Recommendations for first Asia trip please!
Replies: 6 - Last Post: Dec 15, 2012 5:09 PM Last Post By: nazzazos
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Recommendations for first Asia trip please!
Hi!I've had a search round the site but hopefully this isn't too similar to previous posts.
A couple of friends and I have money and time to go travelling for 6 weeks in the summer. We are keen to go somewhere in Asia, as we've never been there before. We've all travelled in Europe before, and I've done a bit in Central America. Basically, we can't decide on a destination. There is way too much choice and we would love to go everywhere, but we only have limited time. So I'm looking for some recommendations :)
It will be end of May to beginning of June, which I believe is pretty wet in most of India and mainland SE Asia. After the Scottish winter we don't reallywant to be facing monsoons. We'd like to see a mix of everything really - culture, nature (possibly some hikes), animals, beaches (possibly diving), cities - but want to stay away from drunk, sunburnt Brits.
Planning to stick to two countries, maybe Indonesia and Vietnam? Do you have any recommendations? Where have you been that you've loved?
Thanks,
Lettie
1
Check out Alor and Pantar. I love these islands and will go there again. Last year, in July and August, I didn't have a single drop (!) of rain in 7 weeks. The diving is world-class there.2
May, June ideal on east coast of Peninsula Malaysia. Combine that with other parts of Malaysia and Borneo.4
I think the easiest country in southeast Asia to travel through is Thailand. It's a great place for getting your feet wet and learning how travel in SEA works. Little travel agencies on every other street corner will be more than happy to help book tickets for you. From there, consider Vietnam - so far that's been our favorite country by far (the only countries in SEA we haven't been are Singapore, Brunei, Burma and the Phillippines.)5
Southeast Asia would be your best bet - good bang for buck.I would highly recommend Indonesia and Thailand! I had a blast there this summer and on top of being easy to travel, it's cheap and has tons of activities and things to see.
Vietnam is a highlight for many people as well but I have not been myself.
You can then consider places like Cambodia and Laos as well which are all very close to each other.
For an idea of how I conducted my Asia tour this summer (started in Southeast Asia) check out my summarized itineraries here: http://goingawesomeplaces.com/2012/12/11/summer-in-a-nutshell-itinerary/ (click on the dates to jump to the specific blogs)
I have also a set of lessons learned that I compiled that I hope will be useful to you: http://goingawesomeplaces.com/2012/12/11/tips-tricks-from-this-summer/
6
We'd like to see a mix of everything really - culture, nature (possibly some hikes), animals, beaches (possibly diving), cities -i vote Penang Islands, Malaysia.
ive been to Ho Chi Minh - so many motorcycles (> million) and always pin pin their horn horn.
ive been to all over indonezia - everything is cheap. but so many peoples.
2nd option :
phuket, thailand. or krabi in thailand which have about 1000 rock climbing route!
