Bye bye SE Asia

Old Apr 25th, 2017, 11:44 PM
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Bye bye SE Asia

After many years of long-hauling it to the Region I've grown a bit weary.

Just got home from a 3 centre trip to Croatia, staying in Split, Brac, and Tucepi.....it was wonderful, and with the savings on airfare and travelling time, even more wonderful.

Next trip to the area is to Bosnia and Herzegovnia, basing ourselves in Mostar and Sarajevo.

Next trip elsewhere is to beautiful Nerja in Spain.

Never say never, so not au revoir.....a bientot [excuse the lack of accents].

LL
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Old Apr 26th, 2017, 09:51 AM
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LL--

We too are about finished with SEA. For us though, we were using the area partially as an escape from our disgusting winter weather at home. I suspect the places you just listed (though they sound intriguing) wouldn't be quite so nice weather in Jan., Feb. and March as one finds in SEA.
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Old Apr 26th, 2017, 10:44 AM
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We R in the US so SEA is a haul too and as we R seniors it's harder but we got started late going their so we hope to go at least once more to see China, Friends in KL and more of Malaysia, Singapore again and maybe N. Viet. Wow maybe two more times. .
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Old Apr 26th, 2017, 06:26 PM
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Never tire of sea, especially Thailand, but also visit Europe too
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Old Apr 26th, 2017, 07:17 PM
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On our way to the Balkans in September for a month. Still placed I want to get to in SE Asia, but it's nice to take a break sometimes.
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Old Apr 28th, 2017, 05:19 AM
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After many winter trips to southeast Asia and Asia, we decided to spend part of last Jan. in Columbia and part of Feb. in Mexico. Both were wonderful, warm and a lot closer to New England than Asia. We may return to Asia one more time in the future, but as we age the 20 hour trip feels longer and longer.
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Old Apr 28th, 2017, 05:57 AM
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shelleyk--We are in Minneapolis, so it is interesting to hear that you enjoyed Colombia. It is a place I am contemplating after several years of 6 week Asis trips in the winter. Where in Mexico did you go?
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Old Apr 28th, 2017, 08:42 AM
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So true ShellyK! those long trips are harder and harder.

LL, glad you started this thread. I"d been thinking similarly for awhile, not about SEA necessarily, just the hassle (not to mention cost) of long, log trips in general. There's so much to see still in our own" backyards" whether from UK or USA.
JulieS, do you ever use parts of the USA to escape the cold? I'm sure you have, yet there is always more to see and do!
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Old Apr 28th, 2017, 11:46 AM
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jules-We spent 6 nights in Mexico City and 3 nights in Puebla, both wonderful, interesting, and easy to do cities. There is enough to do in Mexico City that we are returning for another 10 nights this winter, as well as travelling through the Yucatan for 2 weeks.
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Old Apr 29th, 2017, 11:13 AM
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I think the key is to vary the travel. In order going backward our last few years of trips were as follows;

Vietnam 2/2017
Yellowstone NP 8/2016
Sri Lanka 2/2016
Canada cruise 9/2015
South Africa safari 4/2015
Myanmar/Japan 11/2014
Borneo /Seoul 5/2014
Costa Rica cruise 2/2014
Bali/ Java 8/2013
Utah NParks 4/2013

next 3 trips
Mediterranean cruise 10/2017
Cape Horn cruise 2/2018
Tanzania safari 9/2018

I still love SE asia and know I will be back, yes it is taking longer and longer to get over the jet lag of these 24+ hour journeys. The key to not getting bored is to change it up. I look for deals and places to go to that I can use up my frequent flier miles on. Because it is becoming so difficult to use them I know there will come a time when I will be staying in the US.
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Old May 1st, 2017, 09:24 AM
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I think susiesan is correct. We mix up our trips and try to visit a variety of places and do a variety of thing during our stays.

To answer Calinurses's question, we have done some US trips in the winter. Late winter/early spring is lovely along the SE coastal areas. To me, unless it is a shorter, two week trip where one can spend some active time sightseeing, a lot of the typical US winter destinations we can visit for longer periods of time end up being a lot of sitting and relaxing and enjoying the weather. In fact, right now even though it is spring, that is what we are doing in Rockport, Texas--a coastal town. So, for us, extended winter trips in the US are typically more of this relaxation to escape the winter weather type trips than a lot of sightseeing.

