1 Month in Asia

[colt22]

I'm going with just 1 partner and want to know where it is best to spend time and for how long

Thanks

[l/l/rX]

Originally posted by colt22
Hey guys - Heading to Asia for all of December (32 days).

I'm going with just 1 partner and want to know where it is best to spend time and for how long. Looking for a nice mix of sightseeing, nature and food/partying.
Does Toyko, Shanghai, Hong Komg, Vietnam, Thailand make sense?

Thanks

There are a TON of things to do in each country/ city you've listed, I'd limit your vacation to at MOST 3 countries.

If you're looking to escape the Canadian cold, I'd probably avoid Tokyo, Shanghai and HK.

You'll find GREAT food in each country/ city, you'll find great parties in each country/ city and you'll also find great sight seeing in each country, especially if it's your first time.

[max_boost]

Yea do you plan to book most of everything yourself? There are a lot of tour companies like G/Intrepid/Viator etc. that can help make life easier.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[gqmw]

I'd say 5 places in a month might be pushing it, generally you probably want to spend about a week or so in each place if you actually want enough time to explore a little. It really depends what kind of trip you want it to be and what stuff you want to see.

If you're going to Tokyo, there's train passes that allow you to travel to other cities and when I went I did day trips out to two other cities which was cool.

But other than that, you can't really go wrong with any of those cities, it'll be fun, lots to do, lots to eat and partying is good.

[colt22]

Thanks for all the intel.
I am now thinking HK - > Vitenam -> Thiland and found some awesome flights for 2K for the whole thing; However my buddy bailed out so its going to be me doing it solo.

I have never traveled solo before nor have I ever traveled to Asia. Would it be advisable to join a tour group? I can see the benefits but would be disappointed to be stuck with a group I wasn't jelling with for an extended period of time and have to sacrifice the freedom of roaming whenever I feel like. Any suggestions on this / Has anyone done these countries solo?

[CanmoreOrLess]

Go solo, HK > Vietnam > Thailand, maybe no more than three or four countries as it keeps costs down and keeps you out of doing airport, which eats away at your vacation. Solo allows you to meet new people, do some stuff you'd not normally have done had you stuck to a solid plan with a travel partner.

I'd trade Thailand (did six months there) for Japan, Vietnam has better beaches anyway. Hard not to do a couple of days in Taipei (Taiwan) from HK, if only for the food which I think about daily. It is that good. At one point I did seriously consider living in Taiwan, good food will do that to you.

If you've never been to Japan, it is well worth the expense (eat like a local, sleep like a modest Japanese person) and experience. In Tokyo, Kimi Ryokan is the place I've used often, fairly priced, clean, quiet, very well located and excellent rooms. Ask for the smallest room, as you'll only be sleeping there.

You'd need a few days to experience a taste of the top attractions in and around Tokyo, maybe a day in Kamakura for temples. Kyoto can be a day trip, catch the first train of the day out of Tokyo for Kyoto and take the last train back. I'd stay overnight in Kyoto if possible though, as the nights are beautiful. Nara is less travelled, IMO it is the equal of Kyoto and really is a "secret" of sorts. Nara can be so empty of tourists, Kyoto in the winter is rather free of the hoards of the other seasons. Hit the temples right when they open, the place will feel like you own it, the lazy tourists are all just waking up.

[GQBalla]

The GF and I are headed to HK, Beijing and Thailand for a month November 3 to December 3.

My first time to HK myself without my parents, i haven't been back in about 14 years anyways. For Beijing we joined a 3 day tour just for ease since my Mandarin is truly weak.

Thailand we'll be island hoping and just hanging out anyways.

We originally wanted to hit up Japan as well but that would be too much in one go, plus everyone says i won't even be able to explore Thailand in 16 days without running around too much. I hate vacations where everything is planned. I can't even relax then. Just take it day by day.

Can't really help you on the party aspect as we don't exactly party anymore. Well see though, my buddy that lives in Vietnam might meet us.

[austic]

I did a 4 week tour of Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia. Had the time of my life. I would recommend G Adventures for a tour vs doing it solo. For me I saved a ton of time having a personal guide at my disposal and with the 3 different tours i did in the time span i made allot of great friends to travel with. Some people are into the solo thing but i found i enjoy the group dynamic. Traveling in an area that was very foreign to me culturally and language wise it was nice to have others.

[flipstah]

Originally posted by colt22
Thanks for all the intel.
I am now thinking HK - > Vitenam -> Thiland and found some awesome flights for 2K for the whole thing; However my buddy bailed out so its going to be me doing it solo.

I have never traveled solo before nor have I ever traveled to Asia. Would it be advisable to join a tour group? I can see the benefits but would be disappointed to be stuck with a group I wasn't jelling with for an extended period of time and have to sacrifice the freedom of roaming whenever I feel like. Any suggestions on this / Has anyone done these countries solo?

Solo travel is awesome and staying at hostels are a crapshoot. You get good ones and you get a shitty one every once in a while. Just don't expect much and you'll be fine.

You still get to meet great people and once in a while, we'd do things as a group but you gotta experience the country how you want it to be and that would be hard as a group.

I'm a foodie so all I did was hit the food places all over SE Asia and enjoy the flavors. I did do some sight-seeing once in a while but food stalls were my home.


I just finished a 10 day trip backpacking across:

- Seoul
- Hong Kong
- Singapore
- Kuala Lumpur

One of the best trips of my life and primarily because it was by myself, on my terms. Definitely going back to one of these places for a tad longer.

[msommers]

One month you could explore a lot of Japan and China. Save the SE Asia portion for another trip.

Don, are you going through your photos from the trip?

[flipstah]

Originally posted by msommers
One month you could explore a lot of Japan and China. Save the SE Asia portion for another trip.

Don, are you going through your photos from the trip?

You can do Japan in a month, easy. Top to bottom.

Yeah, I'm still editing the good ones but I dumped a bunch from Seoul on my blog.

[jwslam]

Originally posted by colt22
Would it be advisable to join a tour group?

Speaking only from my 5 weeks alone in HK (3 wk trip + 2 wk trip) I didn't bother to join a tour, but I also didn't go to many touristy spots either. Definitely advise you first thing to buy one of those unlimited internet SIM cards (it's cheap like $200hkd got me 30 days, so about $30 CAD). Then you can google map your way anywhere. Or go on an adventure and just hop on any bus/train, see where it takes you, and then map your way home from where ever.

There's a tour bus that has open top and drives across the Island side. I think it's cheap like $50hkd/day so like $7-8. But it seems to be full of Europeans? I dunno, maybe it just wasn't my thing because I can speak & read in HK. Let me know what you wanna see and I'll try to give you some pointers. PM me if you'd like.

If you're ever at a street market, never buy at the first stall as every other stall down the street is selling the same thing, and always barter. Always.

Good luck