Hi,

I have a month off early next year (beginning February until beginning of March) and I'm trying to see if I can go to Asia instead of somewhere in Caribbean/Central/South America. Since I'm also running away from the winter in Canada, I'm aiming for a destination that has hot weather.

I've never been to Asia, but the goal is not to do a tour of tons of cities and countries with 2-3 days in each destination. Instead I'm hoping to either have 1 base for a month in the same apartment in a very interesting city and do easy day trips from there, or maybe have 2 bases (2 weeks each) in 2 cities and do easy day trips from there. Usually I use Airbnb but I'm open to other booking sites.

Basically I don't want many bases with a lot of packing/unpacking, I want to travel slow allowing for a lot of relaxing time, do groceries, cooking, etc. But of course since it's a very long trip from Canada I want to also visit a lot things too, just not every day.

Here are some of the things on my list:

- A city where it's easy to find an apartment at walking distance from restaurants, groceries, shopping, sights, gym(?), etc.
- Of course, if the destination/country is cheap/affordable in terms of price of apartment(s), groceries, restaurants, etc. then the better it is. Same for plane tickets which will also play a factor in choosing.
- a destination with access to the beach would be a bonus but it can be a cultural trip only, it's not a must.
- a destination with easy good access to wi-fi in the apartments would also be a bonus. Some of the lazy days might for example include relaxing, watching Netflix... lol But again, it's not an absolute must.
- We will be 2 people but we won't be renting a car, so we will rely on public transportation for the visits and day trips unless a guided tour is necessary. Basically a destination that is easy for tourists.
- The destination either in terms of historic monuments or nature surroundings would hopefully be very beautiful.
- Safe destination although I know that nowhere is perfect.

Thank you very much and looking forward to your suggestions.

If it was me (and I know it isn't) I'd choose Bangkok. I love Bangkok - yes, it's a huge, busy city, but it has easy public transport plus taxis that are cheap. It feels exotic with the gilded wats (Buddhist temples), but has access to anything you might need to buy. There are lots of serviced apartments (apartments that offer daily or less often cleaning services) and plenty of AirBnB or VBRO apartments that are within easy walking distance or a short skytrain ride from groceries, restaurants and attractions.

Of course, Thailand offers great beach locations as well. And there are plenty of places you might like to visit that area short plane ride away (Angkor Wat, VN, Malaysia, etc). Most apartments will offer wi-fi.

For me it would be Bangkok. This year marks 20 years of going there regularly and I will be heading back soon. I’m there for 3 weeks straight, out of my 6 weeks in S.E. Asia. I have stayed at hotels, serviced apartments, and Airbnb condos/apartments.

On this upcoming trip, I will stay 6 nights, of 3 weeks, in my regular serviced apartment building, Emporium Suites of where I first started staying in 2005. I have also stayed at a lot of hotels around town over the decades.

Emporium Suites is attached to Emporium Mall and there’s a big, supermarket on the top floor of the mall. One doesn’t even need to leave the Emporium complex to go between Emporium Suites and Emporium Mall and there’s also Bangkok Bank which is directly across from the side door of Emporium Suites. Inside of Bangkok Bank, there are ATM machines and also a money exchange and they have now even put an ATM machine directly in the lobby area between Emporium Suites and Bangkok Bank so that when the bank is closed, there is easy access to an ATM machine.

On the top level of Emporium Mall, there is lots of food. Emporium Mall is also attached to Promphong BTS station-sky train and directly across from EM Emporium Mall that’s filled with restaurants and shops. Super convenient. Serviced apartment buildings usually give discounts for stays of 7 nights or more. Just contact the building directly with information of how long you want to stay and what price they can offer.

https://www.chatrium.com/chatrium_em...efault-en.html

Back in 2005, the law changed and serviced apartment buildings could book stays of less than a 30-day minimum stay. That’s when I went to Emporium Suites although I had stayed at one other serviced apartment building. When the law changed, serviced apartment buildings could make bookings of a 1-night minimum stay if desired although some buildings kept the 30-day minimum-stay requirement as I went to some that wouldn’t book me for 2-3 weeks. But, things have changed a lot. Since you have a month, just remember immigration wise that one gets 30 days in Thailand. Although I’m American, it’s probably the same for Canadians. So, if you book 30 nights, then departure would be on day 31.

