Need help from Asia experts-Vietnam and where else in Feb. or early March
 

I am planning a 12 day trip to Vietnam traveling HMC, Hoi An, Hue, Hanoi.( I discounted Sapa because of the cold an rainy weather). I would like to add10-15 more days to this trip. Any ideas as to where to expand this trip?. I can easily and cheaply fly from HMC to Kuala Lumpur or Singapore,. But then where could I easily go from either of these airports. We have not been to Bali, but it is the rainy season . Any suggestions would be appreciated. We are looking for decent weather, an interesting cultural experience. and interesting archetecture. I am not a shopper which is why Singapore does not call to me. and am not interested in more than a day or two of beach time. Ubud does call to me except for the rain. Is it crazy to think about adding 10 days in Sri Lanka or Myanmar to our Vietnam itinerary? When I began planning I was hoping to be able to find 3-4 weeks of really interestin things to do in Vietnam, but I was unable to. Am I missing something? Any suggestions would be appreciated..

What about Cambodia or Thailand? Have you been to either country before? If not, Id recommend Siem Reap for Angkor Wat and then fly to Bangkok for some time there.

I just spent 12 days in VN doing the exact same itinerary and think I could have easily added more time in VN if I'd had it. I think there were a lot of things we missed just because we did not have time. I would have gone to some of the islands, checked out Mai Chau and Na Trang, spent some time in the delta area, etc.

We have been to Thailand and Angkor Wat and loved that trip. India is the only other Asian country we have been to. I am not very familiar with which airline to use to easily get from one Asian country to another or what can be done and what is too difficult to do logistically.

Anyway, back to the topic. We will be spending one or two days in the Mekong Delta. I've read the Fodor's Vietnam guidebook and they did not seem to think there was much to do in Na Trang. Do you know what you would have done there had you had the time? I will do some more research on Mai Chau to see if we might want to add that to our itinerary. Any other suggestions?

I forgot to include China in my Asian travels.

Well, I have all kinds of suggestions of where else to go. What about Sabah and Sarawak?

We loved Sri Lanka! That would be another great trip.

Indonesia? March is the end of the monsoon season in Bali. I've visited Bali and Lombok during the monsoon season and felt like the rain did not detract from my enjoyment of the place.

I agree that rain wouldn't be too much of a distraction in Bali, especially since you're not planning a beach holiday. Aside from open air dance performances I can't think of much in the Ubud area that's adversely affected by the rain. It doesn't rain all day under any circumstances and it's a fairly quiet time so rates are lower.

I'd also suggest that you consider Central Java -- Yogyakarta and Borobudur -- which could be done in tandem with Bali.

You can fly non-stop from HCM to Jakarta then connect to Yogya or Denpasar.

shelley--- hi from finland...

if the experts think bali would be ok, and certainly marmot would know.... then i think you and jim would really like it there and 10 days is a perfect amount of time.... sanur for a couple of days and then move to ubud...look at alam shanti (gangga room) near ubud.. we are returning there in may...

hire putu for 3-4 days and he will show you all the sites (about $40-50/day)...

i would fly there from either bkk or kuala lumpur on air asia... make sure to pay extra for seats and advance boarding...

what about luang prabang laos for maybe 4 days, not longer?? and then 2 days in PP...

Thanks so much for your suggestions. I will take a look at some guidebooks and see what appeals to me and what makes sense logistically.
Bob, I took a look at air asia's website and saw their fares, but where does it allow you to pay extra for seats and advance boarding. I've been following your travels and it sounds like it was a great trip. Have a safe flight home.

we spent 2 days in Mai Chau and loved it, also spent 2 days on the Mekong in a homestay.

Dalat is also interesting

northie-I was thinking of adding Dalat. How did you get there? The drive into the mountains is supposed to be beautiful. Also, how did you arrange your transport and homestay in Mai Chau? Did you do it when you were in Hanoi? What month did you go? What was the homestay like?Thanks for your suggestions.