SEA literature/philosophy reading recommendations

I am traveling to SEA for 4 months (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Nepal) and generally love reading. I am looking for books (ideally fiction) that will enrich my experience. This is a broad request but I do not have anything specific in mind. In general, I have not had much luck finding English translations of literature from these countries. I know that Buddhism is a big part of many of these countries, so recommendations for important Buddhist texts are welcome as well. I am looking for anything I can read beforehand that might give me a more in-depth experience of the cultures/people I will meet.