We are planning a long two month get away to asia and will be using a special package from Malaysia Airlines that will allow us to visit as many cities in Asia as we can fit into the trip.<BR><BR>We want to get real information and get past the tourist guides which say everything is wonderful (we know it is not).<BR><BR>We need your advice, what cities/countries/attractions should we avoid in our trip to Asia?

Planning your trip around what to avoid is an odd approach to a vacation. Let's start with what you are interested in: history? beaches? culture? shopping? wildlife and jungles? And since you tell us you want a list of things to avoid, what do you dislike: crowds? high prices? low prices? shopping?<BR><BR>Give us some clues, and I'm sure others will be glad to give you some information.

avoid manila, jakarta, kabul, islamabad and karachi as there are a lot of muslims in these cities that don't like westerners. not all mind - they ar in a minority...

Malaysia Airlines do not fly to Kabul, Islamabad or Karachi!<BR>What a 'nasty' reply. <BR>Popular choices apart from KL would be Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong for cities, but Malaysia Airlines fly to many other locations including beaches and islands, depends what you are looking for.

Marty,<BR><BR>Larry asked about cities to aoid not what beaches and islands to go to.

Larry, I think you need to clarify your question. Are you asking what places to avoid because they are uninteresting, disappointing, etc? Or are you asking what places to avoid because they may be politically dangerous for western travellers at this time?<BR><BR>Please reply quickly before this thread spirals out of control.

Clarification to my question:<BR><BR>I am interested in getting advice from travelers on which cities in Asia are not all that interesting. During our 2 month long trip we want to fly into and out of 6 cities in asia and want to spend our time in the most interesting spots.<BR><BR>Want to avoid places where travel would be boring, filled with SERIOUS HASSLES or places that lack any infrastructure for travelers.<BR><BR>I know every place has interesting things but want to go to the most interesting places and avoid places that may be a bit dull.

If you want to hit about 6 cities, then it is easier to say which ones to go to than which to avoid.<BR><BR>I recommend Bangkok with a side trip to Siem Reap (Angkor Wat)(this may not be included on your package, but you shouldn't miss it), Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo with a trip to Kyoto.<BR><BR>I would skip Singapore. I would skip Hong Kong unless you are interested in shopping. Personally I am skipping pre-dominantly Moslem countries like Malaysia and Indonesia for the time being. <BR><BR>I have not been to many other cities in Asia, but I'm sure you'll get lots of other response from those who are more well-traveled in the region.

OK so this is what you are dealing with.;.... <BR><BR> <BR><BR>Brunei<BR> Bandar Seri Begawan<BR>Burma<BR> Yangon (Rangoon)<BR>Cambodia<BR> Phnom Penh<BR>China<BR> Canton (Guangzhou)<BR> Hong Kong<BR>Indonesia<BR> Bali (Denpasar)<BR> Jakarta<BR> Medan<BR> Surabaya<BR>Malaysia<BR> Kota Kinabalu<BR> Kota Bharu (As of April 1, 2003)<BR> Kuala Lumpur<BR> Kuantan<BR> Kuching<BR> Langkawi<BR> Penang<BR> Maldives<BR> Male (Valid until March 30, 2003)<BR>Philippines<BR> Cebu<BR> Manila<BR>Singapore<BR> Singapore<BR>Taiwan<BR> Kaohsiung<BR>Thailand<BR> Bangkok<BR> Phuket<BR>Vietnam<BR> Hanoi<BR> Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)<BR><BR>Plus<BR>Taiwan<BR>Taipei (Included to/from Los Angeles only)<BR>United Arab Emirates<BR> Dubai (Included to/from Newark only)<BR><BR>I'd skip Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, Kuta bharu, Penang, <BR><BR>but like everyone says what are you interested in .... also whats your budget. for instance if you are on a big budget then Penang (Georgtown) is the place too be.<BR><BR>I did the cathay pass for 3 months 5 months ago and i've been too many of the above places but again what I find interesting you may not.. I engoy semi dangerouse cities since they have lots of energy.... <BR>

Orgy 7,<BR><BR>So you are basically saying skip pretty much everywhere in SE Asia except Macau.

JOHN. UHH no... I think Larry is using the malaysia airlines all asia pass. which includes that big list.. <BR> <BR>I just said may'be skip Jakarts, Surabaya and some others... <BR><BR>Lary PLEASE post what special malaysia airlines packege you are using

Working from the Malaysian Air list, I'd recommend Bangkok and a side trip to Siem Reap (either by flying to Phonm Phen or flying directly to Siem Reap from Bangkok) as Marilyn did. I'd also recommend Singapore, as it's a totally different experience from any other Asian city. If you feel ok about Bali, I'd recommend it. I also love Kuantan, a beach area in Malaysia (I prefer it to Phuket). Since Guangzhou is the only mainland China option, I'd give it a miss this time. You might want to visit Hong Kong.