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Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Malaysian capital is a developed modern city. There is some excellent
shopping and lively nightlife here in the Golden Triangle, home of the iconic
Petronas Twin Towers, two of the tallest buildings in the world. It is more
expensive than most places on the route but still very cheap by Western
standards. Read about the cost of travel in Malaysia to compare costs here to
other countries in the region and beyond.
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Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Ipoh, Malaysia
There are lots of cool sights in Ipoh and even the train station is something of
an architectural masterpiece. It is a mysterious kind of place, home to haunted
castles, secret passages, weird statues and spooky caves. You can also go
trekking in the surrounding jungle, visit nearby hot-springs, enjoy a day at the
water park or for the adventurous, try your hand at caving and white-water
rafting.
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Penang, Malaysia
A small island off the west coast of Malaysia that is well worth visiting. Hit
Georgetown, for a taste of British colonialism in this part of the world. Also
be sure to check out Penang’s famous markets and religious sites of various
faiths. Elsewhere on the island there are some pleasant beaches and plenty of
quaint little fishing villages.
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Krabi, Thailand
Back on the Thai mainland and now the Andaman Coast, hit the popular beaches of
Ao Nang, Tang Sei and Rai Leh. Crash out in a cheap guesthouse or bungalows on
one of the beaches. There are also more opportunities for the active traveller
here so if you’re bored of lazing around all day, try your hand at rock
climbing, a popular activity on Hat Ton Sai and Hat Rai Leh AKA Railay Beach,
another favourite spot with anyone backpacking Southeast Asia.
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Phang Nga Bay, Thailand
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Ko Tao, Thailand
Express boats travel the 45 km between Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao, taking around two
hours. This is the place to come to delve into the ocean and experience diving
or snorkelling in beautiful clear waters with lots of marine life. It almost
goes without saying that this is also another great island to soak up the sun
and laze around on the beach all day. Hat Sai Ri’s bars are the centre of the
drinking action, but Ko Tao’s nightlife is nowhere near as lively as that on Ko
Pha Ngan or Ko Samui.
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Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand
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Koh Samui, Thailand
A large and very westernised island that tends to attract more mainstream
tourism than people travelling in Southeast Asia on a budget. Hat Chaweng and
Hat Lamai are party central for many visitors but there are plenty of quieter
spots to explore with a vast choice of beaches to choose from and you may have
to pass through here to get the boat to Ko Pha Ngan anyway.
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Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok is the most obvious place to start backpacking in Southeast Asia. For
starters, it’s a major airline hub so it is very easy to get to. Flights also
tend to be more reasonably priced than ones to other Southeast Asian cities
which often pass through Bangkok anyway. It is one of the most westernised
cities in the region so the culture shock is less than if you landed straight
into Vietnam or Laos. It also offers you a chance to stock up on anything you
may need for your trip with prices much cheaper than back home but still with
great choice. Bangkok is very much base camp for travellers in Southeast Asia.
Love it or loathe it, chances are you’ll be back again before too long.
- Lumphini Park (สวนลุมพินี)
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Ayutthaya, Thailand
An ancient city and the former capital of Siam. Ayutthaya is effectively an
island in the middle of three rivers. History buffs will love it and for
everyone else it makes for a nice stop on the way to the north of Thailand.
- Wat Maha That (วัดมหาธาตุ)
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Chiang Mai, Thailand
The northern city of Chiang Mai is an intellectual kind of place with an
alternative vibe and many travellers prefer it to Bangkok. It’s a good spot to
study traditional Thai practices such as massage and meditation. It is also the
best place to base yourself for exploring or trekking into the jungle and ethnic
minority villages near the city. It’s also a good place to hang around for a few
months if you fancy living in Southeast Asia as opposed to merely travelling
through it and it has grown into one of the world’s most popular digital nomad
destinations. It features in our article on cheap places to live in Asia with
the cost of living (and indeed cost of travel!) very low.
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Pai, Thailand
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Bangkok, Thailand
Kick back on the Khao San Road for a few days or head south depending on how
much you enjoyed the city first time around. Having completed the big loop
around the north of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, it’s time to hop on a
night train and head for the beach paradise of Southern Thailand. It is also
possible to fly from Bangkok to Southern Thailand but note that domestic flights
don’t typically go from Suvarnabhumi, rather the city’s other major airport –
the older Don Mueang which features in our list of the most dangerous airports
in the world (it’s not quite as bad as it sounds!).
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Siem Reap, Cambodia
Siem Reap has grown from nothing into a thriving little town thanks to its
proximity to the country’s main pride and joy, the magnificent Temples of Angkor
Wat, an essential stop for anyone backpacking in Cambodia or indeed Southeast
Asia as a whole. If you’re a fairly well travelled person, you’ve probably been
to some ancient ruin that was in all the guidebooks and been left thoroughly
disappointed at the crappy little pile of rocks that you paid to go and see.
