South east Asia help

[Dinkydoos]

Am driving myself mad with possibilities for a summer holiday trip to Asia, can't quite decide!
Kids will be 11 and 13. Love swimming in rivers and lakes esp jumping off rocks into them!
So originally I had thought of doing Thailand , Bangkok, kanchanaburi, then maybe Chang mai, maybe going into Cambodia for Angkor wat ( I have been but DP not) and then last few days in Koh Samui.
But now looking at Sri Lanka. Oh. And sometimes at Malaysia!
And then see that there are some great waterfalls in Laos!
What's everyone's best experience in this part of the worl, where did you and kids that age enjoy most?
Any help gratefully received!!

Most of se Asia is pretty wet in the summer.
I have done the following with my kids:
Borneo - Sarawak followed by a couple of days in Brunei - Malaysian Borneo is dry in the summer.
Laos - Vientiane then flew to Luang Prabang - great for temples, excellent food and pretty small so easy to get around.
Hanoi then overnight train to sapa for trekking, but too wet in summer. October is a good time to go.
Bali combine with Singapore - dry in summer, although Singapore can be wet anytime.
Hoi an in Vietnam is dry in summer - beach nearby and it's a lovely town. Me son ruins are nearby. Easy to combine with Hanoi.
Cambodia - Siem reap and temples of Angkor - amazing.
Kanchanaburi is an easy day trip from Bangkok and really interesting, great museum next to cemetery. Parts of Thailand are dry in the summer, but think Chiangmai will be wet.
Java - Yogyakarta is a good base for exploring merapi and Borobudur.
I have done all of the above with my children, but if you want dry weather in the summer would stick with Indonesia or Malaysia.

Thanks for all that!
Had sort of ruled out Vietnam as thought would be wet
Will have a look at some of those other ideas. Was there much to do inLaos? Or best combined with Thailand and Cambodia?

Laos is great for temples, national monument, watching the monks receive alms in the early morning, but may not be that exciting for your children. Easy to combine with other countries in se Asia.

Borneo is incredible. There is so much variety and is out of this world if you love nature and wildlife.

Quite a lot of Vietnam actually is fine weather-wise in our summer. Look at the country weather maps on the Selective Asia website. They're extremely helpful. (I'd also recommend them as an agent, if you don't want to do it yourself.£

We really enjoyed Angkor as an extension to Thailand, not sure I'd have wanted to do more of Cambodia until the kids are older. We went to temples outside as well as Angkor Wat. One was like in the movies!

We went to Angkor, Thailand and Sri Lanka in the summer but didn't run into much rain at all. We travelled with a specialist company Tell Tale Travel who had designed itineraries for August. Kids talk about those holidays all the time. Thailand was bit more humid than when we went at Easter, but that was hot.

Just seen all the updates, thanks!
Thinking maybe just Thailand and Angkor
Bangkok, kanchanaburi ( def want to go to erawan falls)
Then maybe chiang mai.
Then Angkor
Then originally thinking koh samui as fairly dry but some reports of 'blackpool' are slightly worrying me!
Any tips on were could relax at end of this trip?

I found Borneo really depressing driving for hours with just palm plantations which have taken over a lot of the country and habitat loss obviously means wild life isn't flourishing. Didn't see any orangutans in the wild and seeing them in the center was like being in a zoo. The highlight was seeing the babies play we saw them as everyone else stopped to see the adults feeding, we walked on to their area and we had it to ourselves for thirty minutes. The sun bears are cute but have some disturbing stories at least they are safe now.

I love Vietnam I would go there even in the rainy season.

I love Chiang Mai it's so chilled and relaxed and has amazing food it's great value as well. If you do go visit the Elephant Nature Park. Rescue elephants who have found peace. You feed the elephants breakfast children love it.

You do have to get off the beaten track in Borneo to find the orangutans, proboscis monkeys etc in the wild but they are there.

Erawan waterfalls was good. We were taken to a local traditional martial arts place on the way, weren't sure what to expect. It was swords and all sorts!

We did Angkor at the end and relaxed by the pool, I didn't want to spend time flying from and back to Thailand. Kids liked the pool and we could go out and about. I got souvenirs and presents from the handicraft market in Siam Reap. We went to Koh Samed in Thailand beforehand. Nice quiet beach in the north and the weather was good.

Borneo is just amazing. I agree with a pp about the depressing palm oil plantations, but don't let that put you off.
Some intestine cities- Kuching and KK.
Brunei's beautiful. Lived there as a kid I the mid-80s. They have roundabouts now, which they didn't have then!
We also drove down the death road. Sobering. Interesting memorial and museum about what happened there in WW2.
Great lodges on the river/in the jungle.
Beautiful beaches.
Having said all that, I am currently sunning it on a gorgeous beach in Pemuteran, northern Bali.
Love SE Asia.