Travel In Malaysia

Southeast Asian history is very diverse, and has to an important extent been shaped by European colonialism. The very term Southeast Asia was invented by American Naval strategists around 1940. Southeast Asia was prior to WWII referred to with reference to the colonial powers; farther India for Burma and Thailand, with reference to the main British colony of India, although Thailand was never formally colonized; Indochina referred to the French colonies of Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos and Indonesia and parts of maritime Southeast Asia was referred to as the Dutch East Indies.
Southeast Asia's touristy countries (Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand) do not require visas from most visitors, but the rest do. However, Cambodia, Laos, and Indonesia offer visas on arrival at most points of entry, which minimizes the hassle involved. Vietnam and Myanmar require advance paperwork for almost everybody. Talk of unified ASEAN visas allowing entry into multiple countries remains just talk.

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Buy

Every Southeast Asian country has its own currency, so frequent money exchange is an unavoidable hassle. However, the US dollar is the official currency of East Timor, the unofficial currency in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, and accepted in a pinch anywhere else, so this is often the traveller's monetary unit of choice. Exchange rates for Southeast Asian currencies tend to be very poor outside the region, so it's best to exchange (or use the ATM) only after arrival.

Climate

Southeast Asia is tropical: the weather hovers around the 30°C mark throughout the year, humidity is high and it rains often.
The equatorial parts of Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines, have only two seasons, wet and dry, with the dry season somewhat hotter (up to 40°C) and the wet season somewhat cooler (down to 25°C). The wet season usually occurs in winter, and the hot season in summer, although there are significant local variations. However, in Indochina (north/central Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam), the seasons can be broken down into hot, wet and dry, with the relatively cool dry season from November to February or so being the most popular with tourists. However, even in the "wet" season, the typical pattern is sunny mornings with a short (but torrential) shower in the afternoon, so this alone should not discourage you from travel.

Costs

Southeast Asia is cheap, so much so that it is quite possibly the cheapest travel destination on the planet. US$20 is a perfectly serviceable daily backpacker budget in most countries in the region, while the savvy traveler can eat well, drink a lot and stay in five-star hotels for US$100/day.
Some exceptions do stand out. The rich city-states of Singapore and Brunei are about twice as expensive as their neighbors, while at the other end of the spectrum, the sheer difficulty of getting into and around underdeveloped places like Myanmar, East Timor and the backwoods of Indonesia drives up prices there too.

Drink

Rice-based alcoholic drinks — Thai whisky, lao, tuak, arak and so on — are ubiquitous and potent, if rarely tasty. As a rule of thumb, local booze is cheap, but most countries levy very high taxes on imported stuff.

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