Thanks for your report. What a wonderful trip!

so we have reached the end of the journey...and what a journey it was...thanks for the lovely view of your trip...

any plans to return?? hope so!!

bob

Thank you for all the effort put into this report. What's the next adventure?

Aloha!

hi everyone,

i am glad to have finally finished my trip report. i do not know when i will get to do a massive southeast asia trip again. i have a fantasy trip in mind.

i am actually in greece, the island of spetses right now, as part of a 24-day greece/germany trip, but it is not quite the same as southeast asia. this is half work and i have been to both places before.

anyway, here are a few lists from my southeast asia trip.


Experience Highlights:
Tokyo
Food in Tokyo, Bangkok, Kyoto
Seeing the Golden Pavilion during a snowstorm
The ruins at Angkor Wat
JJ Market in Bangkok
Luang Prabang
Thai Cookery Class in Chiang Mai
Elephant Conservation Camp in Lampang
Cloud Forrest Hike in Doi Inanthanon National Park
Hanging out at the Peninsula

Top Cities food-wise:
1. Tokyo: incredible tasting, wide variety of cuisine
type
2. Bangkok: all 7 of our dinners were very memorable
and delicious
3. Kyoto: 2 of our 3 meals were out of this world
4. Luang Prabang: all of our meals were very good
5. Siem Reap: all our meals at the FCC were good to
very good
6. Chiang Mai: our food was in the decent to good
range

Top Meals: (in no order, all outstanding)
Rang Mahal, Bangkok
Wakudan, Kyoto
Moritaya, Kyoto
Sushi Breakfast, Tokyo Fish Market
Tea and dessert, Higashiya, Tokyo
Going out to sushi with locals in Tokyo’s Naka Meguro
district

What we would have done differently:
1. Spent only 3 nights in Bangkok and added 2 nights
in Luang Prabang
2. Stayed at the Peninsula our whole time in Bangkok

The Next Trip:
Already we are mentally plotting our return (though who knows when it will really happen). A few
nights in Tokyo; 3 nights in Northern Thailand; Laung
Say boat to Laos; 10 days in Laos, a few nights in
Bangkok; 10 days in Burma; 3 final nights at the
Peninsula in Bangkok.

xo alibi

alibi13 - I am sorry to see your trip report end. I have enjoyed every part of it, especially Tokyo and Kyoto. Based on your advice, we decided to stay at the Hotel Granvia in Kyoto. We have just left Kyoto and we loved the hotel and also being so close to everything at the station. That is some station, isn't it? I am posting on the Europe board as we go along our 11 week adventure this summer - Travelgirl's Trip of a Lifetime. I don't know how you could remember everything and post later. You must have a fantastic memory or very good notes. There is so much to delight all the senses in these wonderful places. Good luck on your new adventure - parenthood. Travelgirl2

Ah, yes. Breakfast at the Peninsula, right along the riverside. It just doesn't get any better than that. I had the same table three mornings in a row, reading my paper, sipping coffee, eating slowly, never feeling rushed, watching BKK come to life!

Thanks for sharing your lovely report.

Carol

an 11-week trip travel girl! that sounds grand. i look forward to reading your report on the europe board. i am glad you liked granvia. we really liked it, even though we are normally drawn to smaller hotels.

i hope to post a link to some pictures from the asia trip when i get back from greece in a few weeks.

and carol, breakfast at the peninsula is out of this world.

What a wonderful report. I had glanced segments as it evolved and knew I wanted to get back to it and read the whole thing. Thanks for all the details - they brought back delicious memories (both figuratively and literally) of my own trip and also introduced me to some places I've not been. You have a real gift for storytelling - thanks for sharing it.
Karen

Thank you so much, Alibi, for the terrific report. It brought back lots of memories for me and has re-kindled my desire to go exploring again in that part of the world very soon. Good luck to you!

A top notch travel report! What great writing skills!! I have been to Southeast Asia 3 times-wish I would have written my experiences on Fodors. I have not been to Japan,but places I visited were Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia. I think Phenom Phen was the most disturbing place of all my visits. My son wants to go to Thailand so maybe in the next year I will get to at least make the next trip to Thailand as I have a friend there with whom I stay. Maybe the best thing for me as not all the places,but the good friends I have made while I was there-especially in Vietnam.
Thanks again for bringing back many pleasant memories.
The best to you when you add the little one to your family. That is the greatest!

Just wanted to say hi! Your trip report is really EXCELLENT!!! You are such a talented writer and you can really describe people and places so well. I enjoyed reading all about your adventures in Asia.

Congratulations on the happy news that your wife is expecting! That's so exciting.

By the way, some friends are staying at the Hotel Excellent Ebisu at this every moment. They think the location is just perfect and are so glad I recommended this place to them, thanks to you. It's one of the best deals in Tokyo. A fantastic location and just 11,000 for a double room with unlimited free internet access. It was great meeting you while you were here. I hope you get a chance to come back to Tokyo again.

hi melea,

it is great to hear from you. i cannot locate your e-mail address. i am in greece now, but will hopefully find it when we get back to nyc.

thank you for encouraging me to stay in the ebisu area. i was on the fence after a friend suggested ebisu, and you steered me in the right direction. c and i are soooo glad we stayed in ebisu. it made all the difference in the world. thanks for taking the time to meet me and fill me with tips.

i hope to get back to tokyo sometime. who knows. i threw my name into the hat for something.

cheers.

This is such a great trip report -- really helping me with plans for an upcoming visit (first time) to Asia!!! thanks!

-Tricia D

bookmarking for my future travels-great report!

Re-reading this all. Cannot believe it has only been 3.5 years since we spent a month in Asian. Time moves differently when you have a child: BC (before child) and AC (after child)

Thanks so much for the trip report (and for reviving this thread and pushing it to the front page today). Your writing is a pleasure to read and now you're making me rethink my upcoming trip to Asia which, like yours, will be my first and will be 32 days long...similar, similar. Ugh, just when I think I'm starting to come to some conclusions about my itinerary...

Best wishes to you, the wife and child. Thanks again!