How do you use iPhone ans iPad while in South East Asia
 

We will be in Cambodia, Vietnam and Bangkok and I will need to stay in contact with work via e-mail, also family.

How do I set this up? Is it with Apple or Verizon. Can you access wireless from the hotels?

If your phone is locked and on contract with Verizon then you should get a international roaming package with them. However, if the rates are too high and you only want to connect back home via email, Skype or Facetime then you can do so via wifi. Some hotels and other establishment have free wifi so you will have to look out for them. Note that I would not recommend doing on line banking over the free wifi.

and... if your phone is unlocked, you can buy local SIM cards while you are here and make and receive calls at local rates.

If your iPad is 3G enable you can then buy SIM cards for it as well which will give you the ability to send/receive emails without wifi. Not sure if they lock iPads in when purchased in the States?

I have a thai SIM card for the latest iPad. It came unlocked. The contract is with Verizon, but it is very easy to change to the Thai SIM when in Bangkok and a European Swisscom SIM when I am in Switzerland. I would prefer to do this over paying roaming charges for the iPhone!