Customer Reviews

Let's Go 2003: Southeast Asia

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It goes without saying that trying to cover a huge region of the world is going to be broad and shallow. As of June 2003, Let's Go Southeast Asia was the most recently revised of all the general books on Southeast Asia.

Let's Go Southeast Asia would be good for a traveller spending a great deal of time seeing most of the countries, or for someone trying to decide which countries to visit. The book manages to cover a huge amount of material about both the mainland and island portions of Southeast Asia, including a large section on Indonesia and the Phillipines.

The book fails when it comes to hotel and restaurant recommendations. Only a few budget places are mentioned in each section.

I applaud the book for covering even the non-touristy cities. For example, it tells you that Suribaya is a dangerous place to visit and does not recommend going there. This is a useful piece of information since many flights go into Suribaya, and the traveller might otherwise been tempted to go there.

If you're young and hip this book is the only way to go. Besides providing the MOST up-to-date information, the book keeps you entertained as you trek through Borneo, Thailand, and the rest of Southeast Asia. I was able to go to all the hot spots while avoiding the dives. The special features - such as "The Hidden Deal" and "The Big Splurge" - are great reads. I've also used Lonely Planet and The Rough Guide, and I must admit, Let's Go is BY FAR the best. I particularly enjoyed the sections on Borneo and the Philippines.