I guess my trip to the northwest got my wanderlust going. I am thinking of another sojourn during the next three months. My immediate thoughts are Central and South America or Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Laos, Thailand). I would appreciate if any have visited either of these areas and have thoughts, concerns, or considerations. Thanks in advance.

I know it is not part of your choices but I was born in the Philippines (known as the Pearl of the Orient Sea). I have a lot of relatives there (my father is Spanish-Filipino). Email me with anything you want to know and what you want to do and I will answer them. With pleasure.

Here's my 2 cents worth.

The Phillipines was cool. Spent most of the time on an island called palawan. Beautiful beaches.

Personally though I really love central and south america. Peru, Bolivia, and Chile would be a great place to go. I started in Lima and made a big loop through northern peru, amazon, southern peru (cuzco), lago titicaca, la paz, northern chile, and back to lima via arequipa. Central america is also a really neat place. I could live in antigua guatemala. The yucatan was also neat; however, you have to avoid the tourist places like cancun. Costa Rica is also really neat. I spent most of my time in guanacaste and the nicoya penninsula. Watching volcan arenal erupt while sitting in a hot spring was awesome.

I am planning a big trip for two years from now. 15 months around the world.

I agree with DrPhil re Central and South America. Vietnam is also very beautiful. I spent 4 months there recently. However, I was working there, and was "looked after". If you're going by yourself (not part of a group) it might be a bit difficult getting off the beaten path unless you're an experienced traveller. That said, Vietnam is the most beautiful and photogenic country I've visited in Asia. And nice people.
If you decide to go there, let me know and I'll tell you about my favourite places.
John