Asia Travel Awards: Four Reasons Why They Don’t Work & What You Can Do About It

Tips & notes: Skip the nightly market, but be there on a Sunday to visit the Sunday night walking street (inside the east gate).

There are few truly affordable options. Budget: Prices have increased significantly in recent years in Yangon. We generally stay with friends in Ladakh so though I have been traveling there for 20 years I don't have any hotels that I can honestly recommend.

They don't affect your price in the slightest but they allow us to keep researching for the greater good. We're hoping if you find a hotel to your liking, you'll book it through the links below or these search boxes. How can we provide this comprehensive resource totally FREE?

Here are a few pages dedicated to some of our favorite Southeast Asian destinations. We have plenty of tips and advice to share. Looking for specific information on specific Southeast Asian locations?

Lighter skin is considered more beautiful here, so beware. Moreover, a lot of Southeast Asian cosmetics have skin-whitening agents in them. As for cosmetics, you may find your favorites, but chances are you won't.

Fruit that you peel is less prone to water-borne bacteria. Ice is generally safe, as it's made with filtered water. It's best to drink bottled water in Southeast Asia.

Do your best to follow these when you can. Just like in cathedrals in Europe, many temples, shrines, and mosques in Southeast Asia Cuisine (asiatravel.news) have dress codes and other codes of conduct. They may be entertained and shown off to neighbors during the entire meal.

If you eat at a family-run restaurant in Vietnam or Thailand, it's very common for babies and toddlers to be whisked away by staff. Some travel vaccinations require multiple visits. Start planning your vaccinations long before you fly to Southeast Asia with kids.

I loved it so much that I never went home. I lived and worked in Taiwan, and explored Southeast Asia during my vacation time. In 1997, I left Atlanta (my hometown) for a year abroad.

Something to think about, for sure! Everyone else was complaining about their bites, but it wasn't until I put on sunscreen that I was bit about ten times. I had been in Chiang Rai for 5 days before I had a single mosquito bite.

Your hand sanitizer suggestion brought back a memory of mine. Please note, all images were suitable for use at the time of publication according to the Creative Commons License. Thanks to giladr , hern42 , Electrostatico , The Wandering Angel , Andrew-Hyde and amanderson2 for the excellent images from Flickr!

Enjoy it, stay safe and happy travels! Alright guys, I hope these tips should set you in good stead as you gallivant across this amazing continent. Angkor Wat - Cambodia: The staple diet for backpackers in the region, one of the seven wonders of the world, Angkor Wat's impressive temples can't fail to impress even the least cultured of backpackers!

For example, Thai New Year (Songkran Festival) happens during mid-April each yeah - this is one of the craziest festivals in the world, basically a 3-day water fight, so the last thing you want is to be stuck in some Cambodian jungle while Songkran is in full flow in the neighbouring country. Read up on the various festivals held in the countries you plan to visit and, where possible, try to coincide your visit with them. You know you'll be in the region for a certain number of weeks but don't know where or when exactly, right?

Watch out for any local festivals, as transport can be fully booked for over a week. Check it out the day before you want to travel to see your options and buy your ticket early to avoid disappointment. Each major town should have a main bus/train station.

It'll save a night's accommodation fees, you'll still get some sleep and wake up in your new destination bright and early - perfect. Often, you'll be travelling long distance so, where possible, book yourself on a sleeper train. If you want to rough it, you can take local transport - it's cheaper but slower.

Normally you can book your bus/train directly from the hostel you're staying at so it's stress free (there may be a small premium for this service).