Countries are listed in an order from 10 (worst) to 1 (best).

10. China – of all countries fully or partially in Southeast Asia, the Chinese probably have the highest incidence of unsymmetrical facial features, and this is true for both men and women. Of course, you do find real beauties, even stunning beauties, in China. But they are far in between. Compared to other countries, the Chinese by and large have the worst teeth, and they haven’t been developing for long enough to have a history of orthodontics. The low ranking in this list is aggravated by the Chinese 1-child policy implemented in the early 1980s and persisting until today. Thus, you will never see as many children and young people in China as you do in the Philippines and Indonesia (the 1-child policy is one point on which I strongly disagree with Chinese policies). China has a low age of sexual consent, just 14, but the language barrier, especially when communicating with teenagers, is substantial, and the chances or foreigners for landing a teenage beauty are almost nil.

9. Cambodia – you do find beautiful young women in every country. The reason why I rank Cambodia rather low is the fact that I do not think that beauties are particularly numerous in Cambodia. I have been in Southeast Asia long enough to be able to differentiate between the various ethnic groups. Many Cambodian girls have rather roundish (or squarish features), and woman often have a reddish facial skin, as when people with a dark complexion get sunburned. Cambodian language tends to sound as if the speaker, especially when she is a girl, is close to weeping.

8. Vietnam – yes, there are striking beauties in Vietnam, very slender, and gracious looking. But they aren’t the majority. Vietnam is the harshest society in Southeast Asia, and while there isn’t as much cooperation with the police in order to trap foreigners, there is a definite possibility that the police will interfere with a sexual affair, and demand mpney from the foreigner.

7. Timor – the girls basically are the same as in Eastern Indonesia: Malay features with Melanesian traces. Foreigners are welcome, but there is very little infrastructure. West Timor is probably the better option, and the people look the same.

6. Myanmar – yes, beautiful girls, but hard to access. The looks are already more Indian than Southeast Asian. Be aware that Burmese is a difficult tonal language.

5. Thailand – there is a marked difference between the downtown business and shopping districts in Bangkok and any upcountry town. In the downtown business and shopping districts of Bangkok, you will indeed see stunning beauties, with a delicate mixture of Chinese and Indian features, and all of that enhanced by the best-developed cosmetic surgery industry of all of Asia. Outside the capital, Thailand is rural, both in attitude and appearance. Furthermore, while Thai people are probably genetically the slimmest in Southeast Asia (and you indeed find a large number of girls who are very slim but not at all appear undernourished), you now also find an amazing number of very fat girls (who consume huge amounts of food. So, Thailand is the country most suited for men who are attracted to extremes, either very slim or very fat.

4. Indonesia – the girls do look similar to those in the Philippines, but especially on Java, a good number has rather prominent sets of teeth. In eastern Indonesia, Melanesian features gradually appear, with a likelihood of disproportionate noses. Indonesian girls often lack the means and the education for even the simplest measures of beauty enhancement (orthodontics). But entirely natural beauty is actually quite common. The good news, furthermore, is that foreigners can indeed choose girlfriends among the most beautiful local women who will likely be no older than their early 20s. Indonesian girls marry rather early, often within months of finishing high school.

3. Malaysia – this is the country with the greatest ethnic variety of beauties: Malay, Tamil, Chinese. In my opinion, you are much more likely to find real Indian beauties in Malaysia than India. The Chinese girls are probably not as beautiful as in Singapore, and especially the Malay girls are often a bid on the heavy side. This probably is a consequence of stressing family values, which include cooking and eating. It’s difficult to score in Malaysia, though, because for Muslims, extramarital sex is illegal, and outside Kuala Lumpur (the capital) and Penang (Malaysia’s most Chinese province), the religious police keeps a watchful eye on those who may not be married.

2. Singapore – what difference three decades or relative wealth make! While China ranks lowest in this list, Singapore, which is largely Chinese, ranks near the top. You will seldom encounter Singaporean girls with bad teeth. They have all been fixed. They also fix other features: noses, chins, pimples, and body weight. Chinese girls in Singapore are concerned about such matters, and they are well educated in them. The downside is that your chances of landing a Singaporean beauty are very slim indeed.

1. The Philippines – the country with the largest percentage of beautiful women. The best choice, except for those men who have a strong preference for light complexion, greater body height, and skinniness. But for facial symmetry, they are winners, as well as for smiles. Philippine women smile much more than their sisters in Thailand (though Thailand has grabbed the PR line “land of smiles”).