The best way to travel in SE Asia: word of mouth!

I have spent a lot of my vacation time in southeast Asia. I must admit I love the place and the prices are hard to beat. The beaches, especially in Thailand, are hard to beat in terms of quality. I just love sitting on the beach in a comfortable chair and a cold beer to relax with. It is a great escape of the rat race here in the USA and I can really "tune out" of all that stuff back home.

I find that even today I get my best recommendations and advice from other travelers on the road. I always seek out where others have stayed and what they did to add to or modify my own itinerary. I also make use of good travel forums such as FlyerTalk and Lonely Planet to get some of the same advice. Sometimes I get lucky and meet someone in the country that has been to where I planned to stay to get the real scoop.

I rarely book rooms in advance when going to Asia. There is no need. Tons of great guesthouses that are cheaper than international hotels by leaps and bounds. My average room cost in southeast Asia is around $10 per night. Combine that with miles award ticket flights and you see why I can afford to vacation for a month!

I always ask around for advice when I am traveling because other people probably know more about it than I do. Not all advice is sound but at least 98% of the time I found it valuable. It never hurts to ask as you get the most recent information. I find most of the info online is a year old (at least).