The Traveler's Trail

I think one of the great things of traveling is the people you meet. The Traveler's Trail is what I call the "route.' The Lonely Planet really runs Southeast Asia travel. All people here use them as the bible, and really rely heavily on what they have to say. I think it is impossible for them to always be accurate...but we find them very inaccurate, especially when it comes to the prices of places to stay, food to eat and things to do...but it does give you guidelines of where to go and in what order...and everyone follows it.

Many restaurants and hotels like to say "the Lonely Planet" on their signs to advertise to travelers that they are the chosen ones. We have found that many places do not take advantage of this very good advertising by keeping their properties clean and their service friendly...but others we would continually recommend and agree that they should be written up.
You don't need to purchase travel books in advance or really plan and book places to stay. The minute you arrive to any city, you can pick up a copied book of the Lonely Planet for cheap and there is no point in making reservations in advance, at the bus stations, train depots and streets are loads of people trying to sway you to stay at their place.
As for the people, the other travelers...what a great experience. It seems that everyone either travels North or South through these countries and you begin to see the same faces in every city and after a few hours on windey bus rides, you bond and befriend these people. Then, you end up doing tours with them (tours for 4 people are cheaper per person then tours for 2). You share a few beers, swap emails and hopefully will run into them again in the next city.
Even though I love spending everyday, all day with my new husband it is fun to swap stories and laughs with new found friends!