In Mexico we've spent a lot of winter time in the Yucatan and Merida. We also spent one two week segment in San MIguel de Allende and Guanajuato. Other close to the US destinations we've visited in winter are Guatemala and Nicaragua. If you are interested in learning Spanish, I've attended two different very good Spanish schools--one in NIcaragua and one in Guatemala. This is a different way to see and learn more about a country while also expanding your language abilities. Both of them I went solo and was fine.
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Old May 1st, 2017, 10:41 AM
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Amazing, JulieS. So rarely do I hear about Rockport/Fulton Harbor!! Was in FH or a few days, about five yrs ago, and totally loved it! it's got a gentle beauty which was wonderful.
Winter is also lovely in both northern and southern California. Even the rain is not cold and biting.
Apologies...I'd better stop talking USA on the Asia forum!
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Old May 1st, 2017, 12:37 PM
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I agree that mixing it up is the way to go. We tend to go to new places and alternate them with old favorites. We like visiting cities and the countryside, popular places and not so well known.
South America is great in that there is no jet lag and much to see. Each country is very different from the other & lots to see & do. I also like Mexico & we used to travel there a lot before the drug wars there. I am glad that it can again be explored (at least much of it.) Oaxaca is fabulous.
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Old May 1st, 2017, 01:05 PM
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I think we have decided to try Rockport/Fulton Harbor area for 4 to 6 weeks Nov./early Dec. next fall to see what a long, relaxation-focused trip to a warm weather US destination is like. Then, we may give India one last go (it will be our 4th trip) for 5 or 6 weeks in the worst of our winter months.

We like it here in Rockport, and it is fairly close (considering Texas distances) to one of our kids. But, we have discovered that all of the prime condos (waterfront) that interest us are pretty much already booked up for Jan., Feb. and March next year. Having a dog complicates matters because that limits choices for places to stay. This is really planning way ahead for us, so I am blown away to find out that these condos need to be reserved a year ahead of time.
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Old May 1st, 2017, 11:27 PM
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Shame you have grown weary of SE Asia LL, I do empathise, but for different reasons. Flights, long or otherwise are a necessary evil, so they don't concern me too much. However, we have spent a lot of time in the region over years and I confess I am getting less enamoured of the region as the years pass.

Increasing pollution (now a HUGE problem for increasingly long periods) massively increasing tourism, especially from China has changed the nature of the region considerably, the environment is being inexorably destroyed - all these issue have all served to make the region a less than wonderful place in which to travel. Coupled with the westernisation of the major cities, allthe price of "progress" and industrialisation I suppose, but for me, the region is becoming rapidly less enchanting.

We have family in Australia so will continue to pass through but I envisage spending a lot less time there in the coming years.

As suggested in several posts I believed one way of preventing getting jaded with a particular region is to mix it up. For t last few years we have alternated between Asia/Australasia and South America.

It has always surprised me that South America is not far more popular with people from the USA? It has the most amazing scenery in the world, a varied climate, pretty good food, is remarkably inexpensive and has some of the most iconic sights in the world. All this and CLEAR AIR!

After this jaunt to Asia and new Zealand , Mexico and Central America is our next target destination, a palace we have never visited. . Yestravel - good to hear that you think that Oaxaca "is fabulous" my wife has had that in her radar fro a couple of years now!
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Old May 2nd, 2017, 03:59 AM
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crellston -- but just as you describe the changes in SEAsia, the same is true for Mexico. We hadn't been to Oaxaca for many years and when we returned 2 years ago we couldn't believe the changes. Still enjoyed it but longed for the "old" days. Outside of Oaxaca there are many fun & interesting places to explore in Mexico and love the food.
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Old May 2nd, 2017, 06:10 AM
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Look forward to seeing you on the Europe board, LL. I entirely understand about the length of the flights. I save my FF miles so I can fly business to/from Asia, cannot imagine doing it in economy any more.

Interesting question about South America. I had a good trip Rio to Santiago via Patagonis a few years back, but while I loved the scenery I found the cities disappointing. Still need to add Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru, though.

