romee

My daughter and I have 5 days in Hong Kong when I will mainly be in a meeting, and then a week to explore anywhere between Hong Kong and Hawaii. We were originally heading to New Zealand but flights were VERY expensive. 13 yo prefers nature/adventure to cities but is flexible. Phuket/Bangcock? Somewhere Marshall Islands or Cook Islands? Great Wall and terra cotta warriors? We have some Marriott miles if that helps... Thanks in advance

cjon

We were just at Elephant Nature Park outside of Chiang Mai and my 17 year old LOVED it. She also loved Bangkok, touring the Wats, the shopping centers, and cruising up and down the Chayo Praya River on the ferries. It is hard not to be impressed by the Reclining Buddha and climbing Wat Arun. She really liked staying in Chiang Mai and going to the local monastery and talking to the monks so they could practice their English. Short flight from Hong Kong to Bangkok, spend a couple of days and then fly to Chiang Mai. I wrote a trip report about it last week on the forum.

rhkkmk

thailand is always fun and less expensive to get there... bangkok air might be a cheap option to look at, or air asia..

why not just stay in HK? there is plenty to do there, except hotels are expensive... you could go to macau for a few days..

or vietnam

bangkok hotels are quite cheap... look at marriott sukhumvit park, or marriott mayfair, or courtyard...all good marriott options..

Kathie

I like cjon's idea. Fly to Bangkok for a few days, then to Chiang Mai for Elephants. There are only two places near CHiang Mai that I recommend for elephants: The Elephant Nature Park or the Thai Elephant Conservation Center near Lampang. Avoid all other elephant "camps" or "shows." Thailand is quite affordable, and the flight from Hong Kong isn't too long. In Bangkok, stay at a hotel on the river.

romee

Thank you so much, this is very helpful! Flight to Chiang Mai from Bangcock? How long is that?

jobin

What's your passport? Many countries require visas, which can add to cost and time delay. Some countries welcome certain passports without restriction but hassle others. Air flights round Chinese New Year can be tight, this year 10-13 Feb and often a week beyond. Much of Vietnam closes, as does most of the mainland. Taiwan has more 'nature' stuff than many places but not so easy to access and most westerners prefer the more tropical climes, like T'land. And now in all of SE Asia is 'high tourist season' so expect the highest prices in every direction.

Kathie

The flight between Chiang Mai and Bangkok (note correct spelling) is about an hour.

As I remember, you are from the US, so do not require a visa for either Hong Kong or Thailand.

cjon

We really liked staying at 3sis in Chiang Mai, in the old part of the city, right across from Wat Chedi Luang, so very central. Nice, young, very helpful English speaking staff. Lots of families and children running around the hotel. Try to be in Chiang Mai on Sunday for the night market, which takes place on the street right in front of t the hotel. If its hot and you are burnt out on sight seeing, there is a really nice movie theatre at the local mall. We enjoyed the Hobbit, subtitled in Thai.

laurie_ann

I was going to suggest Thailand and the elephant camp just from your title without seeing the other posts first. The elephant camp was one of our best trip experiences ever. Here’s the link.

http://changthai.com/daily-inspirati...anuary-6-2013/

We did the 2 night homestay. You can also do a trek trip. That must be new since we were there.

We included Bangkok, Chiang Mai, elephants and then Angor Wat in a two week trip. If you have just one week you might consider going straight from HK to CM. No direct flights but if you have been in HK you will have already been in a big Asian City. CM is fun, with markets, temples, cooking schools, nice museum of Thai culture and history.