I went to Sri Lanka last year and it was really good but it was so hard to get round the country.

Where would you recommend?

Well, here's a very brief summary of my overall impressions of the Asian countries I've been to:

Japan

Incredibly fascinating since it's the most different (from ours) first world culture I've ever been to, and I've travelled quite a lot. Social rules, behaviour, traditions, pop culture, food, etc etc etc, everything comes across as very very exotic to us westerners and that alone makes it worth a look. It's not cheap though.

China

I was pleasantly surprised by China. I thought I'd have a constant "Big Brother is Watching You"-feeling but instead it felt like anarchy in many places, mostly in a good way. I also fully expected to not be able to eat a lot of the food and to get sick from it, but it was overall very tasty even in dingy-looking places (and I never got sick). Beijing wasn't that much to see to be honest, but Shanghai was fascinating and places like Yangshuo absolutely beautiful. Don't expect people to be friendly though. They're not unfriendly either; mostly the just ignore you.

Vietnam

The main impression here was that people were very smiley and friendly and laid-back. Saigon was bursting with life with scooters EVERYWHERE and there's quite a lot to see. The whole society is very provincial though, so don't expect big city comforts even in the big cities. One big plus: everything is dirt cheap.

Indonesia

Overrun by tourists in many places and these days I'd be a bit worried about my safety, but if you want to see grandios nature then this is the place to be. It really matches the "tropical paradise" descriptions that so many holiday ads lay claim to.

India

Unfortunately I was negatively surprised by India. It was very very dirty and poor, and I got hassled every five minutes by very persistent vendors or beggars. I got stomach sick at least three times despite only drinking bottled water and eating vegetarian food at good restaurants, and people were generally quite rude. Especially the upper class Indians who were shockingly snooty. But it was of course still fascinating and everything is cheap.

Good luck!

Id recommend Vietnam. I travelled around there for over a month and I could have spent even more time there.

It was such a wonderful country. People were so kind and helpful and you can do almost anything there.

It has beautiful beaches around Nha Trang, Mui Ne and Phu Quoc (an island), culture in Hue and Hoi An (stayed in Hoi An for about a week - I LOVED it!), the bustling big cities Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, trekking in the north, motorcycle tours around Dalat - I didn't go on this tour but I know a lot that went and they loved it. I rented motobikes (thats what they call them) in Dalat and that was a lot of fun! Nature and jungles it has aswell - Ha Long Bay, Tam Coc and the different national parks.

And there's a lot of places about the war - DMZ (near Hue), Cu Chi tunnels - insane that the tunnels have been made bigger so the tourists can fit in them (my tour guide called us big ass people). If you even want to see tunnels that they havent changed I do think they can be found around DMZ.

The great thing is that it's really easy to travel around Vietnam - by bus (really cheap), train and plane. Buses you can book a day before, trains a few days before if you are going overnight and want a sleeper. Tours can be booked in Vietnam, but do ask fellow travellers which company they recommend

And it is really cheap. My friend and I stayed at hotels down to 5 US dollars per night but mostly we spent about 10 - 15 dollars for a room with a/c, bathroom and two beds - but we were backpackers so it wasnt the best of the best

Another thing is the food - OMG vietnamese food has to be the most delicous thing I have ever tasted. And you can get beer for about 1 dollar or less I think. It's called bia hoi.

I could go on and on about Vietnam. But other countries in Asia I can recommend are Laos and Cambodia. One place I really want to go to is Myanmar

Thanks for the replies...

Vietnam was actually one of the places I was considering.

I have 3 weeks off so I thinking about Thailand,Cambodia and Vietnam.

I actually meant to say I was in Sri Lanka this year and not last year..it was fantastic..I got the shits though..I wasn't unwell I just got the shits.

^If you have only three weeks, don't try to do too much! Stay in one or two countries. I've never been to Asia, that's why I like to read this, but it's always better to take your time to get to know a country rather than rushing from one site to another.

muirdo said:

Thanks for the replies...

Vietnam was actually one of the places I was considering.

I have 3 weeks off so I thinking about Thailand,Cambodia and Vietnam.

I actually meant to say I was in Sri Lanka this year and not last year..it was fantastic..I got the shits though..I wasn't unwell I just got the shits.

What kind of vacation are you considering? Are you thinking about doing all countries at once or only one country? I would say you could do two countries but not all three - you'll spend more time travelling than actually getting to see the country that you are in.

And you can't really avoid the shits - or I could my friend couldn't - but all I did was I only ate were locals ate and at food stalls. The food there is mostly fresh bought at the local market in the morning.

Hope I'll win the lotto today so I can pack my bags and travel around Asia again!

[Edited 12/14/11 10:30am]

I'd be backpacking.

I love the entire youth hostel vibe and the characters you meet at them.

Other places we were considering were Seoul and Kuala Lumpur.

I'd love to visit the DMZ in Korea.

I know it's the best. Loved meeting different people with different stories to tell.

A lot we met in Vietnam did the Vietnam - Cambodia - Bangkok trip where they started in Hanoi travelled south to Ho Chi Minh City and then through Cambodia and ended up in Bangkok.

When are you planning on going?

Kuala Lumpur is an okay city - Ive been there twice but not more than 24 hours each time so I actually don't know so much about the city other than the only beer we could find where in China Town and the view from Petrona is amazing, and there's wild monkeys in the city - but Malaysia is supposed to be very nice.

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Im going for the last 2 weeks of August and the first week of September.