How many days is a good amount for each.
Hanoi
Ha Long
Bangkok
Chang Mai

Thanks

Hanoi -- 3 or 4 days
Ha Long - 1 day
Bagkok - 6-8 days
Chiang Mai - 3 days

I'd give Hanoi a bit longer - I spent a week there. I'd recommend 5 days.

6-8 days in Bangkok is that right? Sorry for my ignorance but is there that much to see for that many full days? Can we get by with 4?

How much time to spend in any place depends on you and your interests. There is plenty to keep someone busy and delighted in Bangkok for weeks on end (how long would you recommend for New York City? Paris? London?). For my interests, I loved Hanoi, I love Bangkok (and spend some time there almost every year), and find Chiang Mai rather tame and boring (as well as polluted and inconvenient). Others feel differently. Do your research on each location so you have a better idea of how much time is right for you.

Thanks, kathie, I have been doing some research, I'm familiar w/ how these boards work, have been posting on Europe for a while. I'm just unfamiliar w/ Asia. If someone would ask is 2 days enough in Paris
I'd say no, you need at least 4, my opinion even though yes there is enough to keep someone busy for weeks. I guess I'm asking what is the minimum # days in each place to see the major sights or do the city justice without breezing thru as if I were a flight attendent on a 36 hr. layover. Thanks

It depends on what you want to do. Halong Bay and Hanoi I would say a week, include Sapa say 10 days - 2 weeks.

Bangkok and Chiang Mai, if you just want to go shopping give it a week. You might consider a two or three day trek around Chiang Mai, ride the elephants etc., so maybe a week.

http://www.travelsinasia.com

What are your interests? What is your budget? Have you been to SE Asia before? Knowing a little about you would be helpful to us.

There are many people who hate Bangkok and others who love it.

Bangkok 3 full days minimum
Hanoi 3 full days minimum
Chiang Mai 3 full days minimum

I didn't go to Ha Long Bay

I would say:
Hanoi 5 days
Halong overnight
Bangkok 5 days
CM 3 nights

I am an artist by trade so museums and architecture are my main interests. I like the beach for maybe 2 days but am not one to relax for a week. I usually travel not in the budget catagory I did that for many years, now I dont' have to so I prefer nicer hotels, but as far as food I'm just as happy with street food. I do like to shop but most of all I like interacting with local people. Also like adventurous activities with the exception of jumping out of planes. Thanks for your help.

i agree with gloria....i would add a day to halong as it is quite a ways from hanoi for a day trip....we stayed overnite in hyphong and went for a day trip to halong which was more than enough for us...

My opinion for minimums:
Hanoi - 3 nights
Halong - 2 nights ON A SAILING JUNK (don't bother with the town! Make sure your junk will take you kayaking -- it's magic)
Bangkok - 3 nights
Chang Mai (dunno, chose to skip it)
Sapa - 2 nights

Based on your description of yourself, I really recommend two additional considerations - Sapa, 2 nights (plus one overnight train), and the Mekong Delta, 2 nights.

You will meet, hike, converse and trade with the hilltribe people. They wear traditional dress which are absolutely beautiful; the Black Hmong women's hands are completely died blue to the wrists from working with Indigo. And a must do, is to attend the market at Bac Ha. Thrilling.

We bicycled along the Mekong Delta and met so many, many genuine people, young to old, delighted to talk with and touch the foreigners.

Victoria Hotels in Vietnam. Old Bangkok Inn in Bangkok.

If you are interested in weaving, silk, Laos has glorious things. Luang Prabang is spiritual; you can get up before dawn, buy baskets of rice from the local vendors and place the alms in the brass bowls of the young monks as they silently pass, in single file. Hotel Phoa Vao.

www.trailsofindochina.com

Thank you so much e1. Sass yours looks like a plan. I'm thinking around labor day in September. I'll try to talk my friend into it otherwise go it alone. Is going it alone o.k. I fortunatly have buddy passes for Delta and although their flights are operated by other airlines I'm pretty sure I can use the buddy passes if it's a Delta flight #. Psych!

laartista, going it alone is totally doable! I just returned a few months ago from a 5 week solo trip through Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. It was one of the best trips I have ever taken!

I can't wait for my next solo trip!

Oh I am so psyched. Myfamily always laughs at me because I get an idea and then there is no stopping me I am stuck on it- so my mind is made up, Sept. it is- hoping that's a good month to go. planning on relocating to Barcelona in Feb. 2008 so want to get in a big trip before that. Is Sapa a long way from Hanoi? And also I've been reading about EVA air, just in case my buddy pass is not usable because the flights are operated by other airlines. I have never heard of them, are they reputable? Thanks for the replys- I've become addicted to Flickr looking at pix. LOL

EVA Air is a reputable airline.

You might want to take a look at www.weatherbase.com for each location you are considering.

Sapa is an overnight train ride from Hanoi. Some people love it, some hate it. You might want to read more about it before you decide.

Thanks Kathie. do you think I should skip Sapa and stay longer in Hanoi or maybe the Mekong Delta. I've been online for 5 hours looking at stuff and the more I see the more excited I get. Never been to Asia and I think as an artist it will open a whole new world of inspiration to me for my work.

I think you should choose an appropriate number of places for the time you have. There are endless numbers of fascinating places to visit in Asia. I've been traveling in Asia for over 20 years and have certainly not exhausted all of the wonderful options. The most common error of the first-timer is to try to go to to many places. Asia lends itself best to slow travel. If you move to fast, you'll miss what makes a place special.

You can sample some of our recent travels at www.marlandc.com

Do check the weather site I referenced above - some places are very rainy in Sept, others are so hot at that time.

Eva Air is very good. I have a friend who lives in Thailand that flies Eva Air every year to the states. He flies business class that gives more legroom which he likes.
I have been to Hanoi 2 times which like Kathy, is a favorite of mine. I would also say go to Halong,but stay overnight as it is a long ride there.
Bangkok 3 times visited. If you enjoy people watching and shopping you will enjoy the city. Being an artist you will find the wats fascinating.
Just read you last trip on your travels to Provence, Nice, Florence and Rome. You are a brave adventuresome person. My daughter drove us out of Avignon to some of the same towns you visited. She says never again. That's when she got her migraine.
You have a fascinating way of telling a story and with so much humor.
I will look forward to reading your next adventure to Asia. You will enjoy this trip and find as many interesting things as you found in Europe.

Thanks so much for the link Kathie- Awesome pictures. And thank you too to Maryann. That was a great trip to Provence. Not as adventurous as this last one to Morocco, peeing behind a bush in the Sahara definitly had me out of my element. LOL