The original post: /r/travel by /u/wanderingdev on 2024-12-22 13:22:24.

I’ve decided I’ll spend next winter in Asia rather than Europe and I’d love some thoughts/feedback /suggestions on specific things to see/do/eat or if you have thoughts on bases that might be better. Things to note:

  • I am not doing traditional touristing a la the banana pancake trail. I will still be working at least part time and my goal is to settle into bases for a month + at a time and do exploring from there and then some quick travel when repositioning to a different base. I travel full time and am mostly just looking for somewhere to spend winter when Europe is less than ideal so I’m not a traditional backpacker.
  • My itinerary is optimized to avoid weather that is too extreme for my personal preferences. Ex: I don’t particularly enjoy hot and humid so will limit my time in places that are like that as much as possible. It’s also optimized for bases with a selection of direct flights under 3 hours to places I would want to visit.
  • I don’t love big cities so most of my time will be spent in more mellow places vs big capitols like Bangkok, Hanoi, etc.
  • My interests are primarily food and culture and I plan to do some cooking classes, see local sights, maybe take some language or other classes, etc. I have no interest in hanging on a beach, night life, etc. I do enjoy some water sports like SUP, diving, snorkeling, etc. so I’ll try to do some of that when possible.
  • I’ve been to Asia before. I spent 3 months there several years ago so having been to some places before, that’s why I’m not visiting them this trip. I was in CM for about 6 weeks but I was sick most of that time so I didn’t get to see much and would like to explore a lot more. I also visited Cambodia (SR & PP), Vietnam (Can Tho, Saigon, Da Nang, Hoi An, Hue, Hanoi), and Beijing on that trip. I did spend a couple nights in Bangkok but when I went it was way too hot so I was basically nocturnal only going out late at night to find food once it cooled off a little so I have seen basically nothing.

Current tentative plan:

October, November, December

Chaing Mai, Thailand. I will use this as a home base for several months and as a launching point to visit Laos (this will also be a visa run and I’ll spend 7-10 days there exploring a couple cities) and several locations around Thailand, including some of the islands. If I like the weekend island trips more than I think I will, I may do a longer trip to one of them in January. I already have identified several cooking schools I want to attend to learn some of my favorite dishes, a potential yoga retreat, and I’d be maybe interested in doing some Muy Thai classes as something active and fun. I will likely overlap with several friends during this time which is one reason why it’s so long. It’s an easy central place to use as a base. I will leave in early January to avoid burning season.

January

Bangkok, Lanta?, Penang, KL, Singapore. I will spend most of this month traveling. I plan to spend a week-ish in Bangkok seeing the sights (it was too hot to see anything last time I was there). If I like my visit to the islands when I’m based in CM, I may go spend a week or so on Lanta. If I don’t enjoy my island trips I’ll skip that and head directly to Malaysia and Singapore where I will spend 7-10 days split between Penang, KL, and Singapore with most of that time being in Penang for the food and probably just 2 nights in Singapore due to cost. I am limiting my time as I expect it’s going to be much warmer/humid than I prefer or enjoy and, while I want to see/eat all the things, I also want to enjoy myself.

Late January/February

Nha Trang/Da Nang/Travel. I’ll spend about a week in Nha Trang first to do some water activities/diving and then I’ll go make a base in Da Nang for 4-5 weeks. I was considering more time in Nha Trang but the food looks better in Da Nang and I think I’ll enjoy the chill vibe more there (I have been there before). While in Da Nang I’ll do a couple weekend trips either via train or air to explore some other cities further afield. I’ve been to Hue and Hoi An.

March

Hanoi/Sapa/Hong Kong/Macau/Taipei/Osaka?. In early March I’ll make my way up to Hanoi. I’d like to visit Sapa and this is apparently the best time of year to do it. I’ve been to Hanoi before so this will be a relatively short connection trip on my way north where I’ll do some quick travel to Hong Kong, Macau (day trip), Taipei, and potentially Osaka. As these are all expensive cities I’ll only be spending a 3-4 nights in each to help mitigate costs and the focus will be on food and culture. I’m not sure about Osaka at this point as it’s outside of my original plan, but I’ve wanted to go to Japan for a while and it’s an easy flight from Taipei so I may try to add it on or leave it for a future date. I know there is a lot more to see in all of these places besides just these cities, but this is more of an exploratory trip to see where I’d maybe like to return later and spend more time in the future.

Thanks!