Southeast Asia in review

We arrived in Timor-Leste on 27 January, and we're leaving Vietnam on 9 June, over four months later. Since the brief prologue in Australia, our tour has carried us through 8 countries, and has taken over a third of our gap year. So without further ado, here are the Squaith Awards for Southeast Asia:

Favourite Country: Indonesia 🇮🇩
The perfect mix of affordability and variety. A truly beautiful country, where the people have the best sense of humour, and (Bali excepted) there are still huge swathes that feel unexplored. Even with a month in Indonesia we had loads left to do—we would 100% go back.

Least Favourite Country: Thailand 🇹🇭
Bit harsh because there's plenty to do and the food and diving are good. They also undeniably give the best massages, and we got a lot of our best photos here. But we couldn't get past how touristy it is. Overrun by people looking for a beach party and little else, and only offering rare glimpses of authentic culture.

Best Value: Vietnam 🇻🇳
We averaged <£80 per day for two people! Good food, great variety of experiences, lovely people, stunning scenery. Vietnam runs close in the 'favourite country' category. Honourable mentions to Laos, Indonesia and Malaysia which were also very cheap.

Most Expensive: Singapore 🇸🇬
Very steep, but also the only place in the region with drinkable tap water and flawless infrastructure. Dishonourable mention to Timor-Leste, which was also expensive but without the benefits.

Most Unusual: Timor-Leste 🇹🇱
No-one goes here, and there's no tourist infrastructure. It's tiny and hard to visit and apparently a little dangerous (not that we saw anything bad). But that meant zero tourists (great!) and the scuba diving was some of the best we've done anywhere in the world. The remoteness and the diving are why it was so expensive.

Best Beer: Laos 🇱🇦
Our second-favourite country, and with the undeniable best beer in the region: Beerlao. Perhaps also explains why the people are so friendly and good-humoured. Something to be said for only having one beer brand in the entire country, and just focusing on making it really fucking good. We scored it 9.5/10 on our very scientific beer rating system; two Cambodian beers got 7 or 7.5, and no other beer scored over 6.

Best Food: Malaysia 🇲🇾
Because of its location and history, Malaysia has an incredible mix of Malay, Indonesian, Chinese, Indian and Thai influences. The most varied cuisine we tried. It was also the spiciest, which is a green flag for us! 9/10 on our patented Spicy Scale, compared to 8 for Indonesia and 7 for Thailand & Laos.

Best Landmark: Cambodia 🇰🇭
Hard to look past Angkor Wat for the awe and majesty of the world's largest religious site. Honourable mentions to Prambanan 🇮🇩, Doi Suthep 🇹🇭 and Hue Imperial City 🇻🇳.

Best City: Yogyakarta 🇮🇩
So much to do! And the best food in Indonesia too. The kind of place that makes you think: 'I could live here'. If we actually did move we're sure it would lose the shine of course, but for a single-city holiday it's our top pick.

Overall ranking:
1. Indonesia 🤯
2. Laos 🤩
3. Vietnam 🥰
4. Cambodia 😁
5. Malaysia 😀
6. Timor-Leste 🙂
7. Singapore 🫤
8. Thailand 😩

We will be absolutely insufferable about this experience forever, so if you are thinking about visiting the region and want some advice, you can always let us know and we're ready to talk your ear off.Read more