6 to 12 month in Asia. Advices ?

Asia
Topic Type: Adventure

I'm looking for advice on a long trip to Asia. I'll be there 6 to 12 month and I'm looking to visit as many countries as I can, but without going too fast. I'm looking for advice where to go, where to avoid, places that I just can't miss..

rainville

Nicolas L
Post Count: 1

Msg: #1 92 weeks ago, March 17th 2008

i every one !

My name is Nicolas, I'm 21 and living in Switzerland. Next september, I'm heading to Asia for 6 month or more. I really don't have any restrictions concerning the lenght of my trip. I'll have between 10 and 15'000 $ to live out there. Is it okay to survive 6 month or more ?

I'll be alone there, and I'm bit scared since it's the first time I go without friends so far away. I choosed Asia since I've already been there and I really enjoyed my trips. So I'm coming here to get some help or advice for this journey.. Wich country should I not miss, wich temple or city is a must see? Anywhere to avoid ? Is it easy to meet others travellers out there ? I don't want to stay in luxury places, my goal is to meet locals and live their life as close as I can. So no 5 stars for me, I'll be searching for some lodge or small hotels.

So far, my trip is looking like that: Arriving in Singapor, then heading to Indonesia. Since there, going up north: Malaysia,
Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Tibet/Nepal, India. Is it too much ?

Any advices would be fully apreciated :) !

Thanks a lot..

Nic

Laur4

Laura Fowler
Post Count: 61

Msg: #2 92 weeks ago, March 18th 2008

Hey

1. you have more than enough money. $8000 lasted my 7 months in Asia last year.

Indonesia, Flores - Sumatra - 6 weeks to really enjoy everything
Malaysia - KL, few islands....maybe 2-3 weeks
Thailand - all, 1 month
Myanmar - you can only visit 3 cities here can't you?? 2 weeks
Laos - 2 weeks
Cambodia - 2 -3 weeks
Vietnam - 1 month
China - no idea...its a huge place though!! you will only do a small part of it
Tibet/Nepal - no idea...how long does the visa last?
India - huge country, anywhere from 1 month - 6 months+. I would plan a good route around North India

hope this helps...the time really depends on you, some like to always be on the go, some like to slow it right down and take their time

awang

awang ladongi
Post Count: 2

Msg: #3 91 weeks ago, March 21st 2008

at indonesia not only flores and sumatra intrest for tourist, you can spend your litle time at south sulawesi. you can climb the bawakaraeng mountain and ramma. not only that but you can enjoy food original nativ on that. barobbo and konro is two kind of original nativ meal. they have tradotional dancing and culture Bugis-Makassar.
hope you can make good decicion.
thanks for attention

andi_ explorer

andi_explorer
Post Count: 11

Msg: #4 91 weeks ago, March 23rd 2008

hi,nicolas .if you want try to adventure in sumatra ,Indonesia and you want close to the locals, i offering you a package ,lets me explain ,at sumatra ,many places of interest,but i think you dont want tourist trapping areas,so i give you a new jungle spot in north sumatra batang gadis national park, you can trekking ,climbing,living traditional,and more, depend what you want to do. for you i give you prices ,
for 6 days 160 euro/person (low budget package):
transports,hostel, activities,foods(local cuisine),crews,entrance fee,ok
maybe you interesting .thats your decision.
places of interest in sumatra:
aceh (pulau weh-tapak tuan-simeule island-ketambe-leuser eco system)
north sumatra:
lake toba-bukit lawang-tangkahan-sibolangit- sibayak mountain- sipirok-batang toru-sibanggor -batang gadis national park-nias island-
west sumatra:
bukit tinggi-lake maninjau-mentawai island
etc.ok

