Cambodia & Laos OR Thailand?

My husband %26amp; I spent a month travelling in Vietnam last year - we loved it so much we%26#39;re planning on heading back this year. We thought (initially) that we%26#39;d look at spending a couple of weeks travelling in Cambodia and Laos first, and then finish off in Vietnam.

The problem is, that whilst we have started to research and investigate both Cambodia and Laos, neither country fills us with excitment or enthuisiasm of what they have to offer. We love the culture, great food and the friendliness of the Asian people, but I have to be honest, without being completely ignorant - the thought of visiting temple after temple (even, dare I say it, Angkor Wat) is not my idea of real adventure or fun. Vietnam is filled with excitment and so many different things to do and see, including great museums %26amp; memorials, beaches %26amp; boat trips, the wonderful Mekong Delta region, bars, markets and shopping, which we loved - hence the reason for heading back there.

Our alternative plan is to head to Thailand for a couple of weeks and head up north to take in Chang Mai %26amp; Chang Rai etc, before heading off to Vietnam.

Are Cambodia and Laos really worth visiting if you%26#39;re not into religous sites and temples? Or should we just head to Thailand instead?

Any comments or assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Cambodia %26amp; Laos OR Thailand?

No answer to your question here...We love Thailand and have been going to various places there for years now. We also very much enjoyed Cambodia and Angkor. Siem Reap is a very cool small town and is near the temples and can be used as a base.

The prices there are incredibly cheap...and the Temples are fantastic.

We are thinking of going to VN and Laos too.

But the info on VN here is really all over the place and confusing...Info on Laos is scant and just not enough detail to decide...

If you can recommend anything on VN we would appreciate it....Like Beach spots that don%26#39;t roll up their sidewalks at dark and have something going on after dark..Like Phuket, but maybe not so busy. We love Phuket but wanted to try something different after going there 15 or so times...Saigon too...We love Bangkok and we think Saigon would be interesting to us...Laos? No clue yet.

Hope you enjoy(ed) your trip and let us know what you have found out.

THX, DGN

Cambodia %26amp; Laos OR Thailand?

';Info on Laos is scant and just not enough detail to decide...';

Lol. I don%26#39;t know where you are looking but there is a wealth of information on this site.

Personally I think Laos is one of the most beautiful countries in SEA.

Predicated upon a %26#39;mean/average%26#39; across the various and numerous countries on this site, Laos falls well into the catagory of lesser amount(s) of information available, certainly.

For instance, in the overview section there is very little %26#39;overviewing%26#39;presented.

I understand completely why that is the case, however.

It%26#39;s also the primary reason that we are interested in visiting there.

I recall the days when Phuket, Samoui, et. al. were virtually %26#39;backwater%26#39; communities. Although we still enjoy them, along w/ Bali, Penang, etc., we too feel they have become overly developed.

TripAdvisor is not the be-all, end-all of information sources, certainly, but is seems to be a fairly good source (when members aren%26#39;t bickering amongst each other, at least).

I have read most of the posts (including yours) associated with Laos. I found it to be an intriguing destination. South East Asia/The Far East is our favorite place on the planet, bar none.

But, there is scant descriptive information with regard to the cities/towns. This the fault of no one, but rather due to the fact that Laos is much less traveled to than it%26#39;s sister/neighboring countries.

Therein lies the charm and allure in the first place,

along with its natural beauty and friendly, gracious people.

Forget the idea of %26#39;Indochina%26#39;. These countries are all very distinct. Cambodia is still probably the %26#39;edgiest%26#39; destination. But it is far from the dangerous destination some travellers would lead you to think. The scenery of Cambodia can be really wonderful. There are still lots of traditional villages where people live in bamboo houses- it can appeal to people looking for %26#39;traditonal Asia%26#39;. I really doubt you would be bored there, wherever you went. If you want adventure, there is wide scope for off-the-tourist trail exploration, on land and water. Phnom Phenh is an appealing capital city with lively markets and nice architecture. But so is Battambang in the West for instance.

Laos is very sleepy and slow-paced. Thailand%26#39;s least developed Isaan region is modern by comparison. Laos has little in the way of established %26#39;sights%26#39; but it has some beautiful Mekong scenery, plenty of jungle and karst landscapes and people aren%26#39;t jaded of tourists yet. In Laos I%26#39;ve ended up at a wedding in the jungle, taught an English class at a monastery and drank rice wine with locals until I was %26#39;blind%26#39;. It comes alive as a destination if you make the most of chance encounters.