Singapore for airport, Malaysia for food: US traveller ranks Southeast Asian countries he visited

A tourist from the US took to social media to share his views about his travels in Southeast Asia.

In a TikTok video posted on Tuesday (June 30), the man, who goes by Oliverpelle, shared that he has determined what each Southeast Asian country is best for after travelling across the region for eight months.

In his opinion, Singapore is best for its airport while Malaysia takes first place for food.

Showing a picture of the Rain Vortex area at Jewel Changi Airport, the man said: "The train goes by there, there is a waterfall, there is a 'jungle' and you can even walk up there."

"I would happily do a layover here again," he added.

His reason for picking Malaysia as the country with the best food was that it has its own regional dishes as well as great Chinese and Indian food — all of which can be found along the same street.

"I'm glad I don't live here, because I would be morbidly obese," he said.

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@oliverpelle/video/7656305528406101262[/embed]

His rankings garnered a mix of comments, with some netizens disagreeing with his take and others echoing his sentiments.

One comment read: "Singapore kind of has everything you mentioned. We're like a microcosm of Southeast Asia."

"Singapore has the best food for sure... I recommend it," another netizen wrote.

Meanwhile, one commenter shared a view on Singapore, saying: "The country is so boring that the most exciting thing is their airport."

The traveller also said in the video that Thailand is the best for less experienced tourists.

"Travelling Asia will throw challenges at you, but in Thailand they are not as bad, so you'll get a little bit acclimated," he explained, adding that the country was his first destination as well.

He also stated that Vietnam is the best value for money, Indonesia is great for nature and the Philippines is best for beaches.

Another comment read: "As someone who lives in Southeast Asia, I can say this list is accurate. Indonesia is the best nature travel destination, the Philippines sea is crystal clear and Malaysia has so many varieties of food."

In a follow-up video posted the next day, the US traveller ranked Cambodia top for history and described Laos as the most underrated destination in Southeast Asia.

He added that Myanmar is the most authentic because it never developed as a tourist destination, while Timor-Leste is the best at being unknown to people. 

The video then ends with Brunei, with the man calling it the best at "living on the water" because of their floating villages.

[[nid:739452]]

[email protected]