10 Must visit destinations in South East Asia?
 

Hello friends,

Planning a leisure trip to Asia,please suggest me 10 must visit places in Asia in South East Asia.

thanks:
Daniel.;)

I'm more of a culture person.... so here's my pick.

1. Ayutthaya, Bangkok Thailand
2. Angkor Wat, Siam Reap Cambodia
3. Borobudur, Indonesia
4. Halong Bay, Vietnam
5. Golden Rock Temple, Myammar
6. Komodo Dragon Park, Indonesia
7. Golden Triangle, Thailand
8. Luang Prabang, Laos
9. Death Railway, Kanchanaburi, Thailand
10. Melaka, Malaysia

interesting....Melaka !

I've often thought of going overe there
betweem SIN and KUL, I'll do it next time !

Thanks

1. Old Ford Factory (British surrender), Singapore
2. Republic of Singapore Navy Museum
3. Grand Palace, Bangkok
4. old U.S. Embassy, Saigon

how about these?

DanielBryan, welcome to FlyerTalk. Please follow as the thread moves to our Travel->Asia Forum. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

Panda Breeding Reserve at Chengdu, China and hold a baby panda :D

Sorry, never was good at geography and just realized that China is not really in SE Asia.

I haven't been everywhere in SE Asia yet. As for "must visit" I think that depends a good bit on what sorts of things you enjoy. I'm sure a beach person could easily list a bunch of beach resorts. I'm a huge fan of Thailand so my list would be pretty Thailand-heavy

For me:
1) Angkor Wat/Siem Reap
2) Bangkok - Grand Palace, Wat Pho, etc...crazy traffic, exotic nightlife...
3) Luang Prabang and environs
4) Sukhothai
5) Central Vietnam
6) Halong Bay & Hanoi
7) Khmer sites in NE Thailand - Phimai, Phnom Rung, etc
8) Bokor Mountain (Southern Cambodia)
9) Chiang Mai & surrounding areas

Err.... been to the Republic of Singapore Navy museum. It was really horrible. Quite a lot of propaganda....

Are you serious about putting the old ford factory with Angkor Wat???

I do agree that the Grand Palace is a pretty good place to visit.

If you're a military history buff, a visit to Corregidor Island in the Philippines is a must. ^

Other worthwhile spots in the Philippines include Boracay's white sand beaches, the chocolate hills and Tarsiers of Bohol and scuba diving in Palawan.

I've been to all these locations except #8. It's a great list. And just to invite inflamatory comments, the temples around Angkor Wat are wonderful, especially the ones way out. Siem Reap is just awful.

To #3 I'd add the stretch of Nam Ou between LP and Nong Kiao. Hiking in Laos, but not in the known areas. Go up to Muang Sing or Phongsali.

To #4 I'd add Si Satchanalai and Kampeng Phet. Same types of temples but deserted and less (much) touristy.

To #7 further afield from Panom Rung is Prasat Muang Tam and another temple abutting the Cambodia border just a few kms away (can't remember it's name right now).

Bagan, Myanmar. Kalaw/Inle Lake Myanmar. The areas around Mandalay, like Sagaing. I've heard good things about Hsipaw and Lashio but havne't been there yet.

The Mekong delta, get on a motorbike and get lost on purpose.

These aren't must see, but they are 'don't miss'.

There are many more than 10 "must visit" places in SE Asia. Don't take this personally, but this is a seriously useless question without knowing two things:
1) How long you have to spend. A week? A month? 3 months? SE Asia doesn't look like it takes up much room on the globe, but it is rich in offerings, and some rewarding places take a certain minimum investment in time to make it worth one's while.
2) Your general and specific interests. I can give you 10 must-visit beaches, or 10 must-visit temples, or 10 must-visit girlie bars. Oops, sorry not that last one--other FT'ers will have to help you out there. :p

I think you get my drift. The usefulness of answers will depend on a more detailed framing of your question. Would also be helpful to know general time of year you plan to visit.

I was reading up on history of Bagan and Ayutthaya was mentioned several times in the book. May be those two places should visit together if you're interested in ancient cities?

And don't forget some of the places can take a week to get to.

I'd like to know the 10 girlie bars. My soon-to-be-wife doesn't give me much time to explore those.

Yes, my list was basically shorthand. :-)

I liked Prasat Muang Tam and the little market next door to it very much. Are you thinking of the border temple that is in dispute? Isn't it still closed to tourists due to the controversy?

And of course if you go to Sukhothai you also go to Si Satchanalai. I enjoyed Phitsanulok and the national parks around there very much too. I was in those places over Loy Krathong last year and it was really spectacular...but Sukhothai was very crowded. The parade, show, laterns and fireworks were all great though. And the light display in Phitsanulok was really enchanting.

I agree that the temples further afield from Angkor Wat are worth a visit along with Phnom Kulen.

I keep waffling back and forth on Myanmar. Part of me really wants to go but part of me really doesn't if you know what I mean. I have read both sides of the argument. And have been paralyzed into inaction.

I take 3-4 trips yearly to SEA. Many of the places listed above, I have visited. They are worthy of a visit. Some places listed above, I have not visited but intend to now that I realize that they are unique. Bagan and Lake Inle in Myanmar have to be at the top of my list. You need to see Bagan now before tourism catches up with it.