First time backpacking in Asia!!

What are your interests? culture, wildlife, hiking, photography, partying, beach, diving, snorkelling, food, off the beaten path, big cities, ancient ruins, jungles, mountains....etc?

3 weeks would be good for many countries - or parts of, but which to recommend depends on your interests, for example if you love mountains, hiking... Nepal is obviously a contender but if you want beach time than probably not.

The other bit of information we need is when do you plan to travel? This will make differences as some places are best visited at certain times of the year because of weather, festivals, crowds....etc.

Finally do you have a budget? If it's very low than India, Indonesia... are better options, if it's high than you can also consider Bhutan, Japan....

Incidentally, one country in Asia which I have a growing desire to visit is Sri Lanka.

Edited by: ToadofToadHall

Very good reply above!

When?........principally for the weather...maybe you don't really want to be travelling in the monsoon,or in the hottest period of the year

What?.....every country in Asia offers different things...there is a VAST difference between,say Japan and Pakistan.

How much?......how limited is your budget.

India is a great destination but you really need time..I'd say your timeframe is too short to see much,unless you only want to stay in 1 small area.

go to Laos and cambodia - they're awesome! 3 weeks is just about enough time if you don't mind being on buses for a lot of the time. But you could fly into Bangkok, then fly into Luang Probang and then catch a bus all the way down Laos seeing the main sights and into Cambodia going to Ankor Wat, Phnom Penh and S-ville (Koh Rong) and then catch the bus back to Bangkok

Hi,

Thanks for your replies. We are going to go in October. Budget is max £2000 per person including flights, visas, insurance etc.

I love mountains but OH likes beach/diving. We are both agreed it would be nice to visit a couple of different things- a bit of city/monument, then a bit of something natural- parks, mountain, beach etc. We are open minded as to where we go, just want to get over to asia!!! :)

Any ideas regarding what might be a good sort of area to introduce us to asia would be great!!

That's a good budget for 3 weeks in most of Asia...certainly low for Japan but pretty high for south and SE Asia.

A good short intro. could be Thailand.Or Bali and Lombok.Or Malaysia.

All well set up for independent travel,with good beaches,good food,lots of activities if you want.Malaysian Borneo might fit your mountains and beach plan well,though it is a bit more expensive than the other possibilities.

Bali-Lombok and maybe a bit of Java good be a good fit, you can hike up mountains, go to the beach go diving in the Gili islands, visit Yogyakarta and other places for a bit of culture.

Go to Indonesia -- September and October are good months to visit (before the wet season starts).

"And Don't Pay Your Ubud Hotel For A Grossly Overpriced Driver To Pick You Up At The Bali Airport Dressed In His Formal Balinese Attire As It Constitutes A Commercialized Tourism Perversion Of Traditional Balinese Custom Regarding Occasions When Such Clothing Is Supposed To Be Worn."

Exactly when, in your opinion, is such clothing "supposed to be worn?"

What if the hotel provides free airport transfers and the driver shows up formally dressed? Should one not get in the car because the driver is perverting traditional Balinese custom?

What about dance performances all over Bali where there is an entry fee, and the dancers are wearing traditional Balinese costumes? Are they also perverting traditional Balinese custom?

I really like the idea of India, but it seems to have quite a lot of negative press around it at the moment

Has it? Such as?