Fabuluis

Hello friends,

I am just starting out a plan on a long overdue trip to Asia and need help with ideas. I am traveling with a companion and we are trying to keep to a budget but can afford a few nice things (around $12K - $15K each hopefully). I am open to almost any idea... 6 months is a long time. I can say that now until its closer to the end.

Does anyone have a good route they can recommend? I'd rather not backtrack and want the most efficient way so not sure if it is best to start north and work south or vice versa. I want to keep in mind the rainy seasons as well and possibly avoid these times. Travel dates are July to December. So far below are the countries that I have been mulling over. What places are a must to visit? I would like to do a combination of site seeing and really learning about the culture by traveling into the villages. We are open to both the noisy of the city and the peace and quiet of the sanctuaries. We both young 27 and 31 and in good shape and will be backpacking around.

1. Cambodia
2. China (mainland)
3. Indonesia
4. Japan - (can't afford to stay long as very expensive)
5. Laos
6. Malaysia
7. Maldives - (may not visit due to budget constraints)
8. Myanmar - (not sure if this is safe to visit)
9. Philippines - (my home country I know where to go)
10. Singapore
11. Taiwan - (possibly skip over as very similar to other countries around it)
12. Thailand
13. Vietnam

VietnamVacations

Hello

You can experience Vietnam one month: Hanoi - Sapa- Halong- hue-Hoian - Danang - Qui Nhon - Nha Trang - Hochiminh - Can Tho - MuiNe.
I don't know if you like to stay on beaches or not.

Cheers

thursdaysd

I spent four months in Asia as part of a round the world trip in 2004, you can read my itinerary at www.wilhelmswords.com/rtw2004. Myanmar is quite safe to visit. Have you considered India? Or Nepal or Tibet - it would be a shame to miss the mountains.

glorialf

I'd say this is too many places. I would say you should spend at least the following amount of time in each place so pick fewer and do them well. My top choices for 6 months would be Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma and then either China or Japan.
Thailand - 4-5weeeks
Vietnam - 3 weeks
Laos - 10 days
Cambodia - 7 days
Burma - 3 weeks (very safe)
China - 4-6 weeks
Indonesia -- 4 weeks
Singapore - 3 days
Japan -- 4 weeks and you CAN do it cheaply
Taiwan - 3 days
Can't tell you about malaysia or the Philippines.

dl

rhkkmk

i think i would plan my flights around a home base....so perhaps start and finish in the phillipines if you know that well....

from manila i would then fly to the northern most point and work my way south, ending up again in the phillipines...

in china i would pick 3-5 places that i wanted to visit and skip the rest...

maldives is probably out for budget reasons and it is out of the travel loop really..

with careful planning you could hit all the other places nicely...

Kathie

Take some time to read about the various countries so you know what most interests you. I think you are trying to cover too many countries, unless you just want a brief visit to a few places in each. Also, you are covering so much territory, you'll need to think about the weather. The northern part of China is very cold in the winter, so if you want to visit Beijing, for instance, you might try to go when it is not cold, so you don't have to take both warm clothese and clothes for the tropics.

If you opt to visit all of these countries, you'll be flying a lot, which can eat up your budget.

Gloria gave you some rough guidelines for a number of countries. She didn't know how much time to allot to Malaysia, but I's say you could fill 4 weeks easily. If you go there, do visit Malaysian Borneo - a very different experience than all of the other places lsited.

Six months! What a wonderful luxury! I'm sure you'll have a marvelous time.

(If you are interested in Burma, please do some reading about it so you know what the situation is.)

Fabuluis

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I am going to try and cut down the places to visit and concentrate more on the cities in the few places I do go.

heymikey

If I were to take a 6-month backpacking trip around East/Southeast Asia, this is what I would do:

Start trip - Fly to HK

LEG 1: China loop (at least 1.5 months)
HK - Hangzhou - Shanghai - Nanjing - Beijing - Pingyao/Luoyang - Xi'an - Chengdu - Lhasa - Kunming - Dali/Lijiang - Yangshuo - Macau

Fly from Macau to Bangkok through Air Asia or Tiger Airways for under $50 total

LEG 2: Indochina loop (3 months)
Bangkok - Cambodia - Vietnam - Laos - Northern Thailand - Bangkok

LEG 3: Bangkok to Singapore overland (at least 1 month)
Bangkok - a couple of islands (2 weeks island hopping) - Penang - Cameron Highlands or Taman Negara - Kuala Lumpur - Melaka - Singapore

Fly Singapore to Tokyo

LEG 4: Japan (2 weeks)
Tokyo - Hiroshima - Kyoto - Tokyo

Fly back home from Tokyo

-------------------
Anyway, 6 months might not be enough to visit all the countries you listed. But then again, that depends on what you want to see.

pati1

Hm... Lucky you! 6 months is something I've been dreaming of~! I've spend 2 month in SE Asia, and the only thing I would add to your trip is Borneo (unless you wanted to wisit it). For me one of the most amazing adventures! Especialy trip with Uncle Tom!

Fabuluis

Thanks Heymikey... that was exactly what I needed it gives me a good idea of the cities to visit with a rough time estimate. I can use this as a base plan to start building my trip.

Does anyone know a good website for hotels/hostels to visit? I don't want to lock in with a reservation but as long as I know the name and location of 2 or 3 places I will call when I get there. I still want the trip to be half about the freedom to go when and where I want to.

thursdaysd

If you're looking for hostels/low-end hotels, pick up (or borrow) the Lonely Planet guidebooks. (Or Moon, or Rough Guides, or Footprints, but LP has better logistics.)

heymikey

You can book hostels through www.hostelasia.com

mrwunrfl

For low priced lodging in Japan: http://www.itcj.jp/

Fabuluis

I am planning out leg 1 of my trip as we speak. It will start off in Japan. Below is my itinerary so far. It sounds like the best way to get around is by train. I am planning on spending 2 weeks as this is the most expensive part of the trip.

LEG 1:
1. Tokyo (2 days)
2. Mt Fuji(2 Days)
3. Kyoto (3 Days)
4. Osaka (3 Days)
5. Hiroshima (3 Days)
6. Tokyo (1 Day)
7. Fly to Beijing

My question is, is the train the most efficient and cost saving way to get around? Also should I be visiting any other cities? I need to get back to Tokyo to catch the plane to China for the next Leg of the trip.

Thanks for your help....

blgerber

Have you thought about India? Its amazing and very cheap.