Cambodia
 

Start with Travelfish. That may be all you need. I just came back from my upteenth trip, this one focusing on northern and western border temples. Be careful where you stay in Siem Reap and avoid the so called Pub Street area. Wat Bo area remains ok.

I'd spend several days in Phnom Penh, which is undervalued. I'd avoid Kompong Som/Sihanoukville, which used to be good but has been overwhelmed with gross Chinese development.
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Rich

This question is probably a bit too open ended. What are you interested in? Can you afford to hire a guide/driver or are you planning to just wing it on your own with tuk tuks? Do you want to spend time seeing a million temples? It's easy to get templed out unless you are really fascinated by them. There are tons of them besides Angkor Wat. Some of the more outlying sights are a good bit less crowded than the main attractions.

My last couple of visits through Phnom Penh I found the traffic to be really unbearable. It's grown tremendously in the last few years.

Beyond Angkor Sites, Cambodia is a wonderland of beautiful beaches like Koh Rong, Otres Beach, Kep, Koh Rong Sanloem. There is almost no rainfall in the November, the dry season. So beaches are the perfect choices.
Beside the main Angkor sites like Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon Temple, you should take a visit to the rest of ancient temples in Angkor Archaeological Park. It's worth seeing the hidden charm there. And, of course, take advantages of the all-inclusive ticket.
I've never been to Cambodia, hence there's no actual itinerary to recommend for you. Hope you enjoy your trip!!

Heading here too in February.........Siem Reap first stop for 5 days then onto Phnom Penh for only 3 days.

It is mentioned to stay away from the Pub Street? Any particular reason other than probably just a gong show. We will plan on checking out Angkor Wat but that is it for temple stuff - not very intrigued by them and couldn't imagine looking at temples day after day!

No. It's just a street of bars, full of tourists, loud music, and flashing lights.

There's not much else in Siem Reap for tourists besides "temple stuff". I might even suggest you skip Siem Reap and go some place else that you will enjoy more. Why waste the money? IMO, it's one of the more expensive things to do in SE Asia.

Angkor Wat is to Cambodia what Macchu Picchu is to Peru. You just can't go there and not see it. Though I'm glad I did my 5-6 Cambodia trips in the 1997-2002 timeframe and would likely be shocked and a bit disappointed in spots, though pleased about others (on my first trip the Khmer Rouge were still holding territory, for example).

Cambodia is kind of a rough first place to go if you haven't been elsewhere in Asia, but I'm sure now it's a lot tamer than it was. "Off the rails in Phnom Penh" by Amit Gilboa is a good read about all that if you can find it.

Part of the case for Angkor is that, while it's way too crowded and "ruined" in many ways, that won't be getting any better absent something like another big war. So see it before it gets even more crowded and they finally open the McDonald's. I remember having the overlook peak to myself and having to share the main temple in late afternoon with less than a dozen people or so in early 1997.

You don't want to need health care in Cambodia. I once did need it (food poisoning) and it was nightmarish.

The FCCC in Phnom Penh is an absolute must to visit.

I got to Sihanoukville before the massive development started and got to see the Independence Hotel in ruined glory (mines were a big concern, though).

I suspect that PP could be pleasant in some respects because so many people bypass it now for Siem Reap. Other outposts besides Angkor, PP and Sihanoukville are probably far less changed over the years.

Add to this the dust on streets. Plus 'magic pizza' and some not so benign stuff sold there.

Question is - is it a good idea to spend all 11 days in Cambodia or to split it with Vietnam for example. Angkor itself can be done in three days and BTW, it is not a cheap place to visit - costs you double of entrance fee Yosemite or Yellowstone for example..

I agree that Cambodia is a rougher place to start your first Southeast Asian experience, but its definitely doable. My girlfriend's first SEA country was Cambodia when we visited in December 2017, granted we only visited Siem Reap before making are way to other parts of the region. We spent 4 days in Siem Reap and hired a driver for 3 of them to visit the Angkor Temple Complex. Having a air conditioned car really does make a difference if you can budget for it (I think we paid $35 per day), as the novelty of a tuk-tuk will wear off right away in the November heat.

In regards to museums, be sure to visit the land mine museum in Siem Reap to see a different part of Cambodian history.

Pub Street isn't my cup of tea, but I don't think there is a need to avoid it. There's plenty of delicious, cheap, local cuisine if you walk a bit from the main area. I also found some incredible local artists a few streets down that I purchased some paintings from.

Depends on what she means by 11 days. 11 full days in SE Asia? Yeah, I'd probably mix in another country. I have no idea what the OP is like, but if she's somewhat young and adventurous, I'd probably do the typical trip. Fly into SGN ($25ish for a visa), spend a couple days in HCMC, then book the tourist bus/boat up to Phnom Penh. Spend a few days there. Then either spend the remaining couple days in Siem Reap, or head down to Sihanoukville and/or neighboring islands. Fly back via Siem Reap or Phnom Penh. That path is beaten pretty smoothly at this point.
Could also substitute HCMC with Kuala Lumpur, Singapore or Bangkok, aka a big city with an international airport.

But if the 11 days includes the day to get there from the US and the day to get back, then I'd just stay in Cambodia. Do some beaches for a few days.

Ha!

The 11 days does include flight time. We were thinking about spending some time in Laos. Is that a good idea? I'd like to visit Vietnam for two weeks on another trip.

Lao
 

In Lao, (check Travelfish), I'd spend time, several days, in Luang Prabang and skip Vientiane and Vang Vieng. Kick back. Enjoy life.

In Luang Prabang I'd stay in the old quarter, on the Mekong side. My favorite is Sala Prabang hotel, but you may have other tastes.

I meant to avoid lodging by Pub Street. It's an ok experience and restaurants are ok. I usually eat at Khmer Kitchen at least once per trip. Miss Wong's is fun. I wouldn't pay a lot at the upscale places like Malis, but that's me.

Strong disagreement. Angkor needs, IMO, 3 full days and is unmissable. One day for the small circuit, one for grand circuit, one for Banteay Srei and possibly Kbal Spean. Pace yourself though and get a good guide.

You can come back another time and find much less crowded sites such as Banteay Chhmar, Preah Vihear, or, farther afield, Wat Phu in Lao near Pakxe. In Thailand, there are the really exceptional Phnom Rung, Muang Tam, and Phimai.
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Rich