Further afield in 2023--thoughts on Thailand, Vietnam et al, and Ecuador/Panama?

The best flights to SÉ Asia are in/out of Bangkok.
We were there in October a few years ago and it was hot. Next time we will go in January. Besides Thailand which other countries are you considering? Laos, Cambodia? You mention Vietnam. With your maximum time frame of 24 days you can get an overview of SÉ Asia or perhaps spend all your time in Thailand.
Or Vietnam? First you have to decide how much time you want to spend in which country? Or each country? Or a mix? I loved traveling in SÉ Asia! We were in China and then went to Vietnam. Flew from Hanoi to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Then to Bangkok and on.
Look at tours as a guide for what to include independently. Private guides for day tours are inexpensive and arranging for them will be very helpful. Go to Fodors.com and then to proper forums for SÉ Asian countries.. Those posters will be very helpful. Read their trip reports filled with helpful info. That would be a good start.

In the last century, we visited missionaries in Ecuador and then took a riverboat cruise on a tributary of the Amazon. My husband still talks about getting out of a canoe back onto the boat and immediately being given a cool drink. However, I'm not sure what the current situation is with the government. We were scheduled to do a Panama tour with Caravan tours in Dec 2020 and hope to reschedule that in Dec 24.

We visited Viet Nam and Cambodia in January a few years ago. The northern part of Vietnam was actually on the cool side, but the south was very warm and quite humid. Cambodia was almost unbearably hot and humid, temps and humidity in the high 90’s. I had to pass on a couple of the afternoon excursions because I couldn’t tolerate any more activity after the morning efforts.
You should definitely check weather records for the places you are considering.

We lived in Singapore for 3 years. Thailand and its close neighbors are always hot and humid - it's just a matter of degree. The most (relatively) pleasant months are December - February when the monsoon rains aren't an issue - they basically raise the daily humidity to close to 100% .
Look at the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia - a cool and pleasant alternative to the steamy lower altitudes around the region. Lots of tea plantations left over from colonial days.
Singapore is terrific, and would make a good gateway city to base out of, but being right on the equator it tends to stay pretty sultry year-round.

I have been to both Thailand and Ecuador. Thailand will be hot no matter when you go. I was there right after Thanksgiving and the guide I hired for a day tour begged me to start quite early in the day because he said that it would be too hot later in the day (even for him LOL!). I found that, in climates like that, the best strategy is to go out early in the day, return to the hotel to cool off sometime in the afternoon for a couple hours, and then go out in the evening again. I have also used this strategy in Singapore, a fabulous city that I highly recommend, where it’s hot year round. If you look at a map and see how close to the equator these places are, it makes sense that they are hot all the time.

I spent two weeks in Quito, Ecuador. Quito is on the equator so you would expect a tropical climate - but you would be wrong! Because this city is at a very high altitude, it stays fairly cool year-round. I was there in August and wore long pants and long sleeves the entire time. I usually needed a light sweater and/or jacket as well. The city is surrounded by mountains which creates periods of rain here and there throughout the city, so you always have to be prepared for that. When you go down to the coast or anywhere lower in altitude, you are likely to experience hotter weather.

Check out historical weather patterns on a website or in a guide book. Some places also have rainy and non-rainy seasons that you might want to be aware of.

That being said, I loved my time in SE Asia and Ecuador! I hope to be able to return to both these areas (and more!j now that travel is opening up.

Thank you all, I really value your insights.

Almost all of you mention the heat and humidity. It is definitely a concern for me. My dh however keeps trying to convince me I'll be fine! So...it may be a matter of us trying it out and testing the hypothesis. I think the idea of early starts, a rest and then evenings out makes sense, and I do really want to VISIT that part of the world, but maybe a visit will rule it out as a retirement plan. Rosalyn, the idea of January for some cooler weather in parts of Vietnam makes it easier to enjoy our reconnaisance trip at least, thanks.

