one of the great strengths of this book is the travel connections, detailed graphically its very easy to see how to get the bus/boat/train anywhere and even how to find the station or bus terminal, or indeed how to quickly get into town from there.

the book doesnt hold your hand to the degree the other books do, and so it gives you enough info on where to find a hostel, and a couple recomendations where needed, but things like finding food usually isnt too much of a challenge.

the guides to cambodia and laos are particuliarly strong, and in truth you just dont need another guide book for these areas, in fact following some of the maps here i ended up in much more out of the way and interesting places in both counties.

for thailand its useful to get another guidebook as really this is such a very big country with so much to do, this book is great for planning and transport, but is wel backed up by another guide, i personally found the rough guide thailand book a very good match. theres lots of tips in the graphic guide about what you need for thailand and the hows and wheres of aquiring extra guide books while on the road.

for malaysia again i used only this book, and found it suprisingly comprehensive, although here i followed again the books advice and used the various websites listed to get in depth knowledge for accomodation.

mr elliot uses a system of stars to highlight his highlights as it were, and on the whole id say i agreed with 2/3 of them which isnt bad as its all so very subjective, on occasion i would wonder quite what the attration was but each to their own.

an essential book for the independant traveller to se asia, and one which will endlessly enhance your trip, not to mention the fact it will slip in your pocket.