Planning to go the SE Asia next year in May for a couple of weeks with my GF – has anybody been to both – I’ve been to Thailand before, and while the islands are lovely I was struck by the fact there’s not much to do apart from lie on the beach. Don’t know much ‘Nam.

Any ideas?

Jez

Lived out there for a 4 years or so.

Never went to Vietnam.

So much to see in Thailand if you can be bothered to get off the tourist route. Hiring a car is a great way to go. It’s not dangerous if you keep your head and realise that if a truck is pulling out, then it’s pulling out and isn’t going to stop.

Laos is a nice spot to visit as well. Mrs Q and I used to take our well earned breaks there.

However if you want something completely different you could go peninsular malaysia – Cameron Highlands, Perenthian Islands, Tama Negara National Park, Cherating Beech resort, Kuala Lumpa and a couple of places south of KL that I’ve forgotten.
It’s all within easy traveling time as well.

Vietnam. Gorgeous, amazing country, very welcoming, eye-opening, beautiful scenery and great food.

Out of the 2 i’d go for Vietnam out of the two of them. While i was over there I found the place a lot more varied and less touristy (although i may have gone to the wrong places).
If you are planning on going to Asia, i preferred Laos and Cambodia much more. Lots of history and not as developed as the other two.

I was lucky enough to spend a month in Thailand and 5 weeks in Vietnam last year. I’d definitely go for Vietnam without a doubt. (I also much preferred Laos and Cambodia to Thailand). There are beautiful Thai islands that are less visited by the masses and northern regions are great for hiking, biking and jungle related trips but Vietnam IMO is far more varied and interesting.

In two weeks you could go from Ho Chi Minh up to Hanoi and see the highlights but if I had two weeks there I’d suggest more in the mid and north:

Hanoi for a few days (more picturesque and Ho Chi Minh).
Sapa – Train overnight from Hanoi to Sapa – great trekking there among the still traditional tribes. Can be a bit touristy on some of the trails so ask to hike off the track to the further out areas.
Ninh Binh – national park area with boat trips and hiking/biking.
Halong Bay – boat trips around beautiful cliffs – a must.
Hoi An – one of S.E Asia’s most photogenic towns, great food too – a must.

If you do go to/from Ho Chi Minh these places are great too:

Dalat – Central highland area – further south but there’s a great bike ride from here to Nha Trang (on coast) almost all downhill in mountains on good roads.
Mui Ne – massive red sand dunes, kite surfing, long beaches not necessarily what you expect to see in Vietnam.
Mekong Delta – tunnels from war, lots of war related history, little villages along delta.

All in all far more interesting than lying on a beach full of pissed backpackers!

All in all far more interesting than lying on a beach full of pissed backpackers!

Again only if you stay on the tourist trail.

My first trip around Thailand was by local buses and trains, hopping on and off when I felt like it. However I had no time limit and no commitments.
Met many strange people, saw some great sites and visited parts of Thailand that nobody else normally sees.

If you can be bothered to plan properly given your time constraints, you can see a lot more of either country and go a bit off piste if you fancy it.

If money wasn’t too much of an issue and you isn’t mind flying about a bit you could also visit Luang Prabang in Laos and Angkor Wat which for me were real highlights.

Personally I saw a lot of the negative sides of tourism in Thailand before I saw the beauty.

All depends what you are after. As Quirrel says there’s some good stuff to see in Malaysia too. Borneo particularly. Be aware of Monsoon times though for Perenthians etc.

Air Asia and a couple of the smaller flight companies aren’t too pricey.

Vietnam for me. Can take tourist or the more fun non-tourist trains and buses the length of the country or even hop around using cheap internal flights. Marvellous country.

Vietnam was brilliant, i prefered it to Thailand. Really stunning scenery and amazing war time stuff to see. Easy to get around by bus or cheap flights. Da Lat was definitely one of the best places, especially if you like outdoor activities. And check out Ha Long Bay or Ninh Binh (the inland equivalent), so incredible.

Echoing some of the other replies, check out Cambodia and Laos. Far less touristy but the people are fantastically friendly and there are some amazing places to visit. In Cambodia Siem Reap and Ankor temples are amazing. There is a lot of history in and around Phnom Penh also. Laos is my favourite SEAsian country, with Luang Prabang being probably the most chilled out place ever.

The whole area is just brilliant. Hoping to do another stint around there by the end of this year.

Another vote for Laos and Cambodia, particularly the former.

All depends what you are after. As Quirrel says there’s some good stuff to see in Malaysia too. Borneo particularly.

Malaysia is one of my favorite places in SEA. Not sure why, but it was one of the places that stuck in my head the most.

Be aware of Monsoon times though for Perenthians etc.

MTFU there is nothing like being on an over loaded tourist boat in the middle of a storm, dropping into troughs higher than the boat, leaning at precarious angles and watching an Indian lad sitting on the handrail jumping off because his bum got dipped in the water.

You can swim between the two to get vodka if you really want to. Boat is generally better though

Vietnam. Spend 16 days there this year. Amzing, beautiful, friendly, cheap. All of those.

Went to Saigon, Nha Trang, Hoy An, Ha Long Bay, Hanoi.

Very humid. Amazing thunderstorms. Hot.

Can get a three course meal with drinks for $10 AUD (around a 6 quid english).

Take a camera, a spare battery or three, and plenty of memory cards.

+1 for Laos

Someone I used to work with went out there for a project so much he decided to move out there. Supposed to be beautiful and the peeps are really nice