Anybody been to South East Asia?

[scaper00]

I'm heading to SE Asia in a few mouths.Was wondering if anybody in here has been,and what they enjoyed most and a rough estimate of howmuch cash I can expect to tear through while there?

[lovesit]

Maybe you're already there, but here goes.

Depending on where and when you go, the amount of money you'll be spending will vary greatly. Thailand, specifically the southern islands, is where you'll be spending the most. Expect a cheap room to run about 350 Baht ($10) per night. That is a room with a fan and cold water, with attached bathroom.

For cheap lodging, your best bet is Laos, but for some strange reason food is not as cheap as in other places like Vietnam. A bowl of noodle soup in Laos can cost $1, whereas the same bowl will cost you $.70 in Vietnam. In any case, you can decent find rooms in either of these countries, as well as Cambodia for between $3-10.

As you may have noticed, when I talk about "expensive" food and lodging in SE Asia, it is still DIRT cheap compared to any first-world country.

How much you will be spending will obviously depend on what you want to do while you are there. If you want to just chill out and see some temples, eat local food and stay in modest accomodation, it will be very cheap - probably less than $20/day. If you want to go diving in Similan Islands, Thailand, or Sipadan, Malaysia and stay in western-owned hotels, it's going to cost you a pretty penny. There are plenty of 4-star resorts and Club Meds that are happy to charge you an arm-and-a-leg to stay there.

You can ask the same question at LonelyPlanet.com in their Thorn Tree forum.

Have fun!