Bike shopping and repair is great in Singapore and Malaysia (cycling is really taking off there) and most big brands (Trek, Specialized, Giant, Pinarello etc) are available there.
Travelling with a bike, well in depends on how much luggage allowance you are prepared to give up for your bike.
If you are planning a long trip and need to take quite a bit of non-cycling stuff maybe it would be better to to sell and buy when you get there. However if you have the luggage allowace it is totally easy to travel with your bike. We have used a soft sided bike bag and cardboard boxes -these are OK but make sure you reinforce the corners and make sure there are hand holds as the handlers need soemthing to grip and the boxes do tend to get dragged alot. So Duct tape all the way!