Marcio_Br

I am preparing a 40-day visit to SE Asia starting late January and I would like some help to decide which countries to visit.

Please take into consideration that I am from Brazil, so it is a 2-day trip to reach there and it is pretty expensive, so I won't be able to be back anytime soon.

Right now, I was thinking of:
1 week in Bangkok
3 days in Angkor Wat - Cambodia
3 days in Hong Kong
5 days in Beijing (one of which on a side trip to the great wall)
3 days in Tokyo

I really enjoy big cities, so I am not concerned of visiting Bangkok, HK, Tokyo and Beijing on the same trip. I believe they offer the best mix of temples, performing art, food and nightlife in a reduced amount of time. Time in HK and Tokyo, as well as side trips in Japan, are pretty limited due to travel budget.

If I don?t change the schedule above, I still have about 15 spare days. I would also like to visit some beach resort (about 4-5 days?) and other sightseeing places (volcanoes, caves, beautiful landscapes).

I would appreciate some suggestions to decide where else to go. For example, to visit a good beach resort, would it be better to go to one more country (Indonesia?) or simply go to South Thailand to save flying time? Which are the must-sees I have left behind?

Thank you all in advance.

Kathie

I notice that you aren't confining your trip to SE Asia. Remember that Beijing and Tokyo are about a six hour flight from Bangkok. Also, air fare will be the biggest item in you budget, so restricting the area in which you fly may make sense.

Unless you can get one of the cities outside of SE Asia (Beijing, Tokyo, Hong Kong), I'd confine the rest of the trip to SE Asia. Thailand (Bangkok and a beach area) is easy to visit as well as having lots to offer. I agree you should go visit Angkor, it's really stunning. You may also want to consider a side trip to Luang Prabang, Laos. It's a lovely world heritage city at the confleunce of two rivers. There are beautiful wats in town to visit, and several day trips like the Pak Ou caves which involves a several hour river trip.

You could spend your 40 days in the Thailand, Cambodia and Laos area easily. If you'd like, you could go into Malaysia as well. Keeping your travels in a smaller area than your original plan will give you more time to enjoy the pace of SE Asia (which is slow).

rhkkmk

i would suggest that you add 2-3 more days for hong kong...angkor is perfect, bangkok is perfect, beijing is good (visit the summer palace too)

how about burma (myanmar) a quick trip from bangkok...very laid back and interesting, just yangon or go up country too...very cheap...

bali???

Lyndie

Hey what about Vietnam. Don't miss it-Hanoi is an exciting city-top food and cheap accom. I would give Hong Kong a miss. It's very expensive and we thought it past its used by date. Do some research as Vietnam is really worth seeing as you are only 1.5 hrs flying time from BKK. Good luck.

Marcio_Br

Katie,
I am pretty sure I could have 40 wonderful days just in strict SE Asia. However, I am not sure of when I am coming back, so I will try to have a broader view. Believe me, when you are in Brazil, Japan and Thailand look pretty close in the map.

I was already seriously considering Luang Prabang and after your advice, I am pretty sure I will go there. How many days would you recommend to that (including the side trips)?

On the other hand, I wasn?t really considering Malaysia. I think I am done with big cities (no Kuala Lumpur then) and the outer regions would require too much travel time in comparison to alternatives. Am I missing something?
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rhkkmk,
I believe most people do not endorse visiting Burma as tourism is a major source of resources for the dictatorial government, so there is a suggested ban on it.

Do you mean Beijing?s summer palace or Thailand?s? I certainly would like to add a few days to both HK and Tokyo, but they are a bit too expensive, although I don?t have the courage to simply drop them off of my schedule, like Lyndie/Katie suggested.

Bali certainly is a place to be considered. Kathie suggested that I kept to Thailand beaches (although she didn?t mention which), but I may well consider to visit both.
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Lyndie,
Vietnam, as well as Bali, is a place I am seriously considering. I still haven?t listed them, as I am half way through my 1000 pages guide book. However, I am glad you mentioned it, as my guide book is very comprehensive if you plan to visit everywhere, but not very good in ranking ?must-sees? and ?only-if-you-have-time?.

