kaitainen wrote:
i'm also personally not huge on the full moon party, but again, it's your trip, if you think you'll like it, then check it out.
as for malaysia/KL/singapore rather than laos - it's also not the choice i would make. that said, malaysia is a majority muslim country, perhaps the first you'll have a chance to visit in your lifetime. and i'm a big fan of singapore. the food is really good and it's a neat cultural mix.
singapore and KL are much more expensive than the other places you have mentioned (on the order of 2x or 3x as much money per day). i don't know how much that matters to you. and obviously they are large, international cities, which is completely different than what you would see in laos.
i would suggest considering the mix of local vs western/international culture that you are likely to encounter with your current itinerary. ko samui, phuket, and siem reap, while not huge cities, are full of western tourists. bangkok, KL and singapore are international cities with businesses (both retail and corporate) that exist in similar cities throughout the world.
Thanks for this post. Yes, there is a big difference between Laos and Asia's international cities. Part of the reason I am heading south after Phucket is travel time. It is simply much easier to get down to Malaysia and travel around. Plus, Cameron Highlands looks AMAZING...better than Laos. And Singapore, the fabled, clean, modern, multicultural, hi-tech city intrigues me. Laos is simply too tough to reach given my time constraints. My next trip to SE Asia, if it ever happens, will be Vietnam and Laos. While I do want to get some of the local culture and flavor, I don't want to go too far out into the "bush" too much (aside from maybe Cambodia). Yes, I will see lots of other Western tourists in Thailand, but most will be Europeans, and I don't run into too many of them were I live. So that is almost a cultural experience unto itself. I like meeting other travelers from around the world.
Malaysia doesn't seem all that expensive to me, to be honest. Top-rated guesthouses there have private rooms for $10-20 a night. That's pretty good. I honestly think Phuket will be more pricey.
I've also heard Malaysia has 5-star premium resorts for $100 a night. I might splurge for a night just to experience that kind of luxury...would be a first for me.
Given that I'm employed, I don't have to stay in the cheapest of the cheap the entire time, and I think this itinerary provides a good mix for me.