pPamela

Pamela Joy Fuge
Post Count: 91

Msg: #5 90 weeks ago, April 1st 2008

INDONESIA is a definite must and it is quite easy to travel as an independent person. I travelled as a lone female with no language skills in 2006 for 5.5 months travelling from Bali to Jakarta by plane, then visiting West Java, then Central Java, and East Java. Then flew from Jakarta to Padang in West Sumatra, visited Bukittinggi, Lake Maninjau, Payakumbu- Harau Canyon, Maura Labuh. Bussed it to Lake Toba, stayed a few days then bussed it to Medan, stayed a day or two then bussed it to Bukit Lawang, stayed for 5 weeks and went by motor bike down to Tangkahan for 5 days where they have 7 elephants, stayed at Jungle Lodge- this is serious paradise.
Then back to Bukit Lawang and back to Medan, then bussed it to Kutacane Aceh and then Ketambe.
Great website to view to get a feel for Ketambe is Ketambe Aceh
From Ketambe where I spent 8 glorious heavenly days including a two day trek with Pak Mus stayed at his great place with its wonderful gardens I ventured by bus up the centre of Aceh to Takengon and stayed a couple of days and then onto Banda Aceh and then across to Pulau Weh.
Plus I had 5 days in Kuta Lombok and 6 days in Makassar and Tana Toraja Sulawesi- both fantastic experiences as well.
My Photos from 2006
Pamela.

[Edited: 10:58 - pPamela ]

vm0317

vmces
Post Count: 3

Msg: #6 90 weeks ago, April 1st 2008

You many include Philippines in your itinerary. Some of the places you can visit are White Beach in Boracay Island, Underground River & Honda Bay Islands in Palawan, Chocolate Hills in Bohol Island, Sagada for Spelunking, Cultural Heritage in Vigan, Laoag City and Manila. :) Just let me know if you need help. :)

dagarved

ved dagar
Post Count: 2

Msg: #7 88 weeks ago, April 12th 2008

hi. nicolas u have to really work hard to plan a better journey so it can be a memorable one..their is one thing i can do for u.. when u will be in india (delhi) . i can show u indian village culture by staying in village..if u have intrest in different cultures then u will like it most..
so keep bloging..

Boots

Stephanie
Post Count: 6

Msg: #8 87 weeks ago, April 17th 2008

Hi Nicolas,
Well first off you have more than enough to last you quite some time if you're planning to do it low budget style, which is more than easy to do in SEA. You can even treat yourself once in a while on that amount. (I think I spent about 5000$(CND) in 6 months and that included about 7 flights within SEA. So my next advice is too keep posted on AirAsia.com as they have amazing promotions year round and I believe they still may do their yearly free seat sale (where you only pay taxes, therefore cost me a little over 100$ for seven flights). But the land transport is always a better way to go about for the feel of the country.

Secondly, don't worry, travelling alone is quite an amazing experience, you'll meet much more people that way and forge some great friendships along the way , you'll feel as though you accomplished something great in the end. You do what you want to do when you want to do it without having to make sure someone else agrees or not. You'll come out of this probably enjoying travelling alone more that with someone. Go for it. Your skills to following your instinct will also greatly improve, adn you will be more aware of your surroundings. Just always keep an eye open and a listening ear. Follow your gut no matter what the situation is. It's amazing how much you know wihtout even knowing.

Plan, but don't plan too much, as you'll see it'll change along the way. If you're there for 12 months, you have time to do all those place, and also in 6 months, but it all depends on what you want to do and see whilst there. You definetely need to keep enough time for India, that's for sure. Don't give up on it when there. It's overwhelming at times and frustrating, but so worth it in the end. It's huge adn travel times from place to place is lengthy, there's a reason they give you 6 month visas there. The only regret I have about India is not spending enough time there and seeing ALL of it, it's trip in itself.

Guest houses and hostels are abundant and cheap. No need to worry about that. Some places you'll find homestay programs also.
Your best guide for information will be fellow backpackers. You'll meet lots along the way and they'll have plenty advice to give you. They are full of useful tips and suggestions.
There's really no places that should be avoided, it's a question of being aware of what's going on in those countries at the time you'll be heading there. But generally South East Asia is backpacker friendly. Keep reading blogs and talking to people and you'll find out about all the best places to stay. The guide books are handy once in a while when finding border crossings and whatnot and how to get here and there, but sometimes outdated when it comes to the best places to stay as everyone reading it will flock there.

Best of luck on your travels! Enjoy every moment!

ekay

ericthitaporn
Post Count: 6

Msg: #9 87 weeks ago, April 18th 2008

While traveling in Thailand, read up on home stay programs here - http://www.travelblog.org/asia/thailand/north/chiangrai/blog-263771.html

Happy traveling.

ritchie

ritchie ramos
Post Count: 32

Msg: #10 87 weeks ago, April 20th 2008

you should visit the Philippines
we have boracay, chocolate hills, banaue rice terraces, hundred islands and a lot more

youngzinkee

Ugyen Tenzin
Post Count: 2

Msg: #11 87 weeks ago, April 21st 2008

Hi rainville
it is good to know that you are going to travel to Asia for a long duration. Have you heard of Bhutan before? It is a small Himalayan kingdom with rich culture and environment. Bhutan is know to the out side world for its Developmental Philosophy" GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS? and its rich and vibrant culture and forest cover.
Bhutan is termed as the LAST HIMALAYAN SHANGRILA on earth. its people are wonderful and fun loving and you will really enjoy every second of your stay in Bhutan.

while in Bhutan you have a lots of choices to opt for like cultural tour, trekking, textile tour, bird watching, rafting, village hiking and so on. besides Bhutan has a very very historical sites where one can take a chance to visit so as to gain merits.

