Southeast Asia is the region Indian travellers know best and underestimate most. Bali and Thailand between them handle the first five or six visits, and then the region opens up: Vietnam’s northern mountains and central coast, Singapore’s hotel inventory that now competes with any city in the world, the ancient temple cities of Cambodia, the islands that sit between the established routes. The food everywhere handles Indian dietary requirements with more fluency than almost anywhere else in the world. The flights are short. The welcome is genuine.
The distinction that matters most in Southeast Asia is between the city and the island — and within the island, between the district and the resort, which is itself a significant choice in Bali and Thailand. We build these trips around the right pairing rather than the default one: Bangkok for three nights before Phuket is not the same trip as Bangkok for three nights before Krabi, and neither is the same as Bali starting in Ubud versus starting at Uluwatu. The visa picture is also the easiest in the world from India — Thailand and Bali are visa-on-arrival or visa-free; Singapore is visa-free.