Lonely Planet Southeast Asia on a Shoestring

Absolutely love this book. I wish I would have got it sooner when I was trying to plan my trip. It's even better than looking around on the internet because you don't have to sift through a ton of irrelevant information. This is all stuff you want to know.

I travel on a very tight budget and this book totally helped me out with hostels,restaurants, transportation to surrounding countries. Asia has to be one of the cheapest places to travel.

This is another one of the awesome books by Lonely Planet. Easy to navigate by the various countries. And it has allowed me to calculate what an average evening in Indonesia can cost $[...] USDS. Can it get better than that? My husband and I leave on 09-30-08 to backpack various countries and explore the world. We plan on spending lots of time in Southeast Asia, especially since this book has proved how affordable it will be. We can't wait! Feel free to follow us around the world, we will even review various hotels and places to eat in Southeast Asia, as we travel and read the book. www.nomadbackpackers.com

This is another great issue from the dedicated researchers, writers and readers of the practical and economic guides for world travelers. The SE Asia book is written with particular care, insight, and affection. In addition to a wealth of information on the countries of SE Asia, the guide offers some of the best practical advice for living, traveling, and surviving in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and other countries I did not visit and thus cannot speak to. It was just as good as any of their guides to China or India I that I have used in the past.

LP's latest Southeast Asia on a Shoestring is more than just a current list of cheap guest houses, temples, authentic local restaurants, and transportation info. It's a great read. Unlike other guides (including earlier editions of this book), this guidebook does a great job of making the places it covers come to life. It makes me want to go there. Right now. What's more, it's accurate and user-friendly. Reading the other reviews of this book, I wonder: is it possible to separate one's appraisal of this book from one's appraisal of their trip to SE Asia? Should the reviewer knock stars off if the guidebook doesn't factor in his appetite for beer and disco when it recommends a daily budget? And what if the reviewer was ripped off or had a bit of stomach trouble? Is that the guidebook's fault? My answer: I don't think so. I've visited a number of the countries covered by this book. In the case of Thailand, I've been there a handful of times over the past 8 years. I've bought at least two earlier editions of this guide as well as SE Asia and country guides from other publishers. If I could have only one guidebook to cover SE Asia, this would be the one. In particular, the Thailand section in this book is fabulous. With that said, here are some things to keep in mind when you consider buying or, ulitmately, USING this book: 1. Notice the word "shoestring" in the title. At a practical level, this book is more about budget travel and backpacking than about four-star hotels and up-market restaurants. The sections on culture, history, weather, etc. will apply to (and appeal to) everyone, however. 2. Production of a book like this takes a while. Some things WILL change before this guidebook lands at your local shop. Probably prices will go up a bit. Also, things in this book may burn down, wash away, or generally just go to crap before you get there! 3. This book is NOT comprehensive. It's not like your local phonebook. This book is just a few hundred pages. It covers a bunch of countries. Keep in mind that there are other places (not covered by the book) that are worth visiting. There are other places (not covered by the book) to stay, eat, drink, SCUBA-dive, get a massage, or whatever that are as excellent as some of the places listed in this book. No guidebook can be comprehensive. You wouldn't want it to be. 4. If it's in this book then it's not a secret. There must be 1000 guest houses in Bangkok. This book lists maybe a dozen or so. Guess what? If you go to one of them, then it might be full of people who bought this book! Use this book, or any guidebook, as a general representation of what's available and what things cost in the country you plan to visit. With that said, most of Lonely Planet's choices are very good despite their notoriety. 5. In Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, etc. BEER costs a lot of money compared to guest house lodging or local food. If you drink a lot, you cannot expect to get by on $10 a day