The 10 BEST things about Southeast Asia

1. The women

Ladies first, naturally. I am a gentleman. If any man does not mention women as part of the reason he stayed in Southeast Asia then he is either a liar, prefers men or is involuntarily stationed overseas by his employer.

Imagine the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen. They don’t make ‘em like that very often. Well, actually they do. In the beginning I was seeing “the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen” a couple times a day. This is not to say that all Asian ladies are picture perfect – far from it, it’s just there are a seemingly large proportion of attractive women providing almost too much visual stimulation. There are wretched looking folks over here too, but naturally the eyes pay them less attention.

2. The food

Thai food is world renown, Vietnamese food is ngon, Khmer food is alright and the sticky rice in Laos is enough to warrant a visit. I'd go back to Indonesia just for the tempe. And then there is the abundance of tropical fruit and street food that really makes any longing for American cuisine, whatever that is, go away.

3. Motorbikes

There is really no other way to travel. Elbow to elbow with your neighbors and exhaust straight up your nose. All kidding aside, it's truly invigorating. The sunburnt arms and excessively large eye boogers are just part of the price you pay for being able to travel even faster through the crowded streets of wherever you are in SE Asia.

4. The cost of living

I think I paid $700 for my 1 bedroom apartment in Portland, Oregon five years ago. Now I pay $70 a month in Siem Reap. Granted I don't have hardwood floors, hot water or a kitchen, but still. $70 might pay for your electricity bill back home.

I won't even get into the cost of food & beverages or the savings associated with not having an automobile. Regarding healthcare, I remember paying $5 in Vietnam for a doctor's consultation and $20 for a root canal in Cambodia.

I also like the fact that I can alter a t-shirt that I might otherwise give away for about fifty cents. Put simply, things are cheap. I like cheap.

5. The weather

In most places in Southeast Asia, there are two seasons: wet and dry. There is never a winter unless you are living in the north of Vietnam. In actuality there are three seasons: hot, rainy and cool. The hot season being excessively hot, the rainy season being excessively wet and the cool season being absolutely perfect, but excessively short. It usually lasts just a couple of months.

6. Accessibility

It is literally just a hop, skip and a jump to a different country in Southeast Asia. And pretty cheap to fly, which keeps things relatively low budget. Here you fly from Bangkok to Saigon in the same time you might fly from San Francisco to Reno. Cheaper, more exciting, less airport security and prettier flight attendants. New cultures await practically at your doorstep.

7. People-watching

In Vietnam, I could sit outside, especially at night, and watch the world go by with no need for someone to accompany me. Of course, having someone to laugh with at the sights I saw was more entertaining. From three dogs on a motorbike to purse snatchings to insane traffic jams – all part of a day’s sightseeing from the comfort of a tiny plastic chair on the sidewalk. The noises are another story, which can be both enlivening and unnerving at the same time.

8. Cheap beer

In Cambodia, I think of fifty cent draft beer. Anchor, Angkor or Cambodia, take your pick. They’re all equally as bad, but the price is so good, especially when it comes with a free bowl of peanuts. There are better beers, for sure, but hard to pay triple the price even when it’s a third of the price you’d pay back home. In Vietnam, I fondly recollect a bottle of Tiger on the street for approximately 75 cents. A more reasonable tasting beer. Cheap beer makes going out a little easier on the wallet and buying a round not such a big deal. It probably also creates a lot more alcoholics.

9. Fewer rules

I think fewer rules generally apply to a foreigner living in SE Asia. Foreigners can sure get away with a lot, aside from drug trafficking, for which you may get the death penalty regardless of your country of origin. Fines or bribes from not wearing a helmet or not having a license are relatively small and we’re often invisible on the roads whereas the local populace might otherwise be pulled over.

Other examples I can think of include obtaining some pharmaceutical drugs without a doctor’s prescription, buying alcohol, less worry about traffic fines (although perhaps more worry about a traffic accident) and better treatment in some establishments perhaps due to the perceived notion we might be spending more money there. I also like that you can buy a phone and put any sim inside. No restrictions, no contracts, no paperwork, no annoyance!

10.  More freedom

By more freedom, I simply mean having less tie me down. I don't like being tied down unless it's foreplay and she's hot. I like simplifying my life and not receiving mail, not having a mobile phone contract, not having auto or health insurance, although I admit I should have health insurance. Call me stupid. I like being free to go where I like and pick up whatever job I find along the way. I may not be climbing the corporate ladder as I’m supposed to be, but I am not agonizing about making my next mortgage payment, car payment or filing through insurance documents. Little if any paperwork. Oh and how could I forget, but no taxes! That doesn’t apply to everyone working in SE Asia, it all depends on who you work for and how much you make. Clearly I do not make that much, but enough to live comfortably and well above the status quo.