Check out these faraway places in 2008

BY GARY A. WARNER |The Orange County Register

February 10, 2008

SOUTHEAST ASIA: Development continues across the region, with the type of travelers changing as Western lodgings (and prices) spread across the region. Vietnam is the new Thailand. Cambodia is the new Vietnam. Laos is the new Cambodia. Just chose your grit comfort level.

Vietnam is now an upscale vacation destination, with luxury hotels in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), and plush beach resorts in Da Nang. Golf has become a growing part of the tourism industry.

Cambodia is good for backpackers, but four- and five-star hotels are starting to bloom in the Siem Reap Province. The country is seeing an upgrade in hotels and restaurants, though renovations at the famed Angkor Wat temple complex are controversial.

Laos is still best for experienced backpackers.

Feel good to see the good description of the country, but also feel frustrated with the corruption news, n the future of facing higher n higher poverty gap....