Travel to China/Asia

[stellarose]

I have a work trip that will line up with DH's spring break. I'll be done with my work trip in Shanghai or possibly Korea.

We are looking at having DH meet me overseas and then we take the week of spring break to travel. We aren't sure if we would spend that time just in China or try to go somewhere tropical to relax. I think we both need a tropical vacation and want to relax but if we have the opportunity for both of us to be in Asia, we should probably do some heavy site seeing.

Any suggestions of what we should look at doing? I've traveled to Asia several times, but always chaperoned by work so I am a little nervous to be on our own in Asia.

[katfco]

What kinds of things are you interested in? I love history and architecture, so the standard sight-seeing in China was a must for me. However, I loved the out of the way places in the western province. Traveling on your own is fine, especially if you're in the more touristy areas. There are always people around to help, especially if you look lost enough.

If you're looking for something less touristy but also interesting, try Chengdu in Sichuan. You can visit the panda sanctuary and even get a picture of your self with a panda. They also have the best hot pot in the country.

You can also sign up for tours, although we preferred the more independent route. However, we spoke conversational Chinese and had been there for a while when we traveled.

There are a lot of great tropical places to visit, especially in southeast Asia. Cambodia has great beaches, and while you're there, you can take a trip up to Angkor Wat, which is a must.

Thailand and Malaysia also have tropical areas, and their capitals have more western establishments.

[stellarose]

Thank you both!

Roughly one week of actual vacation time. I'll already be there, he can meet me as early as Wednesday or Thursday of the week before Spring break, but because of flight times I think the best is for him to arrive Saturday morning. We would depart for home the following Saturday.

I have briefly visited Thailand, but nothing more than a quick vendor visit and hotel stay.

[Deleted]

There are so many different places. I would focus on narrowing it based on where you'll finish your business trip as well as exactly what you want to do. There are great options for site seeing and great options for beaches, and a couple places with both.

A week is enough time to hit at least 2 cities in China. I'd recommend Beijing as one of them because I can't imagine coming here and not seeing the Great Wall. Shanghai doesn't have much to offer except our amazing skyline, so I'd limit it to a day, two at the most here.

Singapore is really easy to get around and is extremely modern and western. It has beaches (Sentosa Island) and has the city with a great zoo, a neat downtown, Little India, Chinatown, etc.

And Thailand and Cambodia are great recommendations for beaches. The Philippines also has amazing beaches - Cebu and Boracay, and the people are amazing and very friendly.

[kpol]

Jan 26, 2014 4:50:37 GMT -5 @publius said:

Just a heads up--KL is a 7-8 hour flight from South Korea. Beijing to Kuala Lumpur is like 6. Thailand will be about an hour closer than that. Cambodia is an hour and a half closer. If you're wanting tropical you need to ask yourself how much more flying you are willing to do for a week (this is coming from someone who has flown 30 hours round trip for a long weekend before).

Flew KL to Seoul this morning and it was just over 6 hours. Most of the flights were overnight, so you might also want to take that into consideration. 


We just got back from Bali and while we had a great time, we liked Thailand better for a tropical vacation. We did a few days in Bangkok and then flew to the beach to relax. It was a nice mix of sight seeing and beach time as well as great food.

[wise_rita]

I'd stick to whichever country your trip ends in, to save time and money. With only a week to travel it doesn't make sense to schlep yourselves hours on an airplane unless you really have a destination in mind.

That or Japan, since it makes geographical sense for you two to meet there and return to the US together.

What is your home US airport? Direct flights are always a big bonus, so I would look into what flights your home airport offers direct in Asia.

[stellarose]

Home airport is PDX so usually can get a direct flight into Narita.

After looking around last night I do agree with you and think it will be best to stay in China if that's where my trip is ending. Otherwise it will be a lot of flying. Plus there is plenty to see and do in China.

Definitely want to go to Bejing. I've always wanted to go to Singapore and Hong Kong too. I spent some time in Tokyo and wasn't thrilled enough to go back.

[katfco]

If you're only going to be there for a week, Beijing and Xi'an would be my top two places to go, with Chengdu being the next choice. I had some friends who loved to visit Kunming for a beautiful getaway also.

[stellarose]

Thank you, this is so helpful!

[Deleted]

Jan 26, 2014 19:14:44 GMT -5 @publius said:

My apologies, I now see that Juliash has already posted.

No worries. 

I'd also recommend Beijing and Xi'an.

Hong Kong/Macau is also amazing and you could do a week there. 

If your business trip ends in Shanghai I would take the train from there to Beijing (train is more reliable and will likely end up taking less time overall than flying to Beijing - tickets are less than $100 for the fast one). 

[GilliC]

I agree with Beijing and Xian as a good choice. We typically took the overnight train from Beijing to Xian abd checked into the hotel early (we usually expected to just store our luggage, but both times they let us just check in instead). We spent two days in Xian and then flew back (because we needed to be back at work in the morning), but you could take the train back as well.

In Xian, besides the terra cotta soldiers, my favorite experience was heading out to Hua-shan to do some light hiking around the mountain. There's a chair-lift up, and the scenery is amazing on a clear day.

For Beijing, I've recorded most of my suggestions here:
www.tripadvisor.com/GoListDetail-i17565-An_Unofficial_Travel_Guide_to_Beijing.html

[sergey]

I've only been to Beijing and Shanghai but I will say it was surprisingly easy to get around the airports, Beijing subway and Shanghai via taxi (the concierge will transcribe your destination for the driver). Even non-touristy restaurants have translations or picture menus too. I was really surprised at how easy it was actually.

[treschic]

Agree with taking the train vs flying if at all possible. Train is super seamless while flying can be pretty terrible (lots and lots of delays).

[katfco]

You can save money (and gain some great experiences) if you get hard sleeper seats instead of soft sleeper. There's a loss of privacy, but it's a fun experience most of the time.