Planning 5-6 month trip to 7 countries in SE Asia...have several ...

Sure there are, but why don't you get hold of a guide book and see what appeals to you PERSONALLY. The Rough Guide or Lonely Planet would be a good place to start. The Footprint series is also good on culture, history, etc. but for the "how to" it's hard to beat .... Once in Paris, I was at a hotel and my room didn't have a bathroom. I needed to take a shower. So, the owner of the hotel went over to some else's room and opened it and told me to go in and take a shower. ...