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      03-04-2017, 09:47 AM   #1
larryn
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Help me for places to go to beyond Hong Kong

My wife and I are heading to Hong Kong in a month and have 12 days available to plan. We obviously are not going to staying in Hong Kong more than 3-4 days. We've recently been all around Japan and have done Shanghai and toured all around Beijing.

So, we're looking for alternate places to go to. If any of you all have experience, please chime in. Current thoughts, in no partcular order are:
  • Chiang Mai, Thailand (Gorgeous temples)
  • Bangkok, Thailand
  • Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
  • Siem Reap, Cambodia (Angkor Wat Temples)
  • Yangon, Myanmar (Rangoon, Burma)
  • Kathmandu, Nepal (possibly a helo charter to see Everest)

If we do further away places, like Nepal, we'd only do that location, but if we are going to Ho Chi Minh City, we'd possibly hit another nearby location listed above.

So, any recommendations or alternates? We are leaning towards Thailand, for the temple and foodie aspects, but Im sure some of you have some great alternate (or comfirmatory) locales/recommendations.

Thanks!!
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      03-04-2017, 09:59 AM   #2
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I'd just pick one country with the amount of time you have left. 12 days - 4 days in HK leaves you with 8 days. Take out 1-2 days for all the flights and shuffling around it's really 6-7 days. How about Korea? Or if you do want to go tk Vietnam I'd recommend flying into Danang, spend 3-4 days there and then Hanoi for 2-3 days and back home from Hanoi (you can do this the other way around too but Hanoi is one of the international airports so it might be easier). Ho Chi Minh City is too crowded and I personally don't like it. You can find things to do to fill the days (like Mekong Delta day tour, Cu Chi Tunnel day tour, etc.) but other than that, I don't like to spend more than a day or two there (and that's mainly to recoup after a long international flight).

Danang is like Hawaii except much, much cheaper. There are things to see and do there and the lifestyle is much more laid back. You can stay at a hotel on the beach and just kick back for a few days. Do day trips when you feel like it. If not, take a cab in Hoi An and spend the afternoon and evening there (the town is lit up with lanterns every night). Do a day trip to the ancient imperial city of Hue. If you feel so inclined you can fit Hanoi in there for 2-3 days as well. Otherwise just spend 5-6 days in Danang (or Hanoi) and be done with it.

Could also do Cambodia and spend the rest of the time there. I'm going to Cambodia in a few months and plan on spending 8 full days in just Siem Reap exploring and relaxing before going to Vietnam. Not much to see in Phnom Penh and don't want to fly around too much.
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      03-04-2017, 10:05 AM   #3
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I've been to all except Nepal and all options you listed are fantastic. But I would say you should start with Thailand. I would recommend Bangkok, Chiang Mai and then an island like Koh PhiPhi.
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      03-04-2017, 10:11 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BMW F22 View Post
Danang is like Hawaii except much, much cheaper. There are things to see and do there and the lifestyle is much more laid back. You can stay at a hotel on the beach and just kick back for a few days. Do day trips when you feel like it. If not, take a cab in Hoi An and spend the afternoon and evening there (the town is lit up with lanterns every night). Do a day trip to the ancient imperial city of Hue. If you feel so inclined you can fit Hanoi in there for 2-3 days as well. Otherwise just spend 5-6 days in Danang (or Hanoi) and be done with it.

Could also do Cambodia and spend the rest of the time there. I'm going to Cambodia in a few months and plan on spending 8 full days in just Siem Reap exploring and relaxing before going to Vietnam. Not much to see in Phnom Penh and don't want to fly around too much.
We ruled out Phnom Penh for your exact reasons. We also want to be on the go, as we can relax anywhere in places far less exotic. That's why Kathmandu is on the list, and the Everest tour along with some less arduous hiking than base camp. There's a couple great early AM flights around Everest, and that seems incredibly appealing. However, Siem Reap and Chiang Mai are also high up there, because of the rich culture/food and temples to explore.

We're into food, adventure, fun, history for this trip. Hong Kong is super cool, but really a gateway for us. We're staying in a lux suite there on the harbor.
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      03-04-2017, 10:30 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by larryn View Post
We ruled out Phnom Penh for your exact reasons. We also want to be on the go, as we can relax anywhere in places far less exotic. That's why Kathmandu is on the list, and the Everest tour along with some less arduous hiking than base camp. There's a couple great early AM flights around Everest, and that seems incredibly appealing. However, Siem Reap and Chiang Mai are also high up there, because of the rich culture/food and temples to explore.

We're into food, adventure, fun, history for this trip. Hong Kong is super cool, but really a gateway for us. We're staying in a lux suite there on the harbor.
In that case, pick an option that gets you most excited about and do that. With just 7-8 days I don't think you should see more than one country. So either do Nepal, Cambodia, Thailand, or Vietnam. Any of those would be great.

You will find great food in all those places. People are nice and there's a rich culture in all of them. I feel that Vietnam takes weeks to explore so maybe rule that out? I suppose the same can be said for Thailand but since I'm not a fan of Bangkok, I'd only be interested in Chiang Mai and maybe, maybe Phuket (heard it's super crowded and dirty). Thus I think you can do that in a week. Cambodia (mainly the Siem Reap area) is rich in culture and can be done in a week as well. You could do the Mondulriki Project where you walk with elephants and bathe them in a river. Your money helps support the elephant conservation program. It is about a day's worth of traveling to get there but you get a cool adventure out of it.

Last edited by BMW F22; 03-04-2017 at 10:36 AM..
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      03-05-2017, 02:49 PM   #6
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Thanks for all the help. We decided on

4 days Hong Kong
4 days Siem Reap, Cambodia (Angkor Wat)
4 days Chaing Mai, Thailand
1 day back in Hong Kong @ Disney, for hotel near airport and last overnight doing something ridiculously touristy
Back to Seattle
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      03-15-2017, 12:11 PM   #7
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Ho Chi Minh City was a great place. If you feel like you could do a few days of seclusion off the beaten path, there are easy 45 min flights from HCM to Phu Quoc. The island is off the coast of cambodia (still part of vietnam) and is just amazing. Maybe one paved road in the entire island. Definitely worth the trip for a night or two
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