SE Asia - best route for me?

Ok so basically i have a trip to Japan planned for next year to last a couple of months.

I will have 2-3 weeks of the time free and was thinking it might be worth going and seeing some of south east asia.

Flights for the time i'm there work out cheapest to fly into and out from Kuala Lumpur however there is a very cheap flight between Phnom Penh and Kuala Lumpur. So this means i need to start in one of these two destinations and finish in the other.

I will probably have ~17 nights, could be slightly shorter or longer depending on what i plan.

If possible i'd like to use this time to see bits of a few different countries. I know it's probably not even enough time to see one country properly let alone more than one, but my aim is to see a few different places and get a feel for the area with the intention of returning again at some point for a longer trip (hopefully with some ideas in mind from my first trip of where i do or dont want to go).

So really i'm looking for ideas on how much of SE asia (Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia) i can see by staying 2-4 nights in each place. And ideas of the best route to take to make the most of the time. E.g. which routes have the best overland transport.

I'm not expecting to neccesarily visit all of those countries and i'd be happy to spend more time in one country, or spread the time evenly between 2, 3 or 4 countries. It all depends how much of the time has to be used travelling between the destinations.

If anyone has been on a short trip to south east asia and maybe had some of the same issues but came up with a decent trip, please let me know how you did it 😊

Any comments, ideas or experiences are welcome - thanks in advance for any contributions! Reply to this

A combination of them all!

I like to see historical things and sites of cultural importance to the country. I like to try the local food and see what the normal life in the countries is like.

But im not adverse to an evening on the beach!

I don't really do much shopping as i tend to travel with not much money!

Hope that helps 😊 Reply to this

Of all the countries you've mentioned, the only one I have no experience is Laos. From reports of people who have travelled there, you need to invest a good amount of time to see the country due to the long times needed to cross the country by land. As such, I would recommend removing it from your itinerary.

If you can spend the extra to fly from KL into Vietnam it is probably the best, otherwise you are backtracking between Cambodia and Vietnam and the cost of transport and visa would make it cheaper to head direclty to Saigon if travelling in summer or Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) if travelling in winter.

I only saw HCMC city and the Mekong Delta and that is worthy of a few days, I really liked that city. The temples of Siem Reap in Cambodia are worthy of three days, so you will need a bit of time there. In Malaysia, you must visit the food capital of the world, Penang - really great introduction to a country that prides itself on food. I can also recommend Melaka (south of KL) as another heritage area. The east coast of Malaysia contains the Perhentian Islands, and they have received many strong reports from bloggers on this site.

Transport is very cheap in Asia but unless you fly it can be slow, so you need to allow plenty of time between destinations. Thus best to see slightly fewer sights or a lot of your trip will be spent behind the window of a train or bus. Reply to this

Apologies for that being a little difficult to read, it would appear my space bar isn't working very well! Reply to this

I look forward to seeing your itinerary and am happy to provide comments and suggestions. Reply to this