Started planning an itinerary...What do you think?
 

I've started looking into going to Asia this summer(2003)My boyfriend mentioned going and now I have to "sell" a trip to him. We would have almost a month. I've started doing some research and thought of the following itinerary:<BR><BR>Bali<BR>Singapore<BR>Bangkok<BR> Hong Kong<BR>Tokyo<BR>and finally Seoul<BR>as that is in the line of travel.<BR>It seems to me we are visiting all cities minus Bali-the beach, which I love.<BR>We're coming from a major city we like cities, but does it seem like too much?<BR>Thanks

are you using Cathey pacific all asia pass.. <BR><BR>

Having just done a multi-stop holiday, I would suggest that you do the itinery in reverse. You will be shattered after all the other stops and will really appreciate Bali - it will help to refresh you before you get back home!Also, six places in "almost" a month may be a bit ambitious. Singapore is possible in a couple of days but Bangkok and Hong kong need at least 5 days each. I would imagine that Tokyo and Seoul would need a significant amount of time also. Remember that a lot of your month will be eaten away by travelling between these places as well. <BR>If you are determined not to cut out anything out of the itinery why not get a company to give you a quote and details of flights? When you see all the travel time( and of course the cost !) in black and white it may influence your decision.<BR>Of course, this is only my opinion, others may have different views! Hope you have a great time in Asia!

hey there<BR><BR>I have been everywhere but Bali and i too like to travel in the cities but i would have to say that you will see many similarities between tokyo, soeul, hong kong and singapore.<BR><BR>and what i mean by similarities is that that's what they are - cities (bangkok --my god, just chaos absolutly amazing)<BR><BR>i'm not saying don't go to any of these places but pehaps try to plan say 8 or 10 days of your trip to be outside a city and do some overnights.<BR><BR>I must say that besides bangkok, I loved Kuala Lumpur. Much differnt than the "big boys" (banking cities) of asia.<BR><BR>Why not look into Ankor Wat or Vietnam??<BR><BR>just a thought<BR><BR>R U IN nyc??? i am as well, <BR><BR>a month is great, you must go<BR><BR>I hope this thread stays alive and you get some good info here<BR><BR>i'll check in again<BR>keep us posted on your itinerary<BR><BR>Safe Travels<BR>Chris

Well, I think you've got too much in that "almost a month." Stop and think about what you really want to see, do, experience while in Asia. Are you going on a one-price air pass, is that why so many places? Sometimes having an air pass is like being at a buffet where you load up your plate then find you can't eat it all.<BR><BR>If I were you, I'd concentrate on a smaller geographic area. Unless there is some specifc reason you have to do all of these, I'd opt to go either with northern cities (Seoul and Tokyo, and add maybe Bejing or Taipei) or go the more southerly route, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore and Bali. Then think about whether you really want all cities (I love cities, too, but wouldn't do a whole trip to Asia of all cities.) Some side trips to consider (depending on your interests) are the temples of Angkor, Northern Thailand (Chaing Mai & Chaing Rai) or the beaches of southern Thailand (these are side trips from Bangkok). Or on your way to Bali, stop in Central Java for Borobudor and Prambanan. Any of these side trips could take a week, but you ould do them in, say, five days. Having said that, you'll probably want to restrict your destinations to 4 or a maximum of five - this is supposed to be a vacation!

However many stops you make, I agree with Fiona, hit the beach last. Otherwise you will come home exhausted and feeling like you need a vacation.<BR><BR>I have been in all the cities you mention and they all have quite different "personalities". But most of these Asian cities are hot, polluted, and very exhausting. Picture NYC during a heat wave, with 200% of the exhaust fumes, then multiply by ten. You really might want to break it up a little.<BR><BR>There's a lot of great stuff to see outside of the cities, as other posters have mentioned. Especially from Bangkok and Tokyo.

If i were you, i will start from Singapore or Kuala Lumpur (these 2 are very alike, but KL is a mixture of old and new town), then Hong Kong, then to Pattaya via Bangkok (2.5 hours bus from Bangkok airport) Pattaya and Bali are both resorts, but Pattaya is much much more cheaper. Then back to city Tokyo, a complete different culture and last stop Beijing. I would not visit too many cities at 1 time - some time you will get confused where you are.

Thanks. Yes, we were going to have an all Asian Pass with Cathay Pacific.<BR><BR>It's so funny when "new" places are mentioned I have to get my atlas out.<BR><BR>I do like the idea of concentrating on northern or southeren destinations.<BR>Thanks again, I'll be in touch :)

I would ignore Lita who advises you to go to Pattaya from KL via HK. I would not bother with Pattaya as there are much nicer places in Thailand (Phuket, Krabi, Koh Samui) and I would not take a four hour flight to HK and back when you are just nipping up the coast a little from Malaysia to Thailand.<BR><BR>I would advise travelling overland from Bangkok to Singapore. This trip can be done in 2 days but if you allow 10 days you can stop off for a night or two along the way.

