Calendula Posted October 17, 2010 Posted October 17, 2010 If you could visit anywhere in Southeast Asia or Eastern Asia with your LDR-SO, where would you go and why? My LDR-SO just asked me over the phone if I wanted to go to Southeast Asia with him over the week of Thanksgiving. This will be the next chance I get to see him until Christmas. The last time I saw him was the first weekend of October and the time before that was the first weekend of September. He may have to go to Japan for work during the week before Thanksgiving, and figures if he is already on that side of the world he might as well visit some more of it over the Thanksgiving break. He wanted to know if I would/could come with him and I think he even plans on paying for part or most of my plane ticket. I told him I would love to go, and that I could even be free to during that time, but neither of us has a clue as to where we would/could go. I've never really thought much about where I would want to visit if I traveled to Southeast Asia, but it is kind of important that I figure it out and FAST, since we would have to purchase airline tickets in the next few weeks if it is something we actually end up doing. Help! Where would you go with your LDR-SO if you had the opportunity to spend a week anywhere in Southeast Asia with only them (i.e. no family Thanksgiving drama)? I currently know almost nothing about what is involved in traveling to Southeast Asia other than that I would need my passport (which I have), that I would need vaccinations (which I plan to look into on Monday), and that I shouldn't drink local, unbottled, water. Where can I find useful, specific information on this stuff? What are some places that we might consider visiting? What are some local customs to watch out for? Things to avoid? Things I should do? What other questions should I be asking? We would probably be traveling on a shoestring budget, but we are both experienced travelers and prefer to travel carry-on-only when flying anywhere (even for periods as long as a month). This would give us the flexibility to pick up and move to where-ever we wanted, when-ever we wanted and would make last minute flight changes and public transit a non-issue. In addition we have traveled internationally together before and we work well as a team in almost any situation. We are also both experienced backpackers and would be comfortable staying in Hostels and similar types of non-traditional lodging (i.e. we usually try to avoid large touristy hotels whenever possible). Just as a bit of background, I've known my SO for just over 9 years. We lived in the same town and were together for the first 3 of those years, and then were in a long distance relationship for two years after I had to move for school. We then separated for 4 years (my call - you can read about it elsewhere on LS) during which I was with someone else in a serious long term relationship. This second relationship ended just over a year ago, and my SO and I recently rekindled our relationship approximately 4 months ago. We are working towards being together long term, and both of us consider the other to be 'first' in terms of relationship priority, but too many uncertainties currently exist in both of our lives to be sure about much else. We aren't able to see much of each other in person because a 6 hour drive separates us. We also both work some pretty insane hours and have other responsibilities in our lives that prevent us from regularly going for extended weekend visits whenever we feel like it.
Citizen Erased Posted October 17, 2010 Posted October 17, 2010 Bali. Quite a few of my friends have gone there and they loved it.
aerogurl87 Posted October 17, 2010 Posted October 17, 2010 Thailand. My boyfriend went there last year and fell in love with the place. Now he wants us to go back together one day.
LittleTiger Posted October 17, 2010 Posted October 17, 2010 Any of the great scuba diving spots! Have a look online at the Southeast Asia tourist sites. Decide what you'd like to do and pick somewhere that fits the bill. I'm so jealous . Have fun!
Pyro Posted October 17, 2010 Posted October 17, 2010 GBR for scuba diving. (I have heard of Australia being included in SE Asia)
LittleTiger Posted October 17, 2010 Posted October 17, 2010 GBR for scuba diving. (I have heard of Australia being included in SE Asia) Never heard that. GBR is supposed to be awesome but it's Australasia not South East Asia. Philippines or Indonesia is where I was thinking of.....but maybe the OP isn't into scuba diving.
Author Calendula Posted October 17, 2010 Author Posted October 17, 2010 I'm not really much of a scuba diver. When I first learned how to swim I had exercise induced asthma, which made it hard for me to get enough air when exercising. It can be a panic-inducing feeling for a kid when you can't put your feet on some sort of solid surface to give yourself enough time to breath. I know that with Scuba diving you have an oxygen tank, etc, and I'm a perfectly capable swimmer (no fear of water or anything) but I've never been all that enthusiastic about swimming related sports because of my early experiences. I also wear glasses which makes it hard to see things underwater unless I use special goggles. I more of a plant enthusiast. Put me in a botanical garden and I'd be thrilled to spend hours on hours observing and taking pictures of all the plants. My house is full of plants with lights over them and I want to build a greenhouse/ sunroom directly onto my house some day. My SO is also a gardener though he does more vegetable gardening than ornamental. We both also tend to prefer trees and living things to buildings and cars. I also have a great appreciation for goldfish and koi though I currently can't keep any myself. Instead I've satisfied myself with tropical fish in multiple aquariums throughout my home. Did you know that ther eis As far as other general travel interests go, I've always liked old architecture both for its artistic value and for the history and stories associated with it. I love castles, ornate carvings and statues, and I have enough artistic skill to greatly appreciate the true skill that goes into making such things.
Author Calendula Posted October 17, 2010 Author Posted October 17, 2010 Some general things I've come up with so far are as follows: Temples in Thailand The Great Wall of China - where along the wall would be a good place to visit? Historic parts of Shanghai or Hong Kong (lowest cost flights are to major metropolitan areas such as these) Castles Art Museums or Cultural art exhibits Botanical Gardens Somewhere that they have really neat Koi on display I plan on talking to an American colleague on Monday who is returning from a trip to China this weekend. I also plan to talk to some other colleagues who are from China and other places in Asia. Are there any other specific ideas you all might have that I could ask them about? I'd really like to go to places that my SO and I can enjoy together since we see each other so infrequently and this will be a whole week we will get to spend together. To decide where we want to go, however, I have to come up with places I am interested in so we can discuss them. I have no intention of expecting him do all the research as to where we could go and then complaining about where we end up when I don't like it.
Author Calendula Posted October 17, 2010 Author Posted October 17, 2010 Bali. Quite a few of my friends have gone there and they loved it. Bali, Indonesia would be cool, but a plane ticket from where I am would cost me $2500-3500 as opposed to ~$1000 to Shanghai, China. Big difference.
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