Which cities should I go? Just Hanoi or also Saigon/Others? Any interesting side trips? How much time should I save for it?
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Nobody suggested Philippines (although the guide book highly recommended it, it sounded too Latin for me to visit in Asia) nor Singapore so I will probably forget them.

Would you recommend any other places/cities in the countries I mentioned?

I will stop here, as this message is already too long. Again, thank you all for your help.

Kathie

Marcio, Just make sure you don't move too fast through SE Asia, you have to slow down to really get the experience.

For Luang Prabang, I'd suggest five days at a minimum. Spent a week there and loved it. You could do it in fewer days, but the slow pace is a part of LP's charm.

If you are considering Vietnam, I'd recommend Hanoi. You can take a couple day trip to Halong Bay.

Malaysia has some lovely beaches you might consider as an alternative to Thai beaches.

Since money is a consideration, you may want to cut out either Tokyo or Hong Kong. As you begin to investigate airfares, it'll probably cut out some destinations for you.

Bangkok Air, which flies to a number of destinations in SE Asia, has a circular route you can take that will get you from Bangkok to Siem Reap (Angkor), Luang Prabang, Hue (VN) and Sukothai (old Thai capital). You only get a few days in each location, but it's an efficient way to see these world heritage cities. Check it out at www.bangkokair.com

rhkkmk

its the thai summer palace that i usually speak about, but the beijing's one is also fabulous, and it is beijing that i was referring to .....

i still would go to burma, "they" say to boycott it, but your visit does not add that much to the general's pocketbook and it does add significantly to the common man's pocketbook as it provides direct income to him/her....a tourist boycott has not and will not solve the problems in burma....do yourself a favor and visit there....by the same token why do you go to HK, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, in fact too, and many other countries where there is an opressive group in power....???? think about it

ethannadine

The Philippines is good for beaches, great for scuba diving, see Palawan or Boracay. Bohol has some caves, and Mt. Mayon for hiking. Everything is pretty cheap here and the malls are great too!

Lyndie

Hi Marcio
Hanoi is so quaint, gorgeous lake in city centre, great shopping for CD's & DVD's, lovely silk & shoes, sight seeing and walking round old town, excellent hotels for USD25-40, we stayed at Win hotel right near lake.
Don't miss Hue-go to Stop & go cafe & book motorbike tour of historic sites with Mr Do or Mr Trung. Don't miss Hoi An Riverside resort in historic village of Hoi An-one of my favourite hotels in the world-sensational Vietnamese hospitality & gorgeous river and farmland views-Saigon is a big drag-we didn't enjoy the city at all-Sapa in mountains is famous for its hilltribe people & villages-haven't been there but will go in Dec 2003. Vietnam beats Bali hands down for non-tourist feel-great food-safe travel. I wouldn't miss Vietnam-it is truly a unique place to visit & very good value. Good luck again.

Lyndie

Sorry Marcio I forgot time -you need to allow minimum 14 days, try to have 21 days. We will allow 4 weeks in December because we intend to spend 7 days in Hoi An-it is really quiet and a lovely place to just unwind.

gard

Hi

I have been on vacations to both Thailand and China in the past year. I really enjoy Bangkok and it has a lot to offer when it comes to sights, shopping, food etc. I was also quite surprised by Beijing...we had a great trip to the Great Wall of China at Simatai. This was in March so it was still a bit cold but the weather was perfect and the view was amazing. I was not that impressed by Hong Kong...it might have something to do with the fact that we came there just when SARS hit town

Well, I have posted a couple of trip reports with lots of pictures on my personal homepage www.gardkarlsen.com Maybe you can find some useful information there.

Have a great trip

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway

Chiangmai

you should seriously consider visiting Chiangmai, it is an hrs flight from Bangkok, has PLENTY of things to do and is much prettier than Bangkok...have lived here for 2 yrs and find it full of activity....nightlife, cultural, shopping, sightseeing galore, many, many, places to visit