John,<BR><BR>Do you drive from Bangkok to Singapore?

if you want too concentrate on south east asia try the malaysia airlines ACCESS ASIA PASS\<BR><BR>it seems too have some cool places <BR><BR>Fly to any or all of these cities for only $899*<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> Kuala Lumpur<BR> Kuantan<BR> Kuching<BR> Langkawi<BR> Penang<BR> Maldives<BR> Male<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> <BR>This pass has better beach destinations.

I just found this pass by Silk air, which is part of SINGAPORE AIR. <BR><BR>Discover ASIA AIRPASS <BR>Fares & Conditions <BR>FARE LEVELS <BR>USD 139.00<BR>Per Flight Sector - Includes travel between Singapore and the following SilkAir destinations: Lombok, Medan, Padang, Solo in Indonesia; Langkawi, in Malaysia; Phuket, Chiang Mai in Thailand<BR><BR>USD 239.00<BR>Per Flight Sector - Includes travel between Singapore and the following SilkAir destinations: Kunming, Xiamen in China; Manado, Makassar in Indonesia; Yangon in Myanmar; Cebu in the Philippines.<BR><BR>IF ANYONE KNOWS of any other PASSES please post..<BR><BR> <BR>

Ca,<BR><BR>You can drive but not all the signposts are in English. Not a problem in Singapore or Malaysia but driving in Bangkok could be a little testing.<BR><BR>Most people like to take the train along the west coast of Malaysia then you can stop off at KL, Penang and possibly also the island of Langkawai.<BR><BR>In Thailand I got off the train and travelled to Surat Thani by Tuk Tuk and then went to the east coast islands. But you can continue northwards through Thainland by train to Bangkok and there are places on both coasts to stop off at. The trains have a number of classes and are very cheap even in first class.<BR><BR>

Thanks John,<BR><BR>The idea of driving is exciting. I wouldn't drive in the cities anyway. Driving in my own city drives me mad.<BR><BR>So I've been reading other posts about Air Passes. I'm getting the feeling that you can only fly in or out of one city. So if I'm in Bali and want to fly to Singapore I would have to go through HK first? It seems odd. <BR>I called Cathay and they really weren't to helpful. They told me to call closer to my trip because EVERYTHING is subject to change. Isn't that the truth :)

If it is a Cathy airpass that kind of makes sense as Cathay is based there. It has loads of flights all over Asia (and elsewhere) from its HK hub.<BR><BR>It is a bit like if you wanted to fly Continental from Boston to Miami - you would probably have to fly through either newark or Houston (Continental hubs) and change planes.<BR><BR>I think you will find therefore that taking a lot of flights on Cathay will take up a lot of time.<BR><BR>I think that if you were to go Tokyo to Beiging you may well find yourself flying from Tokyo to HK and changing planes to Beijing. This will take a day. Distances in Asia are often longer than they first appear on maps.<BR><BR>To get from Bali to Singpaore is easy - there are lots of flights (under $100) or you can take a boat from Java.

I took the cathey trip 3 months ago, and no you don't always have to return too HK.. <BR><BR>just go too cathey web site and look at the map. for instance you can take a plane from bangkok too singapore. <BR><BR>http://www.cathay-usa.com/offers/aap/destinations.asp

ttt

There are plenty to see and experience in Singapore. It need not be expensive too, if you know how.<BR><BR>Why not take a look at <BR><BR> www.the-inncrowd.com ?<BR><BR>There are lots of info and photos too.<BR><BR>

It's wonderful that you have a month to travel in Asia but my suggestion would be to narrow your scope.<BR>Right now, mainland China is booming with tourism for very little $$$$. We just returned from a 22 day tour with China Focus. Unless you have unlimted funds, take a look at their website<BR><BR> CHINA FOCUS TOURS out of San Francisco<BR><BR>Their price for 22 days was $2495 including all meals, great hotels, 4 inner flights in china and tour guides that I would compare to professors!!! <BR><BR>It's hard to travel on your own in the orient....and you get to see so much more on a tour.<BR><BR>Total emersion into the Chinese culture is an experience you'll never forget.<BR><BR>The Three Gorges dam is about to be flooding most areas along the famous Yantzee River. You sound like you are younger and I wish we could have gone when we were young. It's an incredible insight into China today.....you are so wise to do your traveling NOW<BR><BR>Good luck...with wherever you talk your friend into going.

If you haven't been to Asia before, and may not return anytime soon after this trip, go for this itinerary. I agree, though, that it should be done in reverse. If you have close to 30 days, it's not that bad.