Which two countries in Asia would you choose?

[Anonymous]

Agree that Vietnam is full of people who will hassle you.

I disagree that Angkor is merely decent. We were there 3 days and I remember being blown away by some of the more remote and quieter temples. But this was almost two decades ago and maybe none of the sites are free from crowds now.

And we found Phnom Penh more pleasant than any city in Thailand or Vietnam. People were way less pushy. But again, many years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just go to Australia/New Zealand.

Boooooooring! Clutch your pearls!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:English isn't a problem anywhere in SE Asia.

Thailand is the easiest to travel around. Great for beaches and BKK is a fun city to explore for a few days. Fantastic food tours in BKK, especially in the Chinatown area. Most developed infrastructure in SE Asia outside Singapore.

Vietnam has a lot to offer, culturally, and food is among the best, but there's a lot of hassles too. The cities are intense, some people will love them, others will hate them. My favorite part was Hoi Ahn and the mountains in the north.

Cambodia was eh. Angor Wat was decent but once you've seen most of the cultural offerings across SE Asia, it's just more of the same. Food is nowhere as interesting or enjoyable as in Thailand or Vietnam. Siem Reap is VERY banana pancake trail.

Just keep in mind that Japan/Korea aren't that close to SE Asia. Flights will probably be 6+ hours, so you're losing a whole day of travel plus you're even further back from the US when you need to return.

So I actually really like banana pancakes and kinda loved the ones I had in Siem Reap!. Can you explain the term "Siem Reap is VERY banana pancake trail" -- is that a bad thing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just go to Australia/New Zealand.

Why not just answer Kenya/Tanzania? They’re not in Asia either.

What? I thought Australia and New Zealand were part of Asia??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just go to Australia/New Zealand.

Why not just answer Kenya/Tanzania? They’re not in Asia either.

What? I thought Australia and New Zealand were part of Asia??

Australasia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just go to Australia/New Zealand.

Why not just answer Kenya/Tanzania? They’re not in Asia either.

What? I thought Australia and New Zealand were part of Asia??

Australasia

Yeah, only if you Google it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just go to Australia/New Zealand.

That is not at all what OP seeks.

You are projecting your own tastes on them.

[Anonymous]

Thailand.Especially if you like spicy food!

[Anonymous]

Thailand has the best tourist infrastruture.

Philippines there's no language issue as English is an official language. Manila is not great for tourism. The beaches (Boracay, Palawan) are great, but you can get nice beaches anywhere.

[Anonymous]

China is right there too. Beijing might just be a two hours flight away from Seoul or Tokyo. Or even Taiwan which is 2/3 hours away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree that Vietnam is full of people who will hassle you.

I disagree that Angkor is merely decent. We were there 3 days and I remember being blown away by some of the more remote and quieter temples. But this was almost two decades ago and maybe none of the sites are free from crowds now.

And we found Phnom Penh more pleasant than any city in Thailand or Vietnam. People were way less pushy. But again, many years ago.

New poster.

I don’t think that other poster said that in Vietnam people will hassle you. What she said was that some people may find the cities to be a hassle. That’s an entirely different thing.

We spent a month traveling through almost all of Vietnam and loved it. It’s a really interesting and beautiful country with great food and people who are way friendlier to Americans than we deserve. We didn’t have much trouble with the language barrier but keep in mind that, yes, English is widely spoken but more widely spoken when you travel in luxury which isn’t our style.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just go to Australia/New Zealand.

Why not just answer Kenya/Tanzania? They’re not in Asia either.

What? I thought Australia and New Zealand were part of Asia??

Oceania.

[Anonymous]

I’d definitely do Korea and Thailand.

[Anonymous]

Possibly unpopular opinion, but IMO, 2.5 weeks isn’t enough for either Korea or Japan plus another country *unless* you’re doing 2 weeks in one of those plus 3 days in Siem Reap / Hong Kong / Singapore / another smaller place.

I’m planning a 2-week trip to Korea next year and that’s barely enough time to fit in the minimum number of things we’d want to see there. Similarly, we’ve done two 2-week trips to Japan and feel like we need at least 2-3 more 2-week trips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:English isn't a problem anywhere in SE Asia.

Thailand is the easiest to travel around. Great for beaches and BKK is a fun city to explore for a few days. Fantastic food tours in BKK, especially in the Chinatown area. Most developed infrastructure in SE Asia outside Singapore.

Vietnam has a lot to offer, culturally, and food is among the best, but there's a lot of hassles too. The cities are intense, some people will love them, others will hate them. My favorite part was Hoi Ahn and the mountains in the north.

Cambodia was eh. Angor Wat was decent but once you've seen most of the cultural offerings across SE Asia, it's just more of the same. Food is nowhere as interesting or enjoyable as in Thailand or Vietnam. Siem Reap is VERY banana pancake trail.

Just keep in mind that Japan/Korea aren't that close to SE Asia. Flights will probably be 6+ hours, so you're losing a whole day of travel plus you're even further back from the US when you need to return.

So I actually really like banana pancakes and kinda loved the ones I had in Siem Reap!. Can you explain the term "Siem Reap is VERY banana pancake trail" -- is that a bad thing?

https://www.tripsavvy.com/banana-pancake-trail-1458475

You get hordes of young, grubby backpackers from Europe and Australia, many are quite trashy and seeking cheap alcohol while pretending to be down with local cultures. And the market caters to them. We were already long term expats in another country and Siem Reap was the first place I saw the phenomena of the overweight white girl wearing too short, too tight, revealing shorts and t-shirts exposing massive flabby white calves covered with multiple tattoos. Which, when juxtaposed against the local culture, was a very odd sight to see.