Serviced apartment buildings in Bangkok come in all price ranges and there are serviced apartment buildings that are on both Airbnb and also websites like Expedia as I have booked a new one, to try out, and got it straight off of Airbnb whereas Emporium Suites is on Expedia as I booked this upcoming stay there as opposed to years ago when I had to go directly through the serviced apartment building’s booking system. So, everything listed on Airbnb is not just condos and apartments in private residence buildings of which a lot of people probably aren’t even aware. Airbnb lists different types of properties as I’ve been using it for years now.

Another really good serviced apartment building is Anantara Baan Rajaprasong. I had a great, corner apartment there for 2 of my 3 weeks in Dec 2017/Jan 2018. I had the one-bedroom, corner apartment that’s shown on its website with the sliding glass door on one side and window on the other side and great view and a lot of sunlight. The building is only a 3-5 minute walk from Rajadamri BTS station and is located in one of my other regular neighborhoods. The only problem with the above one is that the supermarket, a 2-minute walk away, closed and I don’t know if another one has opened. When I used to stay one street over, in my Airbnb condos/apartments, I used to go to that supermarket. But, on the street of my former Airbnb places, there is a 7-Eleven. Also up at Central World Mall, there is a huge supermarket. You would just need to walk 15 minutes and then possibly either take a tuk tuk or taxi back to the building with groceries. But, taxis are inexpensive, starting the meter at around 30 baht.

In Bangkok, apartments are called rooms if it’s a serviced apartment building, but they are really apartments.

Happy Travels!

You might look at Bali. It's hot, inexpensive with lots of exposure to culture and nature. You can rent a whole villa for the cost of an apartment in other places and get a pool, garden and dedicated staff. February is low season and there will be plenty of discounted rates. I would suggest you look at the Ubud area which is the center for culture and nature and Petitenget or Batu Belig for beach proximity. There are plenty of Airbnb properties as well as villa rental sites at all price ranges.

You will get rain in February (sometimes quite a lot of rain) but I think the advantage of being in Bali when most tourists aren't compensates. Bali is compact and easy to get around in. There's not much in the way of public transportation but taxis are cheap and many areas are walkable (or bikeable). If you stay at a villa, your staff will shop for you. You can cook yourself or not as you please. WiFi is generally good.

The combination of Bali and Bangkok makes a lot of sense to me. You could also consider Central Java (the Yogyakarta area) and Singapore.

Be aware that February 5 is Lunar New Year which, for better or worse, is a major holiday in places with big Chinese populations. It's not a factor in Indonesia, except for being a time of multiple temple ceremonies. March 7 is Nyepi, Balinese New Year, which is a wonderful time to be in Bali. A day of complete silence: no cars, no planes, no cooking, no lights. Everyone stays home and enjoys the quiet and the stars.

Flights within Southeast Asia on AirAsia are cheap and efficient.

Thanks guys! I started reading on Bangkok and it's an interesting city with lots to do and see. Definitely a contender. The Emporium Suites look amazing but I think I'd rather something a little less expensive, many cheaper choices on sites like Airbnb, maybe not as luxurious but still good. It's such a huge city with many different interesting neighborhoods, it's going to be difficult to decide which one. As for Bali, if I decide to split the vacation between Bangkok and another destination, I'd probably pick another city in Thailand just for the convenience. But I will look into Bali too.

Right now it's all over the place in terms of deciding where to go, some of the contenders in addition to Bangkok include Guadeloupe (Caribbean) and Cartagena (Colombia), while my friend also mentioned Costa Rica. I feel that Bangkok will be the most special and interesting not only due to the cultural differences but also because there's so much to do, but it will most likely be the most expensive due to the plane ticket and of course a long distance. But I always wanted to go to an Asian country and I do have a full month which is a good amount of time. I will keep reading and researching. It's definitely now on my list.

Yes, Bangkok might cost more to get to, but once one is there, one doesn’t have to spend a lot. Plus, it’s a city with plenty to do to keep one both busy and then it’s also very easy to relax there as I chill out a lot while there.

