brencara

In recent years, my vacations to China was cancelled (my son was ill) and my vacation to Thailand was cancelled (Tsunami). My husband and I have decided to give our Asia Vacation one more try. My husband said that since this was supposed to be in celebration of my 50th birthday - I should pick whichever trip I wanted.

My goal is see see as much as possible. I want to see things that I can't see in New York - the main tourist attractions, and also the countryside to see and learn about the people and their culture. Travel and photography are my main passions. (My husband likes good food, and nice hotels). I would probably hire a private guide for most of our destinations. Both my husband and I hate museums and a few temples will probably be enough for us.

If we go to China, we would go in Sept. / Oct - our itinary is Beijing, Xian, Yangshou and Hong Kong.

If we go to Thailand, it would be in January and our itinary is Bangkok, Chaing Mai, Umphang and Hong Kong. (We would probably not go to the beach destinations.

I am now driving myself crazy trying to decide which trip to take. I realize that everyone has different lilkes and dislikes, but a lot of the people on this board seem have very good ideas about travel so I thought it would be good to hear from people who have already traveled to Asia.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks...

rhkkmk

based on your husband's need for good food i feel that thailand/HK would win out...

plus if you have not done any asia before both HK and thailand are the easiest places to start...

Gpanda

We went to Thailand in 2002 for my 50th and have been back every year since. It is a magical place.

SirHalberd

Thailand will be cheaper too! Tourism is the number one business in that country!

Transportation is very cheap and efficient.

You will be able to communicate a little easier in Thailand compared to China, you can almost always find someone who will understand enough English.

In many restaurants you will find the menu in English (sometimes in other languages too!)



(The Tsunami mostly affected the Phuket area, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya and other cities were practically untouched!)

Good luck.

brencara

Thanks everyone - Thailand it is!

caldnj

My wife and I have been to both China and Thailand several times. I believe for a first-time trip to Asia you would find Thailand to have a more developed foreign-tourist infrastructure, and a greater proportion of people understanding English. For details and photos of some of our trips, including Thailand and China, see Our Travel Journals: www.evcal.org

pat

Thailand! Too much of the ancient culture has been destroyed in China. Thailand is still there and intact. Loved the food in thailand too.

alison

I have taken both trips and Thailand is certainly the "easier" trip. Distances closer, etc. Although adding HK makes more sense to a China trip, unless you are flying thru HK on the way back to NY.
I would definitely suggest adding Luang Prabang if you are going to be in the north of Thailand anyway.
We spent 4 weeks in Thailand and Laos and Luang Prabang was the highlight.
you don't need a lot of time right in Bangkok.
I was on this trip right after my 50th birthday, too.
BTW, if you do stop in HK, you can really see a LOT in 2 full days.
If you are still considering China, I would be happy to give you details of my trip there in 2003 -- very similar to your itinerary but i would add Yunaan province - specifically the Dali and Lijang areas.
Let me know if i can answer any more questions.
alison