For more information about Bhutan you can contact at [Mel removing email address. Posting email addresses is against the forum rules. Members can contact you via the private messaging system]or look to www.bhutanabbot.com/www.bhutan2008.blogspot.com

so if you are traveling for a longer duration in asia you should visit Bhutan as you will see Bhutan different from the rest of the parts of the world

Thank you

[Edited: 09:16 - Mell ]

byrunokia

Justin Chang
Post Count: 3

Msg: #12 86 weeks ago, April 28th 2008

Nicolas,

Don't miss Indonesia - check my http://indonesiatraveller.blogspot.com to find out small part of Indonesia tourist destination.
I will be glad to be your host if you visit Yogyakarta.

Best Regards

asdfguy

Suhan Ahmed
Post Count: 7

Msg: #13 85 weeks ago, May 3rd 2008

hi nicolas,

i feel Indonesia. , China, Tibet/Nepal, India. are the countries which will be good as u told that u dont wanna go to paush places and also money i feel thats enough but be care full as and when u visit any country go through the country guides also they will be lots of people how who can take u for a ride in money maters .....and try to bargain dont agree for what they quote...thats it from me u have a lovely journey.ahead.....and if u are coming to india and happens to visit bangalore....i will be eager to help u .....suhan

apurbava

Nutan Bajracharya
Post Count: 2

Msg: #14 72 weeks ago, August 5th 2008

If you are visiting you need to visit Nepal and India. Nepal a small poor country which is similar to your country in context of scenery but we have all the highest peaks in the world. India one of the most developing and big country of our region, lots of temples and historical places.

If you are interested more in night life visit Bangkok.

If you want to know more about Nepal write to me.

markyy

mark to
Post Count: 3

Msg: #15 72 weeks ago, August 5th 2008

if you need some info about china I can help you. <snip> is my email.
for westerners, us travelers most choose city tours, while European will have a larger circle, maybe because they have more holidays.
china is very huge and cultural, landscape extremely deviate from provinces to provinces. here are some most popular itinery:
us: beijing, xi'an, pingyao, (northern culture), shanghai, hangzhou, suzhou, nanking (southern culture).hongkong, macao(far south)
european:beijing, xi'an(head west),pingyao, shaolin,dunhuang(part of silk road),sichuan(start south west china),jiuzhaigou(hard to get there and costy but everything will worth...),leshan,yunnan,lijiang,tiger leaping gorge,dali,zhongdian(shangri-la,a taste of tibet),guilin, yangshuo(keep heading south), longji,guangzhou,zhangjiajie(head north again),fenghuang(head east on yangzi river),huangshan(yellow mountain),shanghai, hangzhou, suzhou,tongli.....
Many great area is unexplorable for westerners due to the language barrier, chinese usually categorize these tours:beside listed above, there are silk road tour, the great mountains such as Tai, Wudang, Heng... many. Daocheng in Sichuan, Tibet, three gorges, and many in central china area which the big circle doesn't cover.
look at the pictures and commend in travel blog can help a lot.

[Edited: 07:16 - Jo Trouble - Please contact via TravelBlog profile page.]

zhangyan

zhangyan
Post Count: 3

Msg: #16 71 weeks ago, August 7th 2008

hi, we 2 Beijing girls are going to Yunnan,Lijiang,in Sep 08
we are looking for partners go with us(girls are perferred)

we found a cheap and efficient line in Yunnan, safe your time safe your money to see the most beautiful spots

come with us to see the chinese old province, and snow mountain

travel line:

Lijiang: 2-3days
shangri-la: 2-3days
Meili Snow Mountain:1-2days

budget: RMB5,000-6,000

no need give me money, just take by yourself

if u r interested, please send me Email:<snip>

[Edited: 14:41 - Mell - Please exchange email addresses via the private messaging system. ]

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