If you end up going to Bangkok and looking for an Airbnb, then maybe you should go for a Super Host since it will be your first time there. However, none of my Airbnb hosts have had the label of Super Host, but were all super and we’re real friends still to this day. I see them annually even not staying at their former places.

Picking a neighborhood will be important and hopefully an accommodation near a BTS-skytrain station and an accommodation not located too deeply into a soi. Plus, having services nearby is a plus.

If you end up going to Bangkok and looking at either different Airbnb or non-Airbnb accommodations, feel free to run them by me if you’d like. Since I also have an Airbnb account, I can pull up photos of the places and also possibly know the locations. I have booked a new Airbnb for a couple of nights during this upcoming, 3-week Bangkok stay, as I like to try out different places and the one that I have booked is less than $40 a night and has a washer/dryer. I selected it in a neighborhood that I’m not familiar with as to be able to explore.

Happy Travels!

Unlike many Fodorites I am definitely not a fan of Bangkok. I have visited it several times, as it is a major transport hub, but I haven't found my opinion changing. In common with much of SEA it is very hot and humid, and I get plenty of that at home. It is is noisy and polluted and the traffic is horrible, although I usually stay by the river to avoid some of it. That said, the food is good.

My thought, based on your description, was Kyoto. Loads of history, good day trips, clean, fairly easy to navigate, also good food. Depending on budget you might keep your Kyoto base and do some overnight trips, for instance to Koya-san.

We were in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia very recently. As for cost this would be a very good option for you and it has very nice restaurants and from there you can go to Singapore, and you can also go to other places in Malaysia like Penang, Melaka and Georgetown.As for cost this would be a very good option for you and it has very nice restaurants and from there you can go to Singapore, and you can also go to other places in Malaysia like Penang, Georgetown and Melaka. Cost wise it’s a good base. For example a Thai dinner for 6 was $78.00 USD, lunch in little India only $4.00.
It’s clean, has good public transportation, a wide variety of food choices

I love reading these kinds of threads! While I am unlikely to go tot a place for a month, I'm interested in what my fellow Fodorites would do.

Reading other's suggestions, I could certainly see spending a month on Bali, inland near Ubud, which would be a wonderful cultural experience. Thursdays suggestion of Kyoto surprised me. I think of it as being an expensive city, but I've never priced rental apartments. Certainly it has plenty to see and do. But summer wouldn't be my choice - hot and humid, though Guenmai goes there in the summer (but she is used to Pasadena weather!).

I can think of a number of places in Malaysia as possibilities, though I would choose Georgetown, Penang over KL. Certainly Malaysia has wonderful and inexpensive food.

I'll be interested to see what kinds of additional suggestions whfan gets

Err, the title says February. Maybe the opposite problem?

Oops- thanks for catching that, thursdays. There was other thread about a summer trip. Yes, if he is looking for hot weather, it won't be hot in Kyoto!

Thanks guys! Yeah Japan in February would be the winter. I am excited by the prospect of Bangkok but I will also look into the Malaysia suggestion and see if it attracts me as much. Guenmai thanks for the help and you're right location of the apartment is key, walking distance to services and to a BTS-skytrain station. The key will be whether to stay a full month in Bangkok or to split it with a 2nd base in Thailand. Bangkok seems to have so many neighborhoods and things to see, as well as great day trips (although some are far), but it's such a long travel to get there from Canada so maybe visiting a 2nd city might be wise... But I'm just used to establish myself and relax in one place and kind of make it like "home". lol

I totally understand liking to establish oneself in one place and making it feel like it’s home. That’s one reason that I stay 3 weeks straight in Bangkok before moving on to Malaysia, then back to Singapore, and usually one new city/ country thrown in, but for only 4-5 nights in a new place before flying back to Singapore for a week or more to wind down before the flight home to L.A. I feel really rested doing it that way. Smiles.

Happy Travels!

Thanks Guenmai

BTW you can find my TR by looking on my name. The 2nd part is all Malaysia with lots of pics. Feel free to ask any questions.