Lessons from my Self designed South East Asia Tour It was only after I got a surprise financial dividend in July 2018 that I could even afford to dream of a Mekong cruise tour of South East Asia. Since language is a barrier, access to information regarding travel packages to Vietnam becomes a barrier and most people rely on travel agencies to devise packages to Vietnam. But I thrive on backpacking and I relish the challenge. I did check with travel agencies; two very renowned travel agencies shirked the responsibility by not reverting to me. A third travel agency gave me exorbitant quotes only for Vietnam. Whereas, when I booked all accommodation, flights, cruises, and planned my food and beverages, and local transport - myself, I could pack in four countries within the same budget. Given the language barriers and paucity of reliable information to plan a self-funded and self-designed tour of South East Asia, I decided to share my experiences in a separate article for inter