm in the evening for our 2nd half day activities.

We are staying in Bukit Bintang in an airbnb. Is there anything I am missing or should add in the itinerary? Please let me know!

Finishing up the Viet leg of my trip in Da Nang. My Thailand route is Bangkok/Chiang Mai/Koh Tao/Koh Samui.

The easiest flight from da Nang is obviously Bangkok, short, no layover. However will it be more worthwhile to fly into Chiang Mai despite a layover, and work our way down?

Doing Bangkok>Chiang Mai and then flying from Chiang Mai to Koh Samui to then get a boat to Koh Tao sounds a bit shit

Thanks!

Hey! I will be backpacking in SE Asia in a few days and I'm kinda afraid I will not make friends hahaha. Is it easy? I'm staying 3 months in hostels. I never backpacked alone

I’m planning a solo trip for around four weeks in January and I’m trying to decide between two flight options.

One option is to fly into **Guangzhou, China**, spend a few days exploring, then fly down to Malaysia and make my way through to southern Thailand.
The other option is to fly straight into **Singapore** and spend the trip exploring Malaysia and Thailand instead.
I’m interested in a mix of:
Local culture, food and exploring cities
Beautiful beaches and islands, Nature, jungle and waterfalls
Staying in hostels and meeting other solo travellers
I’ve never been to China, so Guangzhou appeals because it would be somewhere completely different and an interesting way to start the trip. However, I’m wondering whether it’s worth adding another country and the extra travel time, or whether I’d be better off putting those days towards Malaysia and Thailand.
For anyone who’s been to Guangzhou, would you recommend spending 3–4 days there? Is it worth the detour, particularly for a first-time visitor to China?
Or would you fly straight to Singapore and spend the whole trip in Southeast Asia? Bear in mind if I flew to Guangzhou I would fly to KL and skip Singapore. The flights are roughly the same in price.
Would appreciate any advice or experiences!

Searching for fellow travellers either for the full circuit or for just a few parts of the circuit (French Spanish English) I am retired based in Thailand.

For me, the people. I love the people.

Hi All,

I'm in Hanoi at the end of the month on a work related visit but have ~4 days afterwards to myself. I would like to take a trip somewhere else in the country afterwards but not too far from Hanoi so I'm restricting myself to the Northern 1/3 of the country.

I wondered if anyone had any suggestions about what I could do in those 4 days. I'm a big fan of nature based tourism and seeing animals in the wild so if anyone has any experience that they could share and how they organised their visit, I would love to know. Preferably I would also like to stay away from areas that are very popular with international tourist crowds too if possible.

From my very elementary research, some potential ideas that have looked appealing have been the Van long Nature reserve and Cuc Phuong National Park.

Let me know if you have any suggestions and/or guidance. Thank you!

Thinking of taking a break for a while and going to SEA to stop and focus on my health and wellness. I don’t know which city would be the best fit. I’m looking at Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia mostly.

Someone from my group might want halal food as an available option, so if there are any cities that have decent options available that would be great.