Having travelled lots of Asia...Thailand Cambodia Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, India ,Srilanka.
Have to say i got lost for a while in Thailand....for those that have gone off the beaten track its truely a magical country.
Up north in Chang Mai & Chag Rai is unspoilt , stay a while with village tripes after getting there by elephant & then rafting along a river.
Crossing over into Myanmar/ Burma.
Once youve done North thailand head for the South.. and do some island hopping, suggest Ko Phangnan, i stayed a while in a place there called Bottle Beach the only way to get to it was by boat. Really magical place.
After taht you could do a land crossing into Cambodia...what can i say really educational stuff what the Khmer Rouge put these people through,visit the killing fields ,Ankor Wat (where thomb raider was made)and after that head across into Vietnam Saigon 2-3 hrs by bus. Saigon is crazy.....all the Vietnam war sights & stories there for the taking.
I was 8 months in Asia and spent a total of €7,000 and lived like a King...
no 4-5 star hotels though.If you want off the beaten track Asia /South America is the place to go.