lmedley

I am trying to nail down my itinerary on my all-asia pass, and I was hoping someone could help with my last few destinations. Which is better to see: Cebu, Penang, Bali, Taipei, or Sapporo. I have two places left open and can't decide...heard Bali may not be very smart right now.

I am going to Singapore, Tokyo, Nagoya-Kyoto, Bangkok, Ho Chi Min (hopefully to Cambodia from there), Beijing, and I will be based out of Hong Kong.

I would love to go to Burma and Laos, Bhutan and others, but I don't think I will have time. Any other suggestions or advice?

orgy7

Bali. since it is a whole diffrent flavour from the rest.

Panang/langkawi. or KL you can see south east asian muslim culture.


I too have used the all Asia pass. and one thing I must say is that you must have a verry open schedual since itineraries change as the agents try too build you a ticket.


NOTE it may be easer and cheeper going cambodia from thailand..

lmedley

Thanks for your response. How is the best way to get to Cambodia then...I can only fly into Bangkok once, and I have planned a week there (Thailand)...Is there a better place to go than Vietnam then??? Or should I keep that as a definite?

So you think Bali and Penang are definites?

Any other suggestions? I am quickly learning that it is difficult to work the All-Asia Pass...but, hopefully it will be worth it.

Kathie

If you want to go to Cambodia, it is much more accessible from Bangkok than from HCMC. So you might want to include an excursion to Cambodia with your Bangkok stop. You can fly to Siem Reap non-stop from Bangkok or you can go overland. It depends on what you have more of - time or money. By the way, generally, Hanoi is a more recommended destination in VN than is HCMC, but it depends on what you are interested in. I would also recommend Bali as an excellent additon to your itinerary.

Also, how much time do you have? Burma requires more time, and Bhutan certainly requires more time and money (and it's hard to believe that your airpass would include it).

lmedley

THanks Kathie. I am not sure what I want to see in Vietnam yet, but I have just heard that the Mekong Valley is beautiful place. What is Hanoi like? My problem is that I have to book everything now, and fast, because space is limited and I've already had to readjust my schedule several times. Any suggestions for must sees? You think Hanoi is better than HCMC? How so?

How long will I need in Beijing to see it and the Great Wall and Xian? ANything else to see up there?

Got Bali booked. THanks. Also have Singapore, Japan (that's my area of specialty), Penang, and Thailand. I'll be based out of HK.

Would love any and all advice about must-sees...Thanks!

rkkwan

You can spend a week in and around Beijing and still haven't finished it. For example, the Great Walls is at least a half-day trip; the Forbidden City is another half-day trip, in the least. To get a good glimpse of that city, I'd say at least 3 full days.

Xi'an very far from Beijing. About 2 hours by plane, I believe, or 13 hours by the fastest overnight trains (1,200km or about 750miles).

orgy7

are you using the 3 month option.?


im not a fan of Panang. it's not a must see. but it is near langkawi which seems too have good reputation as beach destination and as I mentioneed you can get a small glimps of diferent culture. I prefer KL in malaysia. or. may'be going too Borneo from KL seems like a more interesting option. it seems as if your an adventureas person and Borneo may fit the bill perfectly..


Maybe skip bhutan and some other options.. I am a world wind travaler by nature. but travaling around asia using the asia pass beet me up real welll. I desided too skip many places I was dieng too see..

the trick is/was using certain cities/countries as bases. you can use thailand too easilly get too cambodia/laose/Burma/and malaysia.

loung pabang.(SP).is a biutifull UNESCO protected litle city in Loas worth checking out..

