HOng Kong and...
 

My sister is visiting friends in HOng Kong in March '04. She plans to spend about 4 days with her friends and then travel to...
Viet Nam, China, Cambodia?? for the other 10.
Any suggestions? is it better to book a tour there (Hong Kong) or make arrangements here?

thanks.

What does you sister like to do? Does she want to see cities and museums, or the countryside, or lay by a beach, or do outdoor sports? There are many options for 10 days from Hong Kong.

Don?t' forget about Thailand, as a trip to Bangkok can easily be combined with a few days in Cambodia (I assume Ankor Wat is her prime reason for wanting to go to Cambodia.) She could then do a few days on a beach in Thailand. (There is a world-class health resort, Chiva Som, on the beach about a 3 hour drive south of Bangkok, good for a person travelling alone, I think as you can get the beach and also get pampered?.take a look at chivasom.net)

It would be possible to see Bangkok, Cambodia and Vietnam in 10 days, although IMO that would be rushing it a bit and it would not be possible to include a beach area in Thailand, although two days at a beach in Vietnam might be possible.

China could easily use the 10 days just by itself depending on what she wants to see and do. Beijing, Xian, Guilin, Shanghai, a boat trip on the Yangtze are all very interesting and 10 days would fly by with all that. The northern parts of China like Beijing and Shanghai will have cool and changeable weather, much like March on the East Coast of the US. March will just be warming up in Hong Kong (cooler in early March than in late March) and it will be hot and humid in the rest of SE Asia. March is a good month for Vietnam and Thailand, as it is a low rainfall month.

I would also consider Bali, however flights here are not as convenient (there are very few direct flights, maybe one a day from Hong Kong and maybe one a week from Bangkok), so she could probably only do one other place like Bangkok or Beijing (would be a longish flight from Beijing probably 6 hours, and probably not direct).

Are her arriving and departing flights out of Hong Kong or can she arrange her flights to arrive in Hong Kong and depart from anther city to head back the US? This will save her some time; if she could depart from say Bangkok or Beijing to the US this would probably save her a day.

Depending on how your sister feels about it, I would think she could do much of this on her own, certainly Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Bali. For China, I have never used a tour, but I lived in Hong Kong and Singapore for 10 years so was generally comfortable getting around. If she is on her own and has never been to Asia, she might want to consider a tour. She could certainly start looking into it now. I would not tell her to wait until she gets to Hong Kong for two reasons (1) she wants to see Hong Kong not spend her time looking for a travel agent and tour, and (2) tours out of Hong Kong, IMO, tend to cater more for local Hong Kongers rather than foreigners. However, her friends might have suggestions for travel agents and tours, and she could easily get details and make arrangements by e-mail and phone now, no need to wait until she arrives.

Remember that she will need a visa for China, and it takes a few weeks to get it. A good place to start is http://travel.state.gov/foreignentryreqs.html, which is the US State Dept info for entry requirements for US citizens to many countries, with links to the embassies. The website for the Chinese embassy in Washington is china-embassy.org. She will need a visa for Vietnam, although I understand these are now issued on arrival in Vietnam for $50. If it is cheaper to obtain one beforehand, she might want to do this. Check the website for the Vietnamese embassy in Washington at vietnamembassy-usa.org. She does not need a visa for Thailand or Bali/Indonesia.

Finally, she should talk to her friends in Hong Kong as they are sure to have ideas.

Thanks so much. I know she does not want a beach resort vacation and is interested more in museums, culture, etc.

I'll pass along the information.

Since your sister is more interested in museums and culture than in beaches, let me make these suggestions:

Fly from Hong Kong to Bangkok for a few days enjoying the city (lots of fascinating Wats, some lovely house museums, like the Jim Thompson House, etc.).

Option 1: Then fly from Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia to visit the temples at Angkor. The minimum recommeded time in Siem Reap is three full days to see the major temples, but I'd recommend (at leat) 5 days to see more of the the so-called minor temples, and some of the temples farther outside of town, plus a visit to the lake. Return to Bangkok for a day or two.

Option 2: Fly from Bangkok to Luang Prabang, Laos, a World Heritage City filled with beautiful Wats and lovely French Colonial architecture. Slow moving and quiet, it will be a real contrast from Hong Kong and Bangkok. There is plenty to do - visiting Wats and a lovely museum in the old palace, a boat ride up the Mekong to the Pac Ou caves (a traditional Buddhist pilgrimage site), a day trip to two lovely local waterfalls, or a silk weaving village, or to some of the Hmong villages. She could easily spend a nice, slow week there before returning to Bangkok for a day or so.

There are lots of wonderful options in SE Asia. I'm an advocate of taking one's time and experiencing the pace and the atmosphere of a place. I'd recommend that she limit herslef to two locations for the 10 days.

PS No need to book tours for any of these places. All are easy to travel on one's own. I would make plane and hotel reservations in advance, on the internet.