Places to visit in Asia?
 

My partner and I are trying to make it work - we've been through hell and back last year and we both thought it was time to enjoy each other's company again. So, we thought of going on a trip for 6 weeks, just the two of us - one week per country. Our first idea was South Korea, Japan, Malaysia. I need three more. thanks for the suggestions!

Did you mean to post this on the Asia board? You will get more replies there. Providing time of year, budget and interests will get you better replies.

I will just say that you could easily spend all six weeks in the three countries you list - I spent five weeks just in Japan last year and it was my second visit. I would add Taiwan and leave it at that, possibly subtracting Malaysia..

Agree that you'll get more responses if you re-post your question on the Asia Forum - use the "Change Forum" link at the top of your thread.

Now, in our early years of travel we regularly did similar trips (i.e. X number of countries in X number of weeks) and always found them pretty hectic. For example we did one 6 week trip to 5 countries and ended up spending the a total of 156 hours (the equivalent of 6.5 days) in airports and airplanes - a waste of a full week.

After that trip we switched our travel style and decided to concentrate on visiting one or two countries on each trip. One of the best trips we have ever taken was 6 weeks driving ing around New Zealand. We planned our itinerary so we spent 3 to 4 nights in each location and drove no more than 4 hours between stopover points. The leisurely pace allowed us to explore a lot of country, stopping at many points of interest we would otherwise have skipped over because of time constraints and get a real feel for the less touristy areas of New Zealand. The trip was much more satisfying than the our previous whirlwind visits to multiple countries. For us travel now comes down to quality over quantity.

thursdaysd

thank you for your reply!

time of year - April-May 2018
budget - i don't mind hostels/b&b's - moderate costs prefered
interests - sightseeing preferably nature wonders/infra - no jungles pls

really? two weeks per country? i will seriously consider that.
Taiwan - check! will look into this too!

RoamsAround

New Zealand. thank you for the suggestion. maybe on the next trip - if we will make it. it's so difficult to repair a damaged relationship. sometimes i can't bear to look at him, but you know.... sigh

sorry for venting...

anyway, these countries --- wifi is good and available anywhere? the reason im asking is because of our online therapy sessions at https://www.betterhelp.com. using my mobile for that when out of the country will be very expensive. we have to be in session 2-3 times a week.

(oh, change forum, ok.. thanks!)

yikes, i tried changing forums and it's redirecting me to Asia but my post is still here

You will need to start a new thread on the Asia forum. Same info as your first post, plus the dates, budget and interests.

Do you live in the US? If so, look at getting a month by month contract with T-Mobile.

https://www.t-mobile.com/travel-abro...-simple-global

But wifi will be everywhere in the kind of places you are looking to stay in. Also, I highly recommend spending time with some guidebooks. Borrow the glossy ones from the library (or hang out at Barnes and Noble) although you will want books like Lonely Planet for the trip.

Six weeks is a long trip and in some ways, five months is a long time off. Any way you can take a week or ten days sooner, during the winter, to some lovely place like the Caribbean or NZ, just to relax and have fun? It will be easier to plan for a somewhat shorter trip (4 to 4 & 1/2 weeks) to a couple of countries in Asia in the Spring. I have not been there yet, but my best friend lives in NZ, has literally traveled the world and thinks NZ is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Good luck.

Six weeks of travel, “just the two of us” when you are still requiring intense therapy for your relationship is a bad idea. Any travel is stressful, and the type of trip you are considering especially so. When you encounter inevitable difficulties--a poor choice of accommodation, a missed connection, problems communicating in an unfamiliar language, traveller’s diarrhea, exhaustion, lost belongings, unanticipated expenses,--you will have no one to turn to except each other. The tensions will reverberate within your relationship, and the natural tendency will be to blame your partner.

Take it slowly. Plan a short vacation with fewer unknowns--a week or two at a resort or a destination closer to home--where you will have more time to relax and enjoy each other.

I’m curious what your online therapist thinks of your plan.

Eliztravels2, that is exactly what I was thinking and did not know how to say it so well. Glad you did. Committing to six weeks of intense travel is hard enough without other issues.

Aside from that, just throwing out the idea of one country per week is not a reasonable plan. The OP needs to decide what they want to see and do in each country, then figure how much time they need to do that.

I you are planning your holiday in Asia then I must suggest you to think about India because this country is reach in culture and very affordable for international traveler. Specially Rajasthan is one of the best state to visit in India.

Thanks

Forget India, it is graduate level travel. Travel can make or break a relationship, but no point in making it more difficult than it needs to be.

Thailand, China and Taiwan

Definitely add Taiwan! But if you want to go to China, maybe try Hong Kong instead. Its a bit more expensive, but if you don't speak the language its much much better to stay somewhere you can communicate well. No need to add the extra stress. And you can always pop into mainland for a day if you really want with the Shenzhen train.

Wifi and SIM are available at all 711 in each of these countries, and you can pay by GB or per usage, whichever you prefer.

If you're doing something like online therapy though you may want to check about a vpn since a lot of sites are blocked in Asia with government censorship. And it'll help with any potential "tourist target hacks" that sometimes happen abroad. I recently got expressvpn and its been working really well in Asia, but there are also some free ones that i've heard about too!

Please stop suggesting that China is difficult if you do not speak Mandarin, or any other Chinese language. I will never speak Mandarin as I am tone deaf, but I managed fine, even in the southwest where there are/were precious few tourists. All that is required is a good guidebook with place names in characters, a good guidebook (characters, not just pinyin) and a willingness to try.

Hong Kong is not a substitute for mainland China. And Shenzhen is not a tourist area.

Why are you pushing expressvpn when you just started a thread asking which VPN you should use and were told witopia? Where in Asia have you found sites blocked by the government other than in China?

The OP has not posted on this thread since the original post almost 2 weeks ago. No point in continuing the conversation on such a general topic which should have been started on the Asia forum anyway.

Well you didn't mention the budget nor the specific attractions you would like to visit. So, the places I would like to suggest you are India, Nepal and if you are visiting Malaysia then Visit Thailand too. They won't cost you much.
In India, you will get verities of attractions.
Nepal will offer you some adventure
and there is no better sea beaches in Asia than Thailand so hope it helps you!

Hey more update on your question, I think the following URL may help you. Just was searching related travel blogs and I got one which explains south Asia very well.

https://whytravel2.wordpress.com/201...sia-countries/