mdersh23

My wife and I are thinking about doing a two-week trip to Asia around Christmas this year. There is so much to see, but we are focusing on a week in Thailand and a week in China. With the language barriers do you think that a package tour makes more sense or a do-it-yourself tour? If package tours, are there any that you recommend?

JamesA

I can't help you for China but there are quite a few posters who no doubt will come in and answer that one, for Thailand not necessary as tour desks, hotel staff etc all speak English and it it a very very easy place to travel around. Around Christmas believe me people are booking 'soon', Thailand generally gets packed out hotel wise over that period. You do not say where you are flying from but make sure you get an airline routing that is cost effective for both Chian and BKK, you may well find that a routing including HKG and Bangkok might be the best.

Cicerone

My experience as a tourist and also doing business in both Thailand and China is that you will have no trouble sightseeing on you own even if you don't speak the local language. If you don't want to tour a place yourself guidebook in hand, you can hire English-speaking guides or join group tours of places like the Forbidden City or the Temple of Heaven in Beijing and the Grand Palace in Bangkok (there are audio guides of the Forbidden City which are good as well). You can get around fairly easily using only English or having your destination written in Thai or Chinese (your hotel can help you with this). The Skyway elevated train system in Bangkok has English signs and is very easy to use.

The consensus on this board is that you do not need to join an organized tour to see either country, but if you feel you would be more comfortable doing so, that is always your choice.

I assume you know that a week in China will barely scratch the surface of this vast country. Also, December will be freezing in most of the main tourist cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Xian, and places like Guilin will only be in the low 50s F. The exception is Hong Kong where the weather is perfect, in the mid-70s F and sunny. Christmas is a great time to be in Hong Kong as all the skyscrapers are lit up with neon signs to a mind-boggling extent. December is perfect weather-wise in Thailand as well, hot of course but little rain. It may be a bit of packing challenge to bring all the heavy clothes you would need for China as well as the summer clothes you will need for Thailand. Just something to bear in mind, because those sweaters really take up a lot of room. . .Of course one advantage is that nothing will be crowded in northern China, you would have the Forbidden City pretty much to yourselves.

Take a look at weatherbase.com and worldclimate.com for historical average temps and rainfall for the places in which you are interested.

There is lot of good info on this site about traveling in both countties, run a search. Also, get a good guidebook to each country.

Sameera_Anand

I do not know where you are flying from but both China and Thailand IMO offer enough to justify 2 weeks. In case u choose Thailand and want to do another country Laos or Camb lend themselves well to a short 3-4 day getaway. Cicerone's point re temps is very apt and u need to bear in mind that u will need to acclimatise post flights.

MikeBuckley

To add a wrinkle into your options, you won't have any problem filling your two weeks using a few days in Angkor, Cambodia and the remaining time in Thailand. If you choose that option, be sure to check out Bangkok Air's options for vouchers that result in reduced costs.

rhkkmk

i like mike's idea or maybe a couple of days in hong kong and the rest in thailand...but frankly 2 weeks in thailand is also just wetting your wistle....you can see and do alot, but there is much more to do....remember that it is very hot and humid in thailand and you have to move somewhat slow...its not like europe where you can tear around and accomplish lots in a short time

MikeBuckley

<i>2 weeks in thailand is also just wetting your wistle</i>

Indeed. We spent 2 1/2 weeks in Thailand and didn't go to the River Kwai area, didn't go trekking to the hill tribes, didn't go near the Golden Triangle, didn't ride an elephant or go to a school that trains elephants, didn't see all the major Buddhas or temples in Bangkok or Chaing Mai, didn't take a cooking class, and didn't get a Thai massage. We also spent only one day shopping. Yet we stayed very active and were rewarded with something unique and gratifying every single day.

Regarding the slower pace of Asia that is often mentioned, whether due to culture or heat and humidity, we didn't experience that slower pace. That may have to do more with our approach to travel and less to do with differences between Asia and the rest of the world. We found that restaurant waiters were quicker to take orders than anywhere we've been. Though they were slow to deliver checks, not out of inattentiveness but instead due to their sense of courtesy, they would promptly deliver the check when it was requested. We stood in no long lines, including those at the hottest of the tourist hot spots. We never waited for a table at a restaurant. Drivers and shuttles showed up precisely on time (try that in Spain or South America.) Clerks at the hotels and retail stores did what they said they would do when they said they would do it. And though it took 32 hours after leaving our home to arrive at our Bangkok hotel, we thoroughly enjoyed long, bustling days of active sight-seeing each and every day until we vegged out in the islands at the end of the trip. Yes, the heat and humidity in Angkor caused us to take a two-hour respite at noon, but those were especially long days when we showered, ate breakfast and left the hotel no later than 7:30am and didn't return to the hotel until the sun had set.