I'm down to my final decisions before leaving for my trip and thought I had everything worked out but now I find myself debating about shoes. I'm taking a pair of black sandals - quite comfortable and they'll work with a skirt. But I'm uncertain what to do for walking shoes. I didn't buy the Keens that I had talked about. I do have a pair of Mary Jane style shoes that are cute and lightweight, but I'm worried that for hiking near Chiang Mai and around the Temples of Angkor and for lots of walking around Bangkok, that they won't be great. So... I'm thinking about taking my tennis shoes. I'd never do such a thing in Europe, but how about Asia? It'll be quite obvious I'm a farang anyway. I want comfort more than style, and for dinner in the evenings, I'll wear the sandals. So, Fodorites, what say you? I know we've talked about this before, but I'm looking for some last-minute input!
Thanks,
Karen

Take the most comfortable shoes you own. Period. Don't worry about what they look like or what they label you.

Personally, tennis shoes get too hot at the bottoms for me. I did that on the first trip to Southeast Asia back in the 90s and never did it again. I take Rockports or other shoes with the same kind of bottoms. They stay cooler. Go to The Walking Store... in various malls across the U.S. Or Rockport.com since the Walking Store doesn't carry Rockports. Also discount outlet malls usually have Rockport stores in them. Happy Travels!

we find any kind of sneakers to be too hot....decent sandals will work some days, but i think you will want a firm lite weight shoe for angkor and for treking, preferably one with a decent grip sole which has some body to it...

do you have an old pair of walking shoes...take them and throw them away after use...

Take the most comfortable shoes you own. Period. Don't worry about what they look like or what they label you.



i just repeated that for emphasis, just in case you disregarded it.

I lived in china with tennis shoes for 6 months. who cares about tacky in asia??? but if the sole is too thin you'll get hot feet as mentioned previously

I don't leave home without my birkenstocks..They are sooo comfortable.I could never wear anything with a closed toe in the heat..It would suffocate me!!

I used Merrell Jungle Mocs at Angkor. I wanted a closed shoe for walking over the rocks. If your "tennis shoes" have a good gripping sole and lots of padding and they are well-ventilated that may be just right for Angkor and treking.

Comfort, comfort, comfort. I wear good running shoes and find them comfortable and not too hot. My wife eschews them and wears comfortable shoes that are a bit more fashionable. My advice is to wear socks, no matter what shoe you choose. You'll be taking your shoes off at the temples.

Andy, do you wear socks with sandles (aka sandals)?

When I visited Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Angkor I took a pair of Dansko open-toed sandals (for city walking), a pair of Keen closed-toe mary janes (perfect for temple climbing) and a pair of the Salomon trail shoes that have mesh sides which were perfect for hiking and dipping in the river. As for whether tennis shoes are too tacky - I saw plenty of other tourists' outfits where tacky tennis shoes would have been the least of their problems! One other thing to consider is that you take you shoes off a lot before entering temples, so it's nice to have ones that slip on and off easily. It'll probably be really hot, so if you have to wear socks with your tennis shoes, you may be too warm.

Thanks all. I've pretty well decided on the tennis shoes. They're running shoes - mostly mesh not leather but with good thick soles. I'm not going to chance a brand new pair of shoes that might be uncomfortable. I have a great pair of hiking shoes, but they're suede and probably too hot. My feet don't sweat too much so it might not be an issue, but the tennis shoes are probably better. I KNOW they're comfortable for lots of walking and I definitely need covered toes for tramping around Siem Reap and Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son. And the soles are heavy enough that the heat wouldn't come through them (I don't think!). You're right - style isn't the issue - comfort matters much more. And for dinner, I'll put on my skirt and my black sandals (even they aren't all that stylish!) and I'll be just fine. The reason I'm going is to see new people/places - not for them to see me! I'll just smile and be polite and good-natured and they probably won't notice my shoes...
And, of course, I can crop them out of the photos I post on the web for you all to see...