Southeast Asia on a Budget...(part 1)

Southeast Asia lies below the two great Asian civilizations of India and China hence whenever you travel around the place you will discover lots of similarities in traditions and cultures culled from the centuries of cultural intermixing.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is composed of 11 member-states: Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.

Going around the Southeast is relatively cheap and easy, and for most of us, totally visa-free! I am so amazed that now for ASEAN citizens, we are not required anymore to get visas in other member-countries except Myanmar, of course. Nothing will ever change on that one, eh? Even Laos, has opened up its borders although for the Burmese (Myanmar citizens) I think they are still required to get a visa for most countries.

For the past 6 years, I’ve been a constant ASEAN traveler. The region has become a travel hub for a lot of backpackers. Just ask any backpacker you meet in say, Rajasthan, and he will either be going to Thailand or had been there already. Luxury travel might have lessened the past year due to the economic downturn but budget travelling is definitely still on the upsurge especially with all the low-cost airlines offering a much better, less expensive and very convenient way of travelling.

The best place to start your journey around the Southeast is either in Singapore or Thailand. I vote for Singapore as it has more international flights and more low-cost airlines to choose from. Once you touch down in Singapore, you can spend 3-4 days roaming around the city and the head off to Indonesia. You can also go from Medan by ferry to Melaka and get into Malaysia before moving onwards to the capital, Kuala Lumpur. From KL, it is now a full overland journey towards the northern land-locked countries of the Mekong Region. Thailand is a must. And so is Cambodia. You can also cross the border to Vietnam and from there jump off to Laos via Savannakhet. I haven’t been to Myanmar so I’ve no idea if an overland travel from Thailand is possible.

Travelling to the Philippines is a singular journey as it’s not possible by ferry or by land, obviously as it is an archipelago and is not near any other places like Indonesia. I haven’t been to Brunei and East Timor also so I cannot write about them here, still in my list of places to visit (my closest brush with East Timor was listening to was it Jose Ramos-Horta during his visit to my alma mater).