The Best of Southeast Asia

In April of this year, the entire staff at the Elgar Adventure Blog participated in a survey entitled "The Best of Southeast Asia". The survey considers many facets of travel through Southeast Asia, from food to accommodation - and yes, even traditional massage. Surveys were completed independently under the careful supervision of the proprietors of the Albergo Backpackers Hostel in Plettenburg Bay, South Africa. Here are the results:

Best Capital City
Laura: Phnom Penh (Cambodia).
Tim: Phnom Penh (Cambodia). Wide streets, very clean, walkable attractions, great architecture, nice waterfront. Oh, and street monkeys - the most thrilling kind.

Best Food - Country
Laura: Malaysia
Tim: Malaysia. The triple threat of Malay, Chinese and Indian cuisine simply can't be topped. If you're partial to "the curry", this is the place to eat.

Best Food - Dish
Laura: Roti canai (Malaysia), Laos soup (Laos) (tie)
Tim: Massaman curry (Thailand). Moderately spicy, generously peanutty and with an inspired use of potatoes on rice. Superb!

Best Town
Laura: Luang Prabang (Laos)
Tim: Sapa (Vietnam). Tiny mountain town surrounded by amazing rice terraces with neighbouring hill tribes that love the tourists. Many guesthouses have fireplaces for when that rolling Sapa mist comes in.

Best City Name
Laura: Chiang Kong (Thailand)
Tim: Luang Prabang (Laos). I picked mine just because it rhymes, but yours sounds like King Kong, which is cooler.

Best Person's Name
Laura: Knox.
Tim: Knox. It will always be you.

Best Massage
Laura: None. They hurt and make me afraid.
Tim: Laos (despite the fancy-dress).

Best Beer
Laura: Not applicable. Why is there no "Best Cooler" category?
Tim: Beer Lao (Laos). Because there's no such thing as "Best Cooler" - it's an oxymoron.

Best Expression/Phrase
Laura: "Same Same. But Different."
Tim: "Where are you going?", "Tuk tuk!" (tie)

Best Airport
Laura: This is a dumb category.
Tim: Bangkok. Agreed.

Best Guesthouse (Top 3)
Laura: 1) Riverside Bungalows (Vang Vieng, Laos) 2) Dream Valley Resort (Ton Sai, Thailand) 3) Summer Lodge (Kota Kinabalu, Borneo Malaysia)
Tim: 1) Lucy Guesthouse (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) 2) Okay Guesthouse (Phnom Penh, Cambodia) 3) Mayfair Guesthouse (Sandakan, Borneo Malaysia)

Best Attractions (Top 3)
Laura: 1) Sapa (challenged by Tim as not technically being an "attraction") 2) Turtle Island, Malaysian Borneo (same challenge raised) 3) Angkor Wat (Siem Reap, Cambodia)
Tim: 1) Angkor Wat (Siem Reap, Cambodia) 2) DMZ Tour (from Hue, Vietnam) 3) Grand Palace (Bangkok, Thailand)

Best Beach
Laura: Loh Moo Dee (Phi Phi Island, Thailand).
Tim: Loh Moo Dee (Phi Phi Island, Thailand).

Best Scuba
Laura: Sipidan (Malaysian Borneo).
Tim: Sipidan (Malaysian Borneo).

Best Shopping - Market
Laura: Luang Prabang Night Market (Luang Prabang, Laos)
Tim: Chatuchak Weekend Market (Bangkok, Thailand)

Best Shopping - Mall
Laura: Suria KLCC (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
Tim: Suria KLCC (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

Best Brand - Local
Laura: Maggi Noodles
Tim: Roza Chili Sauce

Best Brand - From Home
Laura: McVitties Digestives
Tim: Pringles (preferably ketchup)

Best Backpacker Wear
Laura: Same Same t-shirt
Tim: The dreadlock (only when long enough to "wear")

Best Local Transportation
Laura: Tuk-tuk
Tim: Motorbike loaded with family of seven and golden retriever.

Best Traditional Cure
Laura: Goat horn suctioned to any bodily source of pain
Tim: Nothing specific, but just all the different types of virility cures over here. Anything disgusting you can imagine eating, they're forcing it down here and claiming it makes you "strong". Raw cobra heart is called "tim ran" and if you asked him to eat it, he would.

Best Sunburn
Laura: None. Liberal doses of sunscreen applied regularly.
Tim: My Sipidan scuba burn. Simply stunning.

Best Fauna
Laura: Monitor Lizard in Taman Negara National Park
Tim: I almost went with the tiger named Phet, but had to go with the domestic house lizard found all over Southeast Asia. You scared us at first, but now that we're gone, night visits to the bathroom are lonelier.

Tune in next post for some South African delights!