is it better to book all my flights to asia before I leave?

Question

...or should I just book a flight to get there, then work the rest out when I am there? I would like to go to thailand, vietnam, cambodia, laos, and malaysia...has anyone gone to asia without all their flights booked, only to book it when they get there? If so, was it easy to do? What about accommodation?

Answer 1

Are you flying from Australia?
It used to be that you could book your flights much cheaper in Thailand than from Western Countries, but that may have changed. Some of hte countries you have mentioned will likely require you to have visas, which might be easier to get if you have pre-booked the flights...you might want to check the visa requirements first & whether or not they need evidence of flight dates. These days, you may want to check sites like travelocity before you go to see what sort of deals you can get on flights before you get there. There used to be an element of risk booking through some travel agents in Thailand, I'm not sure about hte other countries.
www.tripadvisor.com has forums re accomodation and travel and you will probably get more informed responses if you post there. You should also try the lonely planet site forum, again, there should be more responses there.
Hope you have a great trip! Thailand is so fantastic...can't say the same about my time in

Answer 2

Unless you are going for 2 or 3 months, my advice is to scale back your plans and spend at least a couple of weeks in each country. Asian culture is ancient and there's an awful lot more to see than the roads and airports you'll be spending much of your time on.
That said, either way is OK. If you book ahead it will be very organized. If you wing it, you'll have a chance to take your time and explore.
Enjoy !