Cambodia or Vietnam? Or both ??

Did the Thailand, Laos, Vietnam & Cambodia typical trip a few years back.

Was all great, but actually Laos was our favourite place of the bunch. Laos/Thailand still felt the most authentic, the places we went to in Vietnam/Cambodia were more of the natural touristy places to go and it showed.
I did the same back in 2002 and Laos was also my favourite. It was an absolute gem of a place and glad to hear it still is.
 
2 weeks? Fucking hell. It's nice, but I can't think of 2 weeks worth of stuff there unless you like lounging on the beach. But there's been a shitload of development since I was there, so there might be more to do. I know they had a zoo where they killed a bunch of the animals and loads more escaped because they didn't know what they were doing.

Long Beach is your main beach with all of the bars on it. At the top end is a good seafood market with loads of little restaurants. You can go squid fishing at night (I didn't do that). Rent a boat and go snorkelling, fishing, etc (we had 20 people so it was reasonable, but you can presumably join an existing tour). Rent a motorbike and drive around. The beach in the North West used to be pristine and deserted, but it's now a massive resort run by an evil corporation. But that does mean there's a golf course. Sao Beach in the South East is nice. Good diving apparently. My friend did it there (Rainbow Divers are reputable). There's a pearl farm where you can buy loads of jewellery and see how it's made. There are some waterfalls that aren't too spectacular but are worth a visit as part of a bike tour. There's an old prison from the war (I haven't been there, so can't say if it's worth it). Fish sauce is a big thing, but they have rules about bringing it on a plane so it's best to check first.

Can you get eastenders & corrie over there
Asking for a friend
 
Yeah, Vietnamese food is so good. Not at Thailand’s level, but miles better than Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Indonesia, I also prefer it to Malaysia. Perhaps only Thai and Japanese I rate higher from from travelling round there.

Filipino food is absolute arse. Honestly, I’d rather eat my dogs shit than some of their dishes. Malaysian food is bang on too. Theirs a street market in Kuala Lumpur which is definitely worth a visit.
 
Kuang Si waterfall is one of the few places I’ve been that will always stay with me, I’d love to go back there but it’s an arse getting there.
So many good memories. Kwang Si falls was the place that got me interested in photography. Absolutely stunning.

So many backpackers skip Laos, but it’s a gem. I did the most amazing homestay there, from a little village called Nong Khiaw. Maybe one hour on a boat down the river and we stayed in the middle of the jungle with locals, they took us out fishing with primitive equipment, barbecued the fish right there on the river bank. Man, it was bliss. I did homestays In Vietnam and you are bombarded by everyone to buy jewellery, buy this, buy that. But in Laos it was so chilled. Just living with the tribespeople and getting smashed on homemade Lao-Lao.

Laos is amazing.
 
So many good memories. Kwang Si falls was the place that got me interested in photography. Absolutely stunning.

So many backpackers skip Laos, but it’s a gem. I did the most amazing homestay there, from a little village called Nong Khiaw. Maybe one hour on a boat down the river and we stayed in the middle of the jungle with locals, they took us out fishing with primitive equipment, barbecued the fish right there on the river bank. Man, it was bliss. I did homestays In Vietnam and you are bombarded by everyone to buy jewellery, buy this, buy that. But in Laos it was so chilled. Just living with the tribespeople and getting smashed on homemade Lao-Lao.

Laos is amazing.

It blew my mind mate. I’ve seen waterfalls all over, but that one is like being in some sort of fantasy dream.

One thing I remember about Laos is how happy everyone is. They’ve got fuck all to their name yet they are always happy. One thing I do regret is not going travelling a few years earlier as I missed the donut rafting in Vang Vieng, it got banned about a year before I went I think.
 

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