julies

I'm just starting to explore options and ideas for Jan. Feb. travel (yes for two months from now) since we never plan particularly far out. And, we do not want to go a place where this is the hottest season of the year and where we will absolutely die of the heat. We did that last year in southern India, planning our trip a bit too late in the winter season and saying never again to a vacation where we sweat to death.

My husband and I want to escape the horrible winters where we live and are open to ideas so I can start investigating. In addition to the usual places, we would be open to places that are not the same old, same old where everyone goes. Now that we are retired and have lots of free time, the past couple winters we've done India-intensive and also Nepal. So, we've now spent a total of 4 months in India and 3 weeks in Nepal.

As far as SE Asia the only place we have been is Vietnam. We were there for two weeks at New Year's about 8 to 10 years ago and did a different trip than the norm. We had a couple days on our own in Saigon and in Hanoi, we did a custom five day bicycle trip in the far reaches of the Mekong Delta, and we spent about 5 days on a custom tour around Hanoi (including Bai Tu Long Bay and Bac Ha areas) with an agency that specialized in introducing tourists to the "real" Vietnam in small villages. And, they lived up to their promise. We would not be averse to visiting Vietnam again to see some places we were unable to see last time.

We are in our 60s and have moved into more of the slow travel mode, preferring not to be constantly on the go to try to fit in each and every top ten tourist site. However, if to get the most out of a destination it means moving around more we are willing to do that, just not every night or two. I'd classify us as moderate budget travelers, and so that also comes in to play in deciding where to go. Our typical preference is for the smaller, family-run and unique lodging rather than more sterile chain hotels. While we typically make all of our own arrangements, in past visits to some of the more developing countries we've visited, we've used agencies to arrange things like cars and drivers and to arrange visits to places we can't access on our own.

We've done a lot of traveling and are pretty adventuresome, but I think our days of wanting to sleep in a local villager's straw-filled bed (as we did on our 5 days around Hanoi) are over. We like nature, outdoor activities like hiking and kayaking and biking and boating (and my husband is a fly-fisherman), cultural interactions, interesting architecture, history, learning about different cultures, historic sites etc. We are not shoppers or partiers, and we don't want to go to the beach to just veg out. Excessively touristy is not for us, but we do want some tourist infrastructure.

I'd appreciate any ideas for us. I'm also interested in other countries than those I tagged; the website only allows tagging of five countries at once. Thanks much!

sartoric

What about flying into Bangkok, then on to Yangon. Spend 12 days or so in Myanmar, then fly to Chiang Mai stay a few days, travel to Chiang Rai, then slow boat down the Mekong to Luang Prabang.

Many on this board will recommend the Apsara in LP, charming hotel in a charming town.

From there you could fly to Cambodia, temples of Angkor Wat, perhaps then Kampot, then Phnom Penh. Fly to Bangkok for a few days before flying home.

tripplanner001

There's plenty to keep you busy in Thailand as Sartoric suggested. You could also consider Indonesia and make your way across Java and Bali, perhaps another island. On Bali, you can get away from the crowds if you base yourself at one of the villages on the northern half of the island although Ubud's a wonderful place to linger. Sri Lanka also checks the boxes of what you're looking for.

julies

Thanks much. I'll start looking into these as possibilities. Did I maybe read somewhere that this is not a good time of year for Indonesia? Can't remember for sure if I heard this or not and if so why.

Guenmai

Thailand and Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia and other parts of Malaysia.

Happy Travels!

crellston

Not a great time for Indonesia weather wise. I find this site yo be very helpful as a base reference for weather in SEA. Easy to click on the country and then the month to get an idea of the weather

Given your specific requirements and time available, I would consider Laos and an overland trip into Vietnams far north. In two months you could conceivably even star off in southern Lao - 4000 islands area, bolavens plateau etc. Before heading into the north via Vientiane, Luang Prabang and then to the great hiking areas in the far north around Luang Namtha, Muang Sing, Phonsali etc. The village experience is there if you want it but there are better standard ( still basic) accommodations available there's days.

You could then cross overland into Vietnam - near the historic Dien Bien Phu and then either to Sapa An its environs and back to Hanoi or the other way south via son la and Mai Chau. Most of the way along this trip would be relatively "cool.

Lots to see, some great hiking, scenery and, given the number of rivers, even fishing!

julies

More places to start looking into.

crellston--Can you link that weather site?

Thanks.

crellston

Sorry!

http://www.selectiveasia.com/vietnam-holidays/weather

just click on the country tab for other countries.

thursdaysd

You might consider Myanmar - it is only going to get more crowded. But crellston's suggestion is a good one. My first visit to SEA included both south and north Laos and I loved it. Definitely try to include a river trip in the north.

HappyTrvlr

I would like to take Sartoric's trip as so many are on my bucket list.

MrsBillT

OK I can't resist, the poster wants to go to the "real Vietnam". Usually when I see this the posters are referring to the smaller towns, away from the capital big cities , the tourist sights etc. All well and good but the big cities with all , their tourist sights are real as well. Yes they are overrun with tourists (count us as tourists too) and have a lot of the amenities that we sometimes require. Perhaps the phrase "real" really means that one wants to get away and see how life and culture exists away from the big cities.

I'm just having a little fun with the subject, good luck to the poster and yes we wish we could spend months like they are planning to see other parts of the world.

yestravel

Hi julies! Some great suggestions. One thing you want to be careful with particularly in Feb is the pollution caused by the burning of the fields. I know this occurs in N. Thailand and Laos. We saw a bit of it in VN in late Feb. and lots in N.Thailand.

Mrsbill- couldn't agree with you more.

julies

A quick clarification. We already did the "real" Vietnam deal years ago and are not looking for that. And, yes, I'd agree with you that what I (and the agency we used when we did that trip) was referring to was the countryside away from the tourist resorts and larger cities and typical tourist-built experiences--in other words, smaller villages and towns.

Thanks for the tip about pollution issues. When we visited Vietnam we went through one town that was in the coal belt, and it was so bad that even the leaves of the trees were covered in coal dust.