I have heard that Ecuador has highlands as you've mentioned Renee, though I've also heard altitude sickness is a real thing in Quito. I have heard that coastal Manta is moderate, but not sure how much I can depend on. Honestly I have been browsing so many climate charts they are blending together--I need to start a spreadsheet or something! Renee and Cala, I am glad to hear you speak favorably of the region. It seems to be a bit of a "black hole" with regard to people with experience! Not sure why so many people go to Asia and so few seem to go to South/Central America.

Suki, in Asia we have mostly discussed Thailand and Vietnam, and perhaps Malaysia. Laos and Cambodia rarely come up in the retirement conversations. I have definitely heard that Cambodia has a great culture and people. You are right, our first trip will be shorter than we'd like. (I get 4 wks vacay a year and it would kill me to use it all at once--I want to save a few days for Christmas at least.) So that's a big consideration. Do we do one country well, or a couple of countries lightly? I prefer "slow travel", settling in to a region to get to know daily life, but it is such a big trip to get there I also feel like we need to have a good look around. Vietnam is not a great choice for settling, with regard to making it easy for expats, but we have Vietnamese friends and love what we know of the culture.

I worked with some folks from Malaysia and have a strong interest in the country, but their human rights conditions are tough. I am straight but my kids aren't and while they won't be living with us, I don't know how comfortable I'd feel in a country that would imprison or whip my daughter because she has a girlfriend. I know SE Asia does not have the same level of protection that NA does, but at least Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand have some protections and recognitions.

Robert, the "Cameron Highlands" sound like they should be in Scotland, not Malaysia, lol. But it sounds lovely.

I also like the idea of Singapore as a gateway to SE Asia, as you suggest Robert. I am a little intimidated by the idea that I can't even look at the signs and street names and so on in Asia and know how I might pronouce it at the very least! Maybe that's silly, but I feel comfortable in Europe even when I don't speak the language because it's easy to learn and recognize words. Every Singaporean I've ever met speaks flawless English and I know it is an offical language there, which I find reassuring.

Will definitely check out Fodor's forums too, thanks for the suggestion.

Hi JoAnne, It might be useful to have a think about what you enjoy during a trip to a new place & just how exotic, (ie more difficult to travel, access) you'd like to experience, & whether the cultures of SE Asia or SA appeal more?

Both Ecuador & SE Asia, ESPECIALLY Laos & to a lesser degree Cambodia, are fantastic destinations. I lived in Singapore for 12 years. The heat can be oppressive, absolutely stick to late December to mid January in SE Asia, although the absolute temperature may read high, the humidity will in general be lower. IMO, mainland Malaysia is less interesting than Laos & Cambodia. Thailand and Vietnam are somewhere in the middle, more developed, more traffic, although the further you get away from the capital cities, the lovelier they become. The border to Laos from Thailand has now opened & it's possible to take a river cruise up to Luang Prabang, perhaps my favorite small town in SE Asia. I wish we had stayed at the Princess Villa Santi Hotel, it looked fabulous, we just had dinner there. When we were in Laos & Cambodia, travel for foreigners was limited to air travel, but the countries are much safer & tourism has boomed. You could easily arrange a day or a few day's excursion once you arrive in probably Bangkok. I found hotel staff were always great at providing bi-lingual directions when we needed them & younger people throughout SE Asia speak English very well, I wouldn't let that stop you from planning a trip there. If you'd like a splurge, the Sukhothai hotel in Bangkok is wonderful. https://www.sukhothai.com/bangkok/en.

Ecuador was the country I liked best among Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru & Bolivia. The locals were just so NICE. I don't recall being sick but just out of breath in Quito, but it's a bit higher than Denver, Colorado so if you hydrate very well for 3-4 days before arrival, it's not so bad. I couldn't afford it at the time, but there are some amazing excursions into the Amazon from Ecuador. And hardly any jet lag as you'd be flying almost straight south! I don't think of SA as a black hole, this just isn't the right forum for detailed discussions about it. I can't direct you to another as my travel there was pre-internet.

On a completely separate note, why not Japan?? It's re-opened to foreigners but hasn't yet seen the pre COVID number of visitors. THE country I could travel to again & again. Exotic yet accessible, fantastic trains, wonderful food, amazing culture & people, truly magnificent temple towns.....
I hope you have a fabulous trip, and let us know what you decide, and why!