Angkor Wat however is in a different league with hundreds of impressive ruins
spread out over a large area of jungle. In short, it’s a pretty amazing place.
In Siem Reap itself there are few sights but some decent bars on Pub Street and
plenty of great food.
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Battambang, Cambodia
Travelling to Battambang from Sihanoukville is a mission and likely to involve
going back to Phnom Penh and changing buses. The city is full of statues and
interesting Wats and has plenty of river based activities to entertain
travellers. Once you’re done, hop on a boat north to Siem Reap. It may be worth
checking the estimated length of the journey as it depends on water levels and
can take up to 12 hours, in which case you may well prefer the less scenic but
faster bus route.
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Koh Rong, Cambodia
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Krong Kampot, Cambodia
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Phnom Penh, Cambodia
On the surface Phnom Penh is a pleasant, aesthetically pleasing and surprisingly
peaceful capital city with lots of monks. Dig a little deeper and it’s an often
lawless, poverty stricken place where just about anything goes. Welcome to
Cambodia. It’s easy to lose yourself in Phnom Penh and in the past you would
hear all sorts of bizarre stories of everything from backpackers supposedly
blowing up cows with rocket launchers, attending cock fighting matches and
taking easily available drugs. The infamous lakeside district where many
backpackers used to stay is no more and the city has calmed down a little as a
result from a traveller’s perspective. It is though, still a place with a dark
history and you can spend some time reflecting and trying to understand the
horrors that took place here all too recently during the days of Pol Pot and the
Khmer Rouge by visiting the Killing Fields and a former prison where
unimaginable horrors took place. There are also some stunning temples and
palaces which could grace any of the finest cities on the planet. Inequality is
everywhere in Cambodia and Phnom Penh demonstrates it better than anywhere else.
- Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
- Choeung Ek Genocidal Center (The Killing Fields) (មជ្ឈមណ្ឌលប្រល័យពូជសាសន៍ជើងឯក)
- The Royal Palace (ព្រះបរមរាជាវាំងនៃរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា)
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Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
HCMC (AKA Saigon) is the biggest city in the country and has by some
considerable margin the largest backpacker scene in Vietnam. Hit the Pham Ngu
Lao traveller area and you will find numerous cheap places to eat, sleep and
drink. The area is busy until late and has cuisines from literally all over the
world. The moto drivers here will compete for your business non-stop so it’s
easy to get anywhere else in town. Ho Chi Minh City also has lots of sights
relating to the war such as the Cu Chi Tunnel but the modern day city centre is
also a quite unique, although often overwhelming experience with crazy traffic
and very busy neighbourhoods.
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Mũi Né, Vietnam
The nearby sand dunes are good fun if you can stand the heat. There is one road,
it’s very long and runs parallel to the 20 km or so long beach which is largely
deserted and one of the best on this Southeast Asia backpacking route. It’s a
good place to unwind but there is not much going on in terms of socialising or
partying.
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Dalat, Vietnam
1500 metres above sea level, Dalat has a distinctly different feel to the rest
of the main places to visit in South East Asia. With a temperate climate that
makes nights chilly, it comes as a refreshing change and with lakes, forests and
waterfalls that surround the town, it is a paradise for fans of the great
outdoors. Hiking and cycling opportunities aplenty here and there’s a few tribe
villages nearby that are worth heading out to.
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Nha Trang, Vietnam
Nha Trang is Vietnam’s “beach resort” city and has a fairly seedy traveller area
and a dirty beach but there are a few positives. A surprisingly peaceful temple
near the bus station provides a contrast to the rest of Nha Trang and is home to
a giant white Buddha. There used to be some good bars and decent beach clubs
that served cheap cocktails and stayed open late (many drinking joints are
forced to close by 11:00 p.m. in Vietnam). However many closed down during the
pandemic so it’s unclear what the nightlife scene is like now. By day, there are
some decent water sports on offer here too.
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Hội An, Vietnam
This riverside town is pretty damn cool. It’s the place where backpackers buy
tailor-made clothes of all varieties and then prance around like fools in their
bright, new and utterly impractical purple suits. The beach is a short moto-taxi
ride away and is one of the finest in the country. There are also some
surprisingly cool bars here catering to a variety of music tastes. It’s a nice
spot to hang around for a few days and there are loads of cheap places to eat in
Hoi An where you can enjoy local or international food.
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Hue, Vietnam
Hue is an ancient city on a musty coloured river with dragon boats. There are
lots more Vietnam War sites nearby and a pretty decent traveller scene. It’s a
good place to try Vietnamese food but again you won’t need too much time here.
It’s also worth noting that it rains a lot in this part of Vietnam with
torrential downpours common from September to December.
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Dông Hà, Vietnam
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Đồng Hới, Vietnam
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Ninh Bình, Vietnam
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Hanoi, Vietnam