Maybe skip Malaysia and add another couple of weeks too bangkok and from there getting visas are Easy and transportaion modern..

if your in bkk long enough and choose too go too malaysia you can use air asia and get budget airfare too Panag/cities in Borneo/KL and others.

do us a favour and show us your itinuray. sharing how long you plan too stay in a certain place

lmedley

Thanks for all your helpful info. I wish I could fly to Thailand twice, but the Pass won't let you fly anywhere twice, and so I decided to fly to Ho CHi Min City first for a few days...I thought that would a least put me in Vietnam and near Loas and Cambodia. THen HK (where I am based for the summer working). Traveling on weekends. NExt to Singapore, then the Bali (thru Denpassar???OK??), then Tokyo, then Penang (should I change this one?), then to Osaka (remember, I am on weekends otherwise, I would do a whole week or two in Japan) to see Kyoto and Nara areas, then to Bangkok. I couldn't get any flights on the weekends into Beijing, and so I will try to do that on my own. Do you know how expensive it is to do this...I hae left a couple of weekends open. Maybe fly to Xian too, if I have the time.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

rkkwan

Imedley - Cathay only started its Beijing service not long ago, with only 2 flights a week, I believe. So, it'd be very hard to find space and to schedule.

I am not sure how much it'd be to fly from HKG-PEK or Xian-HKG, but you can definitely wait until you arrive in HK and get a travel agent to book for you. It shouldn't be more than about US$150 each way. And domestic flights in China is cheap, so making Beijing and Xi'an on one trip will save you a lot of money (including visa fees), compared to making two seperate trips to China.

And if you want it really cheap, you can fly out of the Shenzhen Airport instead of HKG. There are buses from Hong Kong, but the border crossing between Hong Kong and Shenzhen is very messy, and is not recommended. Or you can also try taking the ferry from HK to the Shenzhen airport, which should be better. Just some ideas to save money.

lmedley

Ooh...great tip. Thanks!

Will I need visa to go to Macau? Just curious.

And I still am not sure about Vietnam...Hanoi v. HCMC--and the ease of traveling from HCMC to cool places.

What is Borneo like? Would I go from Kuala Lumpur? Is KL a good place to fly into rather to go other cool places...rather than going to Penang?

Ya'll are great! Thanks for all your comments so far!

rkkwan

Macau doesn't require a visa for tourists from most developed countries up to either 30 or 90-day of stay, including U.S. Citizens. Rules are similar to Hong Kong. You can contact a Chinese Embassy if you have doubts or questions.

orgy7

what do you mean by cool.. do you mean phat, chunky, great. Or cool weather destination like Mangolia. Korea.

Anyways Penang is not cool on either tip. actualy KL has some pritty cool clubs..

Georgetown penang. is basically used as a base for visa runs too thailand. so barelly any one is there for more then 2 days and all they talk about is going back too koh Samui or Phuket.
actually there are some nice calonial British boulding in the town.


As for Borneo just type it into search engine and find out more about the area. you can stay in a tribal longhouses deep in the jungles where headhunting was practised or you can stay in a 5 star shangri la resort.

what are you trying too get out of the trip.. are you contry hopping, looking for culture. looking for fun and parties.

RKWAN the asia pass uses dragon air as a shutle threw out china. and it is an extra option.

rkkwan

Hm... on Cathay's USA site, I can only find the Dragonair extra to Shanghai for USD$400. CX's own Beijing flight is not included, nor is any other KA flights. But that's just what's on the website.

Anyway, $400 for Shanghai sounds a little bit on the highside, but that might be the going rate, I don't know...

rkkwan

Oh, actually, Beijing IS included. They just haven't updated some of their web pages yet.

lmedley

Ha! I mean cool as in interesting, beautiful, fun...

Yes, Beijing is on the Pass now, but it is hard to find space...I hope that a ticket there won't be $400 if I do it on my own. I will be working and going to class in HK, and so my schedule is tight. I think I want mostly culture and beauty on this trip. Beautiful beaches where I can relax, and then great history and culture...temples, museums, etc. And, of course shopping! But, I figure I have HK and BKK for that.

So I get the picture that no one seems impressed with Penang??? Can I fly into Penang and then go to Phuket or Koh Phi Phi?

What do ya'll think of Hanoi (N. area) vs. Ho Chi Min City/Mekong Valley?

orgy7

going too phi phi and phucket is simple tons of back packers and Expats plow the rout all day and night on bus mini bus and train..

you can get too phucket from KL from about $60 per way
http://www.airasia.com

RKWAN my bad I guess I havnt checked up in a while..it seems they droped Dragon air.