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South East Asia is a vast region with gorgeous landscapes and everlasting impressions. Wandering her many cities and countries - looking for adventure, pleasure, luck, love, business or plain relaxation - you can see travelers from all over the world flocking to our favorite region.
Of course, somehow we all have our favorite countries here to travel to over and over again. The usual suspects come to mind: Thailand, Malaysia even China.
But how about the smaller or not-so-known ones?
Today is the day of truth. What is your favorite country in South East Asia?
The one you love to travel to again and again. Of which you carry fond memories wherever you go. Your first backpacking experience, the first trip without your parents or with that special someone. Where you had the best days of your life. Or found the love which seemed to be lost.
The one you adore and tell all your friends about it; trying to sway and persuade them to go and check out for themselves.
Today is your day!
Fancy the beaches of the Philippines? Or the jungles and pagodas of Myanmar? The serenity of Brunei? Or the baguettes with duck liver pastry in Vietnam? The unspoiled nature of Papua? Or the roughness of East Timor? You can even vote for Australia, which - following Wikipedia - is culturally a part of South East Asia.
There can only be one. Yours.
Are you still reading? What are you waiting for? 
The poll is in the left sidebar of the blog. Vote for your favorite country in South East Asia. Watch the results pour in over the next few days and learn if other travelers out there share your taste or if you discovered a little best-kept secret for yourself.
It’s a bit tricky to cover this huge region, by just putting up the countries. Someone might fancy Bali but not the rest of Indonesia, Borneo but not Peninsula Malaysia, some may say to put Hong Kong and China in one line is a sacrilege. You are all right! I hope we can differentiate those issues in one of the next polls. Please forgive any obvious mistakes or make yourself heard in the comment form.
Please use the comment form below this post as well, if you want to justify your choice or to convince other readers why your chosen country rocks the boat!
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From now on I’m planning to publish a new poll question every 7-10 days or so. The results will stay for a longer while, as there is a poll archive attached. If you have a recommendation on what questions you want to vote in the future; as usual I’m always open for suggestions and requests.
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I’d have to say that Cambodia left lasting memories for me. The humorous people, Ankor Wat and best of all, our own private island for three days off the coast of Sihanoukville… Hard to believe what these people went through just 30 years ago.
My vote goes to Laos.
Why, because the people, the ultimate in relaxation, food, safety, and just the pure feeling the country still has. It has scary adventurous parts too like having someone with an AK 47 stopping your bus in the middle of nowhere. Finally the really beautiful untouched(so far) landscapes.
If you would like to know more contact me at Bootsnall.com or better yet check out our trips so you can see for yourself.
http://www.bootsnall.com/adventures/c-93/bootsnall-exclusive.html
The Pacific country of West Papua from its snow covered lime stone peak to its vivid marine environments is a much better place to see its echidna and kangaroo than the southern flat mainland.
Wish I was better traveled…everywhere I have been in Asia is now part of China (guess they always were). Hong Kong and Macau are great, if you have lots of money. Ha
And, of course, it’s debatable that Taiwan has always been part of China as a province, and is not really a country at all. Depends on your politics I suppose.
If Bali is a country, I believe many travelers would choose it
I have to vote with Hayden - Laos it is. Natural and cultural beauty, not too westernized, and as the cliche goes, what Thailand used to be like 30 years ago.
I voted Thailand - specifically, Kanchanaburi is the place I think of when I dream of easy, cheap living, glorious food and lovely people. Perhaps I should travel more :p
Laos is a close second but getting there and around the country is just more of a challenge. That slow boat down the Mekong has scarred me for life (or was it just that wooden seat up my a*se?)
Laos for sure. Quite a special place, really worth a trip. And then Burma.
I was happy to see both the second and first place countries as they are, so far. I lived in Thailand two years and like it fine, but I live in the Philippines now and find it a better place for a Westerner to ‘live Eastern’. Nice poll.
