BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi everyone! I'm planning a 6 month to one year trip and hoping to cover NE and SE Asia and some of Europe. My goal is to leave in Jan. of 2010 and my first stop was to be Bangkok. This is what I had in mind for the Asia :
Thailand--Indonesia--Japan--China--Nepal--India
From what I've read I feel like by taking this route I will be avoiding monsoons, ect...I was thinking I would spend a month, give or take, in each place. I am not planning on booking everything in advance so I know I can change my route whenever I want to but I'm curious to know if anyone would add or subtract a place from my list, or shuffle around the order. I'm going to be flying from LA. Any input would be very awesome (any particular cities as well..I have some in mind but would love to hear some of your favorites)!

If you go to Thailand, you must go to 3 main cities to really have a blast! Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket!

For great food and great beaches, get Malaysia into the equation! wait, have i mentioned, cheapppppp food too?

Penang, Redang Island and Malacca. My favourite spots in Malaysia. I think you won't regret it.

Hong Kong, Siem Reap, Luang Phrabang, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Pokhara, Darjeeling, Yangshuo, Dali, Lijiang, Suzhou, Shanghai?

You seem to be leaving Indo China (Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam) out of the equation. This area would possibly be more rewarding than Indonesia.
Your flexible planning makes very good sense.

I'm a Chinese and I'll recommend some interesting Chinese cities to go. You can start with Shanghai and then go to the beautiful southern cities such as Hangzhou and Suzhou. Beijing is a place you shouldn't miss. And if you like, you can go to Tibet which has been called a secred place.
Wish you have a good journey!

Agree with Amymou, China definitely has it in terms of charm!

Thanks for all of your responses!
Lis- I think I will definitely check out Malaysia, it seems like I could fit it in either before or after Indonesia.
DanLew- I was thinking those 3 cities in Thailand! My question is--in which order? My boyfriend and I were going to fly into Bangkok, from there would you recommend taking a flight to each of the other cities (Bangkok to Chiang Mai, then back to Bangkok--and then to Phuket?) I've heard the driving can be pretty messy...
Groo- I left out indo China because I'm worried about putting too many places on my list, I want to have a good amount of time in each place, with the flexible planning I may end up there...you never know!
Amymou- Thanks for yoru advice about the cities in China, I was having some trouble picking where I want to go! Would you suggest flying into a particular city?
I'm having such a great time doing all of this planning, thanks again for any and all advice!

OK,
How 'bout BKK - fly to Siem Reap - a couple of days Angkor Watting, take the boat up to Battambang (sp?), there should be sufficient water at that time of year and it's a spectacular trip, get one of the moto guys to take you around the back blocks, the villages, the farming communities etc, bus back to Siem Reap and fly on to KL or Singapore.
You can knock it off in a week, you will find it more than worthwhile, and it's on the way.

If I am not mistaken, about a year and half ago there were not any direct flights from bangkok to siem reip but there were from kuala limpur, Malaysia (probably via air asia).

Doesn't the obscenely overpriced Bangkok Airways still make that run?

quote:

Originally posted by Bea Scott:
Agree with Amymou, China definitely has it in terms of charm!

try the port city of shanghai. it has this quaint charm of having the old and the new in one place. the city is rich in culture and is a major commercial center of the country. stay in a western-inspired hotel to ease your transition into a whole new world that is china. we stayed in pacific hotel, a 1920s european-inspired hotel. coming from the states, we had a nice time adjusting and experiencing what china has to offer.

If you visit China, you have to come to Yunnan province, have a look Lijiang, Dali, Xishuangbanna, Yuanyang etc. for the minority people and amazing landscapes

Hi Chiangmai (and the northern parts of Thailand in general) is lovely in January.

I did enjoy my walks around the tribal areas. There are many operators. But I've been reading good reviews about a place called Chiangdao Nest, which run several types of trips according to your inclinations and fitness.

Have a great trip.

Hi

I still think Bangkok is amazing. Some are intimidated by the traffic, noise, hassle etc...but once you get past that it is an interesting city. Here is a trip report that I made after a visit last year: http://gardkarlsen.com/Bangkok_trip_report_2007.htm

I have also started to enjoy KL. When I went there the first time I thought that I would never go there again. But due to various reasons I have gone back many times on vacation and on business. Here is my KL trip report http://gardkarlsen.com/malaysia_kuala_lumpur.htm . Have a great trip :-)

Check out our website for all the cities we visited on our 12 month round the world trip which we have just returned from. We had the greatest experiences of our lives and are planning doing Europe next year.
Also join Hospitality club to meet local people and sometimes get free accommodation.
Register for a website to keep in touch with family and friends, use local libraries world wide they are usually free, use the better hotels if libraries aren't available for banking, best to be safe and secure. Keep money and valuables split up on your person, use a body belt. Take earplugs and immodium, just a couple of things I think are essential.
www.getjealous.com/trio
Best of luck and Be Safe.
Jean

I live in China and would personally try to dissuade you from going to Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, Nanjing, Guizhou, etc.

The major cities in China are so touristy/westernized that after living in a genuine Chinese city they remind me more of New York than they do of real China.

Dali is pretty cool and at the right time of year has few tourists. Lijiang is nothing more than a Disney World China set up for tourists and, while beautiful, sucks in terms of seeing anything genuine.

Traveling in China, my honest opinion is that it's much better to just go to small cities and bus across areas of the country that don't have 20,000 tourists at any given time.

On the other hand, if you prefer to see glitzy, reconstructed, built-for-tourist and heavily westernized areas of China: Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Lijiang, Guilin.

Enjoy.

Yup Bangkok Airways does fly to Siem Riep.

Was quite cheap when I did it as part of a deal that include several flights including to Samui! Think it was called a Dicsovery Pass or something.