Which route should i take: NE or SE Asia?

[Canadian Bacon]

Hey, so in the beginning of the year I was thinking that I wouldn't backpack this year. Rather I would just work and save money for next year.

However, my buddy called me a couple of weeks ago: he's getting married in Hong Kong in August.... which means I am obligated to go. :D

And if I go, there's no way I'm spending that much money for a few days... I'll go for at least a month. Let's say 5 weeks. This means I'm going to be backpacking. And since August is the most hot and busy, I figure I will do the bulk of the travelling in July and end of in HK in august.

SO - here's the question. Should I...

a) Do the Northeastern Asia route: Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong

OR

b) Do a Southeastern Asia route: Thailand, Philliphines, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong?

What do u guys think?

CB

[worldwidemike]

I vote SE Asia...

worldwidemike

[Esterina]

Lucky Jason !

I would say that your budget will decide ! The second option being about half the cost of the first one.

Seriously, in my opinion, you can't visit more than two countries during one month in S.E.A, or around China. Im-pos-si-ble unless you want to be a mess for the wedding.

The cheapest flights are usually to Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur.

I would suggest either

• Thailand+one neighbouring country (Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia)

• China+northern Vietnam

• China only

• Beijing+Japan+Korea

• Malaysia+Singapour+bits of Indonesia

The Philippines are too far.

Also, remember that July means moonsoon in S.E.A. It rains everyday, sometimes just a bit, sometimes a lot.

[micdans]

Go to Siberia, that's NE Asia.

[LiveFreeorDie]

I would definately go with SEA. Cheaper for sure and easier to get around in a month. You will really have to pare down what you want to see but you can still spread it out quite a bit IMHO. Two weeks minimum for Thailand - check out the north(Chiang Mai area) for a few days, Bangkok for 4 or 5 days and the islands the rest as an example. You could fly to Cambodia from BKK and check out Angkor Wat for a few days(3?). Fly back through BKK and could fly to Singapore. I wouldn't spend more than a couple of days there because it is small and expensive. From there, you could hop a flight or a bus to Malaysia (which is literally less than an hour by car from downtown Singapore) or fly to Jakarta if you are interested in Indonesia. The flights between those places are short and relatively inexpensive with all the low cost carriers. Lots of options. Good luck. If you decide to go SEA, I can provide some low cost airline names and websites.

[freespiritz]

You could see a fair bit of China in a month but you probably shouldn't try to cram in any other countries...also, I'm not sure how hot it gets in July but it was pretty brutal when I was in China in August.

I'm going to vote SEA on this one, and second the 2 countries in 5 weeks suggestion...or maybe something like Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. What kind of stuff are you interested in seeing, though?

[lauren313]

My vote goes to South East Asia, but only because I personally have no desire to go to China, so it's the option that I would take.

[Canadian Bacon]

OK - took a bit to decide, but I think I'm gonna hit up SEA this summer! yea yea

But one question for anyone whose been there... what is there to see??

I think I have room for 2 countries... and Thailand is one of them. Where else is worth seeing???

:D:D:D

[worldwidemike]

Originally Posted by Canadian Bacon

But one question for anyone whose been there... what is there to see??

Well, in Cambodia, there is the world famous ruins of Angkor Wat. In Myanmar, there are the less well known but equally amazing temples of Bagan (sometimes spelled Pagan). And as long as I'm talking cool temples, just a day trip from Bangkok in Thailand is the former capital of Ayyuthaya. You can see the influence of the Khmer culture that created Angkor Wat there.

Those are my highlights, but then again, I'm a huge ancient ruins buff...!

worldwidemike