cepedame

hi...in may 2006 i will join my husband in taiwan for his month long training program and then plan to travel around the world westward from there thru july 30. are flights between taipei and mainland china permissible? we plan to hit china and japan while stationed in taiwan, two long weekends each before heading out end of may...has anyone done around the world flight? of course doing thailand, bkk and island hopping but hear chang mai is gorgeous and want to do elephant sanctuaries... thinking angkor wat in cambodia and also vietnam...how many days each..which mode of transporation recommended between those countries...any other recommendations?

rkkwan

There are some special non-stop flights betwen Taiwan and Mainland China during Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival. Otherwise, most people change planes in Hong Kong or Macau; some also go through South Korea or Okinawa.

cepedame

when is chinese new year? so it is possible to go to mainland from taipei thru hong kong or macau? might be worth staying in hong kong then for a night or two....heard macau is quickly becoming the "las vegas" of asia and having been to vegas, dont really care for it...

rkkwan

Macau is worth staying overnight. You can ignore the casinos, but visit the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including good musuems, churhces, forts, temples, etc. It's a very unique and interesting place outside the casinos.

And of course, Hong Kong is one of the more amazing cities of the world. It'd be a shame if you transit it and don't spend a little time to visit either of those places.

Chinese New Year is in late Jan or early Feb. Feb 18th for 2007. You won't be there for it.

kaneda

I was told that flights were not permissable between Taiwan and China. I travelled through Hong Kong which is easy. China looks on Taiwan as part of China and are angry with them.

Hong Kong, like Bangkok is the place for cheap flights. See newspapers. You can do many trips from there.

How long you spend in each country depends on what you like, your budget, etc. Read some guide books, look at some internet sites on countries.

Round the world tickets you can book all flights or open flights and book them when ready. You can also travel over land between destinations. Tickets are usually for one year and normally you must go in one direction. Side trips cost extra.

kevinsu

I assume you mean May 2007, since May 2006 is long gone...

There are indeed no direct flights between Taiwan and China. They're constantly talking about opening up direct flights year round, but I don't see that happening. Thus you'll find that most flights go through HK, which makes for a perfect excuse to spend a couple days to explore HK. Shopping and food are excellent. Other possibilities are to fly to the mainland through other destinations, including Korea and Japan.