Asia trip in January/February

[Ethan]

Hi there, I'm in the preliminary stages of planning a trip to Asia next January/February. I know that being winter might not be the ideal time to go, but does anyone have any suggestions on where to go? So far, my girlfriend and I are wanting to travel to Hong Kong (she has ancestral roots there), Japan, and Thailand.

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

 

[Matt]

So, Asia is a pretty big place... you might do better by narrowing the area. It really depends on how you want to travel and how long you have but I would say distinct trips would be:

• Japan - Tokyo and day trips, then down to Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto, Nara) then perhaps Okinawa
• Hong Kong - trips to Lantau, Maccau etc
• Thailand - the north (Chang Mai/Rai, the middle around Khao Sok national park, then the islands (straight to Koh Tao)

I reckon out of these the best way to combine is to use HK as a stopover, as it is so small you can get a good feel from it in just a few days, and then head on somewhere else.

Two other mixes that I like to combine:

• Singapore into Malaysia into Borneo into Philippine islands
• Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos

These 'mixes' seem to work better due to their proximity. If you do the latter ones you need to start looking at cheap internal flights on local carriers.