Hi Dave,
Thanks for putting out some words for the Philippines and I think you made the right decision to settle here.
As for the others reading this post, I’m a Filipino and though I would naturally root for my own country, I can objectively say the Philippines has as many exciting places to offer as Thailand or Indonesia–without the crowds.
We still have miles and miles of deserted white sand beaches, just waiting to be discovered. Our country’s lack of tourist-friendly transport and infrastructure has preserved most of these yet-to-be-discovered gems.
The Philippines is not a tourist-friendly country in terms of getting around the islands. But the people are warm and welcoming. If you are more of traveller than a tourist, then it would be worth your time to discover my country.
I vote Malaysia.
My hometown is in Malaysia and I only been to China, Singapore and Thailand. Comparatively, I vote because a lot of freedom to do whatever you like and most importantly lower living cost (other than KL).
Loved this thread… I had to vote for the Philippines since my wife is from Mindanao, but it is by far the most beautiful place outside of Maui and Colorado that I have ever been…
Good Luck!
I have to vote for Thailand - especially North and North Western Thailand!
MMM in order of the ones i like the most
Thailand
Cambodia
Nepal
Bali (yea i know its not a country but its so diferent from the rest of Indonesia)
India
Burma
Thailand is my perennial favorite. The people, the food, the temples, the markets, the sights, the sounds, the smells, the cheapness, the ease of getting around, the proximity to other countries.
The worst? Hard to say, but perhaps China…Don’t get me wrong, I like it, but I don’t find much interesting there. The worst elements of communism and capitalism combined.
Honorable mentions:
Taiwan for its untouristedness and friendly people
Laos for its laid-backness
Brunei for its quirkiness
Malaysia for it variety
Cambodia for Angkor
Hong Kong for its cemeteries
Great call on HK; I lived there and worked as a Photographer and loved the cemeteries.
Singaopre for its Orchard Road
Wow - thanks for the manifold reasons for your favorite countries! It’s nice to see a very diverse taste - that’s how it should be.
hands up 4 the Philippines!
but I reckon THAILAND,VIETNAM and MALAYSIA is good as well!!
Philippines hands down.
Lao PDR
Myanmar
Vietnam
Singapore
as runners up.
I agree with Gerry and Dave.
Philippines FIRST …. then Thailand. I love them both
me, too, ryan…your indonesia…full of beautiful syt…the only reason i retire early…
would it be nice just to stay 2 to 3 months in each of the above countries?..i have lived in each of the SE asian countries for 2 to 3 months each…but i still find Indonesia the most attractive to live…Chris, what is your next destination? may i guess… Philippines or Laos.. my next country is either Goa or Sri Lanka…
ola robert,chris in india ,to find beautiful indian girl and some info for income google,for good reader chris the only one for it HEHE
in order of where i liked the best for food/travel/people/photography
Thailand
Nepal
Cambodia
Bali
India
Countries where i have loved to live
Thailand
Cambodia
Nepal
Can’t stand the philippines, the people - there is so much garbage there. Its not a safe country for a westerner to visit IMO.
robert, you are spot on! Moving around every couple of months is something I liked to do also. Even though it’s maybe more than 2-3 months, I enjoy staying a bit longer. Actually I planned for a couple of month in Palawan after India. Still figuring out, if that’s possible regarding infrastructure etc. Some place I have on my mind doesn’t even have an ATM within 12 hours bus ride, so don’t know yet, if that’s realistic. Maybe another place in the Philippines then.
Oh, and I love Laos! It’s a nice country, but for staying longer, I definitely would need an ocean. As a born land rat, I’m now completely addicted to my daily swim in the sea.
Richard Reitmann, wow - you have some interesting countries listed there, where you lived already! How is living in Nepal or Cambodia? Care to elaborate a bit in another comment? I’m also open for Guest Writers, if you are interested?
Love living in Cambodia :-)
I lived in Nepal in the middle 80’s when we were running bicyle trips from Lhasa to Kathnamdu and its still one of my favorite places but hands down Thailand is the ultimate winner, ( 22 years there !!)
