May - July need filling. Where to go?!?

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anonymous
anonymous

Hello all,

I'm in the midst of (very loosely!) planning a year long trip. I'll be leaving the UK in about 4 weeks and was planning on starting in Madagascar for a month or two. Unfortunately the cost of the flight has made this impossible. I only decided to pack up and head off a few weeks ago so wasn't able to book ahead for a good deal; if I go to Madagascar though, the flight alone will be more than all my other flights put together! I'm a female solo traveller and my rough itinerary is:

July-Aug: northern India, travelling south
September: yoga ashram in Kerala for one month
October: teaching at a primary school in Kerala for one month
Nov - mid Jan: Sri Lanka, Bali, Indonesia
Mid Jan - March: Thailand
April - May: Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia

My question now is, where should I start off and go for the last half of May and June? I'd like to go somewhere hot - partly for health reasons, and partly as I only want to pack one base layer and one pair of long trousers! I'm completely open to suggestions (and really need the advice!), and would consider going further east first, then coming back to India. Or juggling the order and starting in India for a couple of months, heading to Sri Lanka, then coming back to India for September and October. Would that work?

Can anyone help with suggestions? Help!

Many thanks in advance, happy travels!

Edited by: eatpraylove

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nicoleslaw
nicoleslaw

Looking at geography of where you're heading, and the time of year... what about Turkey and Israel while you make your way over to India? I'll give the disclaimer, I've never been to Turkey, but I've heard nothing but amazing things about it. (It's one of my top places on my own RTW trip that I'm planning). I have been to Israel and absolutely fell in love with it there. I was there in July '05 and it was perfect weather for what you're talking about. A while back when I was planning my uni graduation trip I'd looked at this combo because I wanted to go back to Israel. At the time (and from the US at least) Turkish Airlines offered a free stopover in Turkey on the way to Israel. May be worth checking into if you are interested in that combo.

Just a random idea... I have no idea if it's what you were looking for. But maybe it can help... If you do decide on that, feel free to PM me about Israel planning if you'd like.

~Nicole

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newislander
newislander

Have you checked your itinerary against weather and climactic conditions and recommendations of where to travel when. I think indonesia is similiar all year around whilst india is freakin hot anytime from March to November in most parts of it. That's why people recommend you go up to Ladakh in August and September, at least go to the hill stations. Kerala is pretty hot most of the year around and then its about avoiding the worst of the monsoon.

Hot in India and south east asia is not just about temperatures but about humidity which is a killer. So if humidity is 98% and temperatures are say 31-36 you can be sure you will be fairly uncomfortable.

If I was you I would follow the advice of the guidebooks about "when to travel" to these places, avoiding as much as possible "when not to travel". Also travelling during the monsoon is the most unhealthy time to travel. You are more likelty to catch water bugs and some mosquito borne diseases.

I agree about Turkey being nice. It was a wonderful country to travel in when i was there many years ago. Also Iran is popular.

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bpguruagain
bpguruagain

Greece, Turkey, Israel, Jordan are all enroute.

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anonymous
anonymous

Thanks so much for all your ideas. I've travelled quite a bit in Turkey already (yes, you should go Nicole!) so I think I'll leave it, but Israel is an interesting idea. To make matters even more confusing everyone IRL is telling me to sod the cost and go to Madagascar!

Thanks for the advice about the weather, NewIslander. You're quite right about humidity - not pleasant. I'm plannning my route quite carefully around the climate, and the monsoon. I won't get down to Kerala (where I've been before) until the monsoon has started moving north so will hopefully miss the worst. I've also just been living in Thailand for 3 months so hopefully it won't be too tough to acclimatise!

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newislander
newislander

Well if its expensive to go to Madagascar, you could also look at other parts of west africa. I'm not an expert but I have been looking into lately and there should be possibilitiies over there that are cheaper than M.

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craigt3365
craigt3365

India is going to be really tough that time of year....hot, humid, and lots of rain...

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