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I NEED A CLEVER ITENERARY TO VISIT SOME COUNTRIES OF ASIA

I NEED A CLEVER ITENERARY TO VISIT SOME COUNTRIES OF ASIA

Old Apr 23rd, 2004, 07:55 AM
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I NEED A CLEVER ITENERARY TO VISIT SOME COUNTRIES OF ASIA

We are organizing a trip to Asia at the beggining of 2005. We are interested in visiting Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, Indonesia and Singapore. We know that it is imposible to do it in 25 days. Which of those countries are the best to visit Asia for the first time?. We like arts, temples and beaches. We are a couple with two teenagers. Thanks por your cooperation.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2004, 06:52 PM
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wow, 25 days...too much on your plate...you have to cut it down, i think...select an area to work as a base point would be my feeling...

where is "ar"...that would help me make a suggestion?

i see two possibles off the top of my head

1. fly to singapore...from there visit malaysia (langkawi island is a great place) and a couple of places in indonesia..

2. fly to bangkok and from there visit myanmar (burma) and maybe a short trip to siem reap (angkok wat) cambodia...

each group offers you most of what you want...

bangkok is my favorite city in the world so i am partial to it...

the kids will love it for its mad atmosphere...there are lots of thai beaches...amgkor wat is a once in a life time visit...myanmar is like going back 75 years...
these three would give you a wide view of asia...

the other group is also interesting...you need to read up on each and decide what to do...remember it is very hot and humid so you can not accomplish a huge amount each day
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Old Apr 23rd, 2004, 07:09 PM
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Thailand has lots of temples,beaches and an artistic culture particularly there dances. It also has a good infrasructure for travel ie.hotels,tours, guides,transport etc. Its relatively safe, cheap with good food. The weather is fairly predictable with a distinct dry season.
Singapore is a city state, very affluent, clean, well organized but without much in the way of temples,beaches. I personally like it but mostly as a transit hub worth a couple of days. I can speak for Bali in Indonesia but not other areas. It is a wonderful destination with a sublime mix of beautiful country, culture (arts & music)and a gentle people. I don't know enough of Malaysia or Burma to comment.
You could easily fill 25 days in Thailand and not get bored.For beaches I recommend the more southerly destinations such as Phuket,Koh Samui for the overall quality and the fascinating excursions available.
Bon Voyage!
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Old Apr 23rd, 2004, 08:23 PM
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fly into bali. 3 days

fly too singapor 2 days


take train/bus up malaysia stop langkawi (which is more for adults) then up too thailand pucket or kao samui


or

take airasia from Singapor or kuta bahru. too beach area's all over malaysia like Pulau tioman (backpacker destination) or kota kinabalu which is supposeldy a real cool city in borneo. where you can go into the junlge and see and sleep in some tribal villages.

make your way too bangkok by train/plane or automoble.. 4 days

take a flight too bagan via yangoon too see what is considered the most biutufull pagotas in the world.. 3 days

I have tried too take into acount the teens.. some places are just honeymoon destinations. but places like kah samui. have many teens and shops cattering too young people.




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Old Apr 23rd, 2004, 11:57 PM
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Hi

Maybe you can start by doing Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Singapore is fairly small but it has some great shopping. In Malaysia you can find amazing beaches and island on both the west and east side. Thailand is one of my favourite destination...I guess it is easy to like...great weather, nice people, great food, nice beaches and a lot of things to see and do. I have posted trip reports and pictures from my trips to Asia on my personal homepage gardkarlsen.com Maybe you can find some useful information there. Get in touch if you have any questions or comments. And Have a GREAT trip

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway
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Old Apr 24th, 2004, 03:23 PM
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Thanks a lot to all of you. I forgot to ask if it is necessary to contact a travel agency to book a package tour or just book the hotels via internet and the excursions once we get there.

"ar" is from Argentina.

Thanks a lot once again.Haydee
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Old Apr 25th, 2004, 05:45 PM
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thanks for the locator: Argentina...

there is considerable debate on this board about booking ahead or wait until you get there...

i favor booking ahead for a couple or reasons...it eliminates any potential disappointment and you don't want to be spending one minute of your valuable time planning and arranging things once you are there....do you??

plus the beginning of the year is a very busy tourist time in most of asia and especially thailand and other SE asia destinations...avoid disappointment and book ahead...

now there is the question of cost...you can save on some things by booking over the internet and by using in-country booking agents...i do both and use agents in bangkok for all SE asian flights..and some hotels...

sometimes contacting the hotel directly yields a cheaper price than a general hotel internet site...things are constantly changing..

do your homework!!!!

www.seatoursthai.com is a thai agency i am having great luck with at the moment...jamesA suggested him on this board...thanks james...they have done brilliant work on my upcoming asia flights for me...i have done hotels for this month long trip on line from the hotel direct, from booking agents and from travel agents...i look constantly and try to upgrade at every possible moment...

good luck and ask lots of questions here we love to try to answer them...even if many of us have differing answers and our "favorites"---right kathie??
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Old Apr 25th, 2004, 07:31 PM
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From the given choices, I will do Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

But, from my own experience and for a bit more adventure, I will do Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.
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