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Old 10-26-2004, 04:54 PM   #1
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So I think I want to spend a whole year studying in Asia and it'll be either Tokyo or Hong Kong most likely. I want to go to as many places and countries as possible while I'm there. Is there an Asian Ryanair/Easyjet equivalent? Is it possible to get really cheap flights there? I talked to my Australian friend and he seemed to say that flying anywhere from HK is very expensive and it would be cheaper to fly to Australia from there. I was kind of bummed after hearing this b/c that would suck if I'm there but can't really afford to fly anywhere b/c it's too expensive. Anyone have any insight into this? Thanks!

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Old 10-27-2004, 07:35 AM   #2
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A couple airlines (Malaysian and Cathay Pacific, for examples) offer special "All Asia" passes, from time to time. With them, you get unlimited flights anywhere they fly in Asia. They're good for 1-2 months, if I remember right.

If you're going to have about that much time to travel, I'd suggest looking into them...

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Old 10-27-2004, 09:50 AM   #3
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Getting out of Hong Kong (and Japan is probably even worse) may be a little pricey. I think you can fly roundtrip from HK to Bangkok for example for about $300 USD. However, to get around Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, you can fly fairly cheap on Air Asia I flew from Bangkok to Phuket (a Thai resort island) for about $40 USD roundtrip. A guy I met sitting next to me got a one way from Phuket back to Bangkok for $12 USD. The airline was nice too, leather seats, newer planes. Kind of like Southwest, no seat assignments and they also have tight luggage weight restricitions, but otherwise pretty good. Keep in mind that from Hong Kong, you can travel into China by bus or train as well (fairly cheaply), which you could not do from Japan. Good luck.
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Old 10-28-2004, 02:49 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally posted by LiveFreeorDie@Oct 27 2004, 04:50 PM
However, to get around Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, you can fly fairly cheap on Air Asia.
Nice tip...I hadn't seen them before. I checked out the website and looks great. Store that one away in the memory...

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Old 10-29-2004, 10:48 AM   #5
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How are the buses and trains in China? I imagine it would take forever to get anywhere since it is so huge.....so traveling on the weekends would probably be out unless I were going someplace really close...
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Old 10-29-2004, 01:28 PM   #6
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There are many, many lesser known cities (of more than 1 million people) in China you could check out. Beijing and Shanghai are quite far from HK, so yes, trains and planes are out for those two. Shenzen though, is just across the border from Hong Kong and it is rather large - I haven't really checked it out, just driven through on my way to my Company's factory which is northwest of there - but it is quite modern looking with crazy skyscrapers that have wild neon constructs on top that light up at night. You could do some research into that part of China and see what else is around. There is a lot of development in this region of China because of the proximity to Hong Kong and the fact that China is so much cheaper than HK. For example, the hotel we stay in by my company's factory is a 5 star hotel and it costs $32 USD per night - pretty cheap.
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Old 11-18-2004, 10:25 AM   #7
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WTF??


hell no! its cheap as to leave tokyo!!

for example, i just got return flights on thai air form narita to bkk. in december ( peak) for 43,000yen...about USD$450.

i think thats pretty damn cheap. but i guess it depends what your used to.

go to www.across-travel.com

they have a great price list to give you an idea
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Old 11-18-2004, 10:32 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally posted by U2fan@Oct 29 2004, 05:48 PM
How are the buses and trains in China? I imagine it would take forever to get anywhere since it is so huge.....so traveling on the weekends would probably be out unless I were going someplace really close...
Well, that's why most of the trains are "sleepers." In other words, each compartment has about 6 bunkbeds (3 per side) and you buy a ticket for one bunk. On a long ride, you can sleep there.

If you wanted to "save daytime," you could just buy an overnight trip and sleep during the trip. Then when you wake-up, you're there. No real "usable" time wasted.

Well, that's the short of it. There's all sorts of tips for riding the trains, but yes they are probably the primary mode of long-distance transportation in China. The longest ride I took was I think like 18 hrs. Ouch!

Anyways, I made 3 trips to China from 1998-2001 and have a few dozen pix on my website if you want an armchair tour...
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