I would like to celebrate my 50th by spending a week somewhere in Asia,where I have never been. If you were to travel in February, where would you go?

What are you interests, beach, jungle or city? Does a particular culture appeal or not appeal to you (ie. Indian, Malay, etc). Finally if you are coming from the US, IMO a week in Asia is not really enough time to justify the expense of such a long flight and the ensuing jet lag. The flight out will take about 2 days given the time change. Take at least two weeks.

Do tell us what interests you, as there is such a variety of experiences to choose from. While longer is always better, I've done one-week trips to Asia a number of times (I live in Seattle). When I do a one-week trip, I choose one place that is easy to fly in and out of and stay put for that week. For instance, my last week long trip was to Hong Kong.

If you can manage two weeks, then you can opt for a couple of places to see.

Hong Kong is a good suggestion if you've never been there. Here are the reasons for a one-week trip.

- Assuming you're from N. America: many non-stop flights from N. America. UA, CO, CX, SQ and AC all have them, so you don't need to spend a lot of time transitting at airports. Both day and night flights are available, so say if you take a week off work, you can leave the US/Canada Friday night, arrive Sunday morning, and depart the following Sunday, giving you 6+ days there.

- Since you're celebrating a birthday, I'd assume you want nice hotels and good food. Hong Kong have tonnes of both.

- With 6 days there, you can go for an overnight trip to Macau. Only about $25 roundtrip on fast ferries. Takes an hour, and runs every 15 minutes. Hotels are even cheaper there, and great Portugese food there.

And February is great time to go. Usually dry, relatively cool. I think this can be a pretty easy and enjoyable trip.

Please be more specific. I do one week vacations to Southeast Asia regularly...leaving out of LAX. I have a profession and other responsibilities that don't allow me to always get 2-3 weeks away, at one time, so I opt for 2-5 mini overseas trips a year.For almost two decades I took 10-11 weeks away, at one time,but that was back in my teens,20s, and 30s. So, take what you can get... and just "GO"...and just organize yourself VERY well and really read up on the places that interest you and try to get a private driver to save you time unless you go to Singapore where taxis and the MRT(subway) system is very easy to figure out. Personally when I do my one week get aways to Southeast Asia, I usually do Bangkok and Singapore together. I like to fly into Bangkok and stay 4 nights and then fly to Singapore and stay 3 and then fly back to L.A. from Singapore.This would be a good introductory trip to Southeast Asia for you...nothing too shocking to the system. Whatever you decide to do, stay in touch with us so that we can help. Oh, my best friend takes her entire week on Bali...I love Bali, but I personally need more excitement...I'm a high energy type of person...it all depends on one's personality. Happy Travels!

ten years ago my wife and i ---she is 6 days older than i, spent our 50th birhtdays in asia on our first asian trip....she celebrated in seoul and i in hong kong....

HK is a good choice, but i think a better one is bangkok at some place like the peninsula hotel or the shangri-la....or even up north at the four seasons resort near chiang mai....combine bkk and CM for a week's holiday...

of course it largely depends on what you want to:: beach, city, country, mountains???

For a first trip in Feb. I'd make Bangkok my first choice and Hong Kong my second.

What is your budget range for hotels? Happy Travels!

I celebrated my 50th at the Amanjiwo resort in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Visited Borobudur at dawn, a truly wonderful experience then and now.

I'd highly recommend Bali as well. I've made the trip from the US to Bali for a week's stay. The travel was demanding, but once there it was both relaxing and exhilarating.

Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo and Bangkok are also good choices for a first-timer.

I would like to point out that Lunar (Chinese) New Year starts on February 9, 2005. This is not a particularly good time to travel in countries with primarily Chinese cultures as transportation is very crowded and normal activities are disrupted. Hong Kong can be both wonderful and difficult at CNY. Most restaurants are closed and hotels are operating at half-staff; however, the city is lit up like a Christmas tree and the fireworks are out of this world.
good choices