Cambodia is like Nepal in that is is on the edge and dirty and poor yet still the people make the country great!!
Spent 8 months on a bicycle in India/Sri Lanka and that was a trip that has a very high place in the best year of my life.
Would love to write for ya as long as i can get some pics up as well
U can see them at
forgot the url Phuket
Richard Reitmann, really interesting! Thanks for the added info. I’ve sent you an e-mail.
@Jim -
Well, funny you’d say that there is a lot of garbage in the Philippines. I have a lot of Australian friends who visited and ended up living in that country. Maybe you should step outside the girly bars for a change mate. From what I can surmise from your words, you are not an extremely smart person nor a well-traveled one either. >
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@Chris -
I think Palawan is an excellent choice (Puerto Princesa is pretty well equipped I think). Or Boracay? I think I’d recommend Bohol… It has nice beaches and tons of places to visit (and dive sites)… And the people there are sooooooo friendly! There is a quite sizable expat community there too composed of mostly Europeans. Boracay is another place you may wanna consider as well - it is pretty well-stocked with tons to do, huge expat community (mostly Westerners, mind you Jim) and I think they are starting to have direct flights to Puerto Princesa (Palawan) at the Caticlan Airport as well as Cebu, Clark, and Manila. At the bigger airport in Kalibo, they have direct flights to Taiwan now and occasionally Korea, China and Russia. They are currently building the International Terminal. In the next few years, there will be direct international flights in Bohol, and across the channel, Cebu has direct links to Korea, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore.
Ryan, yep that were my thoughts also. Bohol I know quite well already, so I will probably want to try a new destination. Boracay is nice amenity-wise, but quite small, so maybe too small for a few months. I visited a couple of times for a week and after the week was over, I mainly hat itchy feet already. So yeah, maybe Palawan or Dumaguete, or Cagayan de Oro or maybe even Puerto Galera could be an interesting destination…..still working on it…
Dumaguete is an interesting place. Never been there but the diving in Apo Island was said to be superb. I dunno about Puerto Galera- too kitschy I think- never tried going there (but I am a snob). I would soooo envy you if youd live in Palawan! Maaannn, that place is just paradise.Oh hey, have you heard of this place - Caramoan Peninsula in Camarines Sur? I’ve seen the photos and it looks like Little Palawan with nice coves and beaches, it has a decent wakeboarding complex nearby (biggest in SEA I heard), and there are surf spots, and close to the annual whale watching in Donsol. Two volcanoes are also nearby. Im thinking of a trip there around Easter this year.
Caramoan Peninsula in Camarines Sur? Never heard of it, Ryan! But sounds very interesting. You really have a lot of great ideas! So another place for me to check out. Wish I had faster internet here to check some Flickr pictures. It’s too darn slow here to do that…so have to cope with Wikipedia for now then…
Ugh… I really wanna go to Caramoan Peninsula and Batanes … check out their official website….(www.caramoanislands.com)
Oh yeah, I also have another wishful thinking list
1) Tawi-Tawi (the southernmost islands of Mindanao) apparently has super-stunning white sand islets that could totally sh*t on any beach in the world (including within the Philippines)… sigh.. only if it would be safe to travel over there…http://beach.fujikawa.com/2007/10/langit.html
2) Sulu (http://beach.fujikawa.com/2007/11/donut-hole.html)… another hotbed of Muslim insurgency.
3) Zamboanga Peninsula - no-go for tourists as well. sigh…
Tie between 4:
Thailand
Indonesia
China
Japan
I never knew that China and Japan are parts of Southeast Asia. I always thought that they are East Asia, but then again some people still thinks that the world is flat and you can drive from Sydney to Perth in a day.
Hong Kong is not a country; nor is it in South East Asia… why is it even on the list?
Favourite SEA country probably Thailand because it has great food and exotic culture.