asia vacation help
 

i am trying to plan a big asian fall trip. it's going to be 4 to 6 weeks long (cathay pacific asia pass) and having never been there, any advice would be appreciated. we want to see hong kong(1 week), kyoto, tokyo, bangkok, saigon and possibly singapore. we'd also like some beach time, but aren't sure where to choose (koh samui? phan thiet? we were initially wanting bali but are a little wary). less touristy is better. thanks

cletus - interesting choices - quite urban. what are you most interested in doing?

why are you wary of bali? politics? it's a wonderful place. some of the most gorgeous beaches are in thailand. are you looking for snorkling? you might consider 2 locations in thailand rather than include singapore.

tell us more.

Ignore Dr. F - he appears periodically and peppers the forum with hate.

Pause and think about what kinds of experiences you are most interested in. You've chosen all large cities - is that what you want? And remember that the air pass will make it tempting to keep moving around, when what you want is to move slowly so you get to savor Asia. For a beach, I'd recommend someplace in either Thailand or Malaysia has having the best infrastructure - beautiful hotels, quaint bungalows, etc. Which beach to visit will depend a lot on exactly when you are going, as the monsoons affect diferent areas at different times.

our prior vacations have all been to places renown for their cuisine, paris, san francisco, new orleans(love new orleans). we generally rent a home or apartment and try to find spots that the locals go to, to try and have as authentic an experience as possible. given the obvious language barriers and enormity of this trip this is kind of a new thing for us. we were hoping to use the cities as kind of a base to explore, but i'm wondering if by going to hong kong, bangkok, tokyo and singapore i'm just going to see different variations of the same high-tech city. also, we would like to venture further afield in both thailand and vietnam but need a little guidance on timing for weather. the rough start of this trip is late sept lasting to early nov, but we are flexible. as far as bali goes, i'd love to go there but reading my government's (canada) and others travel advisories have given us pause

put bali back on your list....no reason not to go there....do it at the end of your trip and that will be a perfect ending....

remember to schedule things with plenty of time in between flights for flexibility....for instance if you have to return to HK between places, plan to stay there overnite to avoid problems..

plan carefully before booking the flights...

where in bali would you recommend? we were thinking in the 100-150 us range. we'd like a quiet beach, but still have access to some nightlife. if we went to bali, we'd probably spend a few nights in ubud as well

you could easily spend a week in bali - 1/2 ubud, 1/2 on the beach. beach locale depends on how rustic you want to go. we loved Amed, volcanic sand, some good local snorkling, great eating - but it's pretty basic. glad you're thinking of getting out of the cities!

Bali is lovely, though personally I found it more so for the landscape and people and culture, than for the beaches.

You will need to check this on the web re climate and weather info - but for great beach with not a lot else to do (is that what you want - ie. no shopping strips, casinos, and all that stuff) - then I would go to Krabi on the SW coast of Thailand, or the wonderful Perhantians (Malaysia).

Have fun.

Ok, it sounds like you are still in the brainstorming phase of planning, so let me take an entirely different approach.

After reading about your past vacations, I would suggest a variaton on that theme. If you can take 6 weeks, I's duggest a week one place, a month renting a serviced apartment in Bangkok, then a week in another place, rather than city-hopping.

While I don't know what your priorities would be, here's a suggestion, easily modified for different cities:

Start with one week in Kyoto/Tokyo. (Alternatively, this could be a week in Hong Kong/Macau).

From there fly to Bangkok, and rent a serviced apartment for a month. This will be your home base for the next month. There are serviced apartments in a wide range of prices, from perhaps $400 a month to $1000 a month. There is lots to do in Bangkok and, of course, fabulous food and fabulous shopping. Plan to take several trips while you are in Bangkok, perhaps someplace in Northern Thailand for a few days, perhaps Luang Prabang, Laos, or Siem Reap, Cambodia to visit Angkor. Each time, you get to return to your home in Bangkok. These short trips can be set up easily and on the spur of the moment.

For your last week, you could head to Singapore or to Bali for the week. I love Bali, but I know there are travel advisories for Bali. Only you can decide what you are comfortable with. I've traved to Bali and Lombok during the travel advisory and felt comfortable, but don't go if you'll be worrying all the time. You could opt for a week in VN instead, basing yourselves in Hanoi and taking a couple of days to Halong Bay or to Sapa.

The problem with the airpasses is that it makes people feel like they have to be on the move all the time. With this itinerary, I don't know that the Cathay Pacific pass would save you money. If you do opt to base yourselves in Bangkok, the Bangkok Air Discovery Pass might well be a bargain for you. With the Cathay Pacific Pass most point to point flights require that you backtrack through Hong Kong - which is a real time-waster. You'll have to do some research to decide what works in terms of your air travel.

in bali, we preferred out stay in sanur....its actually a town and has hotels, restuarnats, shops and services for locals and tourists...

we stated at the older bali hyatt but there are many others to choose from////

the serviced apartment route in bkk is a good suggestion....centre point is a good group