September is a bad time on the WEST coast of Thailand. However, the EAST coast of Thailand and in particular the islands off of Thailand and Malaysia like Koh Samui in Thailand and the Redandg Island aea in Malaysia are in excellent weather at that time. So if you want to dive and go to the beach, the east coast area/Gulf of Thailand is fine. You want to avoid Phuket, Krabi and areas on the west coast. (Google earth will help you.)

I don't know where you got the idea that there is "nothing to do in Sri Lanka" as it has a range of activities from beaches, to tea plantations to wildlife preserves. However, I would agree that is much quieter than Thailand in terms of a party scene for 25 year olds. If that is what you are looking for, Thailand is probably a better choice.

You may also find Sri Lanka to be similar to Indian in terms of dress, food, and cultural norms, and may find Thailand more "exotic" for that reason.

Bali may work well too and is also in good weather. Bali is Hindu, but in a more animist way, and would be different as well from a cultural standpoint.

Also consider Malaysia, which may be cheaper than Thailand. You might want to compare east coast Malaysia and Malaysian islands like Redang to Koh Samui in Thailand, and see how prices compare.

So if I understand correctly, you are not looking for new cultural experiences or magnificent vistas, you are looking to party?

If so, Bangkok or Patong on Phuket in Thailand have lively party scenes as does Kuta beach on Bali. Sri Lanka ia a fascinating country with lots to do and see, thgouh I don't know about the party scene there. Malaysia is likewise a fascinating country, but not known for partying.

Lonely Planet's travel forum, Thorntree will have many more recommendations for partying.

i second bali as a good location..

We want a but of magnificent vistas and but of partying. As there are few pro photographers in the group who would like to work their dslrs. Bali what I heard is expensive than Thailand or Sri Lanka is that true ?

Thanks a lot for all your replies.

No.

I just re-read your original post. If your entire budget is Rs 30,000 per person for the trip, you may have a problem in all these places. Does that include airfare? If it does, I don't think it will be possible to go for 9 days in any of those places on the remaining balance. You may have to shorten the trip.

If it does not include airfare, assuming you club together in hotel rooms you should be OK; but bear in mind that US$60 a day for hotels, food, local transport, night clubs, and other incidentals might be a bit tight. If you go for 7 days you will have a bit more per day to spend. In any event, you probably want to avoid cities like Bangkok where hotels would be more expensive (as is the beer).

Bali would offer many options to rent a holiday flat or house, see vrbo.com. That may offer the best value as you would have a kitchen and would not need to eat out for every meal. You can try vrbo.com for other places in Asia, but Bali seems to have the largest number of holiday lets.

Budget does look tight, in that case we are ready to reduce the number of days from 9 to 7 or 5. Basically one week off is all I can get from work.

We are ruling out Malaysia here as we would be travelling next year for a friend's marriage to Malaysia we can see it then.

The only reason why we are still skeptical about Srilanka is its very similar to India, especially South India and as Cicerone said its not that exotic for us(as I am from South India).

Thailand and Bali are both a good choice but with bali the airfare itself is very expensive for us. Does 5 to 6 days in Bali / Thailand for 20,000 to 30,000 sound like a meaningfull budget ??

"We are bunch of 25 year olds looking for a great first oversees trip".

With this objective in mind, Bangkok would be the best option
http://www.hostelworld.com - lots of culture, great food and althothough not as cheap as it once was and the weather won't be great, it should be achievable within your budget.

www.hostelworld.com is a good start for cheap accomodation either in dorms or sharing a private room. I would go for a cheap place around the Khao San road to save money and save your rupees to get around and see the many attractions. Food at street stalls and local "hole in the wall" type restaurants is inexpensive and usually excellent.

Personally i would go for 5 or 7 days and spread my cash over a shorter period but you do need to decide what you want to do and what you want to see as the city is vast and the choice-mind boggling and you risk missing out on a lot unless planned in advance

If airfare is part of that budget, then you first need to get an idea of flight costs, as that will be your biggest problem, IMO. If you can get to Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore or Kolkata, you can try Air Asia, which you can take to Bangkok or to Kuala Lumpur. For Bali, from KL you can take another Air Asia flight to Denpasar. Air Asia is probably the cheapest. See http://www.airasia.com/hk/en/home.page. For Bangkok I see a return fare of Rs 11,000. This would leave you Rs 19,000 for the rest of the trip, or even less if your max budget is Rs 20,000 per person. That could be tough, assuming you want a decent place and to enjoy yourselves rather than worrying every minute about how much money you are spending.

Otherwise, you have to go with Cathay, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Thai Air or Jet, none of which will be cheap I think. But look at websites and see. You are probably aware of the Air India issues currently, so you probably want to avoid them if you can; of course by September they probably will either be bankrupt or perhaps their issues will be resolved.

My young traveler friends say the international party scene in Samui is at the Ark Bar Beach Club, Koh Samui, Chaweng Beach. Cool rooms, within your budget if you can fit four in a room. Also check out the thorn tree forum.

Definitely go Thailand as you will love it! Especially if you looking for more of the party scene and you can do it really cheaply if you choose to. I also recommend in having a look at Holiday with a Heart and check out there projects and think about participating for a day as I booked onto one in Thailand and loved it. It was a day volunteering at an environmental charity but they have people and animal projects too.I'm pretty sure they work in India as well. It was a great experience and felt good to give back. Also if you end up going to Thailand definitely go to the south and experience the beaches and party scene as I wouldn't advise spending the whole time in Bangkok. enjoy whatever you end up doing xx

Sri Lanka ia a fascinating country with lots to do and see, thgouh I don't know about the party scene there>>

i don't know if you would describe this as a party scene but at the end of september the cricket world, including the Barmy Army will be in Sri Lanka for the T20 world cup.

if you like over-weight englishmen getting drunk and sunburnt and singing slightly jingoistic songs, then Sri Lanka could be for you.

OTOH.....

lol...