The Philippines, an archipelago of over 7,000 islands offering a diverse landscape of beaches, volcanoes, rain forests and infinite diving.
Nearby Brunei is a tiny oil-rich sultanate known for it's mosques, tree canopies and Venetian-style river villages.
Steering clear of Manila due to it's scammy and congested nature, we explored chaotic Cebu by scooter and snorkelled around its gorgeous coast. While the food in both countries is quite bad (philippines voted worst in the world recently) we did enjoy the nightlife and punchy red horse beers.
Philippines: 1 - 2 months / Brunei 2 - 3 days
Philippine Peso PHP / Brunei Dollar BND
December - February
Philippines: $20usd / Brunei: $40usd
Manilla is a hellish city with some truly awful congestion. Many taxi scams exist, particularly the 'airport bus' that you can never rely on.
Give the Philippines a huge amount of time. Each island has so much to offer, think of it like a much bigger Greek archipelago.
Eat the eggs called 'Balut. Or do, it's your life.