My problem with NC is the summer, not the winter, but unfortunately that is winter in South America and high season in Europe. I did try going to Canada one summer, but they were having a heat wave that year...

(Highly recommend Sarajevo, LL.)
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Old May 25th, 2018, 10:15 PM
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Since my opening posting, just thought I’d bring our non-SE Asia travels up to date...

May 2017. SPAIN. Three weeks based in Nerja, 40 miles north from Malaga in Andalucia. Easy to reach by budget airlines from UK in 2.5 hours. A beautiful part of Spain, particularly north of Malaga and avoiding the bustle of the Costa del Sol resorts. Lots of things to see and do, and we particularly enjoyed Malaga itself, much underated, and just as interesting as ultra-busy Barcelona. The ‘white’ inland villages, eg. Frigiliana are really pretty, with outstanding views. Nerja itself is a jewel and tends to attract a more mature crowd, with tapas bars rocking from midday to late in the night.

October 2017. BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA. Just over 2 weeks in Bosnia & Herzegovina, topped and tailed with 2 nights in Split [Croatia]. Again, only a short flight from London Gatwick with easyJet, with only a 25 minute transfer to the Old Town/Port area in Split. We stayed in a small apartment centrally located for 2 nights, on our one full day we got the ferry across to the island of Hvar. The ferry takes 2 hours, the top deck is a viewing deck, and the all-round views take your breath away, and the cost of a return ticket for the day was 94 kuna [£12/US$16]. Hvar is a beautiful island, we stayed in Stari Grad for the day. On the return sailing we were treated to as good a sunset as you’ll see anywhere.

From Split we got a bus to Mostar, in Herzegovina. A 3-4 hour trip, firstly going south along the beautiful Dalmatian Coast, before cutting inland and into Herzegovina. Most people visit Mostar as part of a long day trip and only really see the Old Town, and the New Bridge. There’s much more to see, and it’s well worth lingering for a few days, and seeing some of the outlying sights. After Mostar we took the early train to Sarajevo, a train jorney which felt like being part of a dream. Mountains, valleys, rivers, rural villages, snow, mist, rain, tunnels galore…..all in 2.5 hours. Sarajevo is a wonderful city, and you need to visit it to try and take in what it must have been like to have been under siege for almost 4 years only 25 or so years ago, while the world watched and did very little to stop a daily battle just to survive. We stayed in a very comfortable apartment right on what’s known as ‘Snipers Alley’. After 6 nights in and around Sarajevo we retraced our steps back to Split, via Mostar.

Bosnia & Herzegovina is extremely good value, much better vfm than neighbouring Split.....could be something with being outside the EU.

I've already [somehow] lost this posting twice, so 3rd time lucky, and I'll carry on later. Still to come, another 3 weeks in Spain, a couple of weeks in the Antalya Region of Turkey, 2.5weeks in Macedonia, and a bit of Northern England in January, February and March. Next stop Romania [Transylavania] in just over a weeks time.
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Old May 26th, 2018, 01:44 AM
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Hi LL We just missed you in southern Spain as were were housitting in a small town north of Malagá in April- May last year. Spent a couple of days visiting Nerja - nice place. Bosnia Croatia, Macedonia etc have been on our list ( or more accurately my wife’s) for some time so may pick you brains on this places as and when.

Like you we have been staying closer to home by still living the gypsy life, house and pet sitting around the U.K. Hertfordshire, Henley, and now Cheshire. Off to Bologna, Italy for July then back to Suffolk and then probably Mexico/ Central America in November .

Like you have now pretty much discounted a return to SE Asia apart May a return to Taiwan or Japan ( but not really SE Asia) when we visit family in Australia..

I had tentative plans to visit Burma, but having recently watched the horrifying Channel 4 account of the genocide be perpetrated upon the Rohingya by the Burmese government with the apparent complicity of the once revered Aung San Suu Kai, that is firmly off my list.

Anyway all the best on your travels .
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Old May 26th, 2018, 04:49 AM
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Another vote for Sarajevo. Also Macedonia and Romania. I have been grounded for over a year with ill health, but am now taking very expensive magic pills and am considering the UK for the fall, although my knees are still a problem. Nothing more adventurous at present - travel while you can!
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