One month, Summer hols, Asia....

[DeliveredByKiki]

We've decided to delay a bigger trip to South America next summer and instead do a month long trip somewhere in Asia - DH is gunning for Japan, which I'm up for but also want to consider Vietnam or Cambodia.

We're well travelled and have two DC who will be 8&5 who are used to travelling a lot expat brats though only westernized travel

Very start of planning - where would you go? Budget is reasonable (we have saved up and budget really well so as long as we don't luxury travel should be able to afford somewhere like Japan - treat it as budget less just for fun for now!)

We used to live in Asia and did Cambodia with our two when they were aged 4 and 8. They loved it, we did temples at siem reap, tonle sap lake, even the minefield museum. We had a great guide with air conditioned car, which really helped. I would do Japan, Cambodia, maybe Borneo to see orang utans in the wild and a decent beach (Thailand, Malaysia .... Even budget busting Maldives on the way back for the best snorkeling ever). That way you cover extremes in terms of culture and scenery (city, temples, jungle, beach).

A lot of SE Asia is wet in the summer months so suggest the following which are dry:
Hoi an in Vietnam, north vietnam is wet but central area has good weather
Bali
Java
Parts of Thailand - not Phuket
Borneo - Brunei, Sabah and Sarawak
Have not been to Japan in the summer, but understand it's pretty hot and humid then.

Can I throw Korea into the mix - I use to live there and its an incredible country, Seoul is amazing and very kid friendly - so if Japan is because of Tokyo then may be consider there as somewhere different.

But having said that both Tokyo and Seoul are urban - as would be HK or Singapore - so maybe pick one as your point of arrival into the region and another for your flight out and spend a couple of days exploring before heading off to other countries on local flights.

I agree with some of the choices above, and yes the weather may not be great at that time of year. Personally I'd add in Chaing Mai in Northern Thailand - completely different from beach places like Phuket but you could then direct flight down to a resort in the south for a few days of chilling. Also think about MyanMar is fascinating more because its only just opened up so a rare chance to see a country before the wave of tourism hits.

Anyway loads of options and SE Asia is very family friendly. I'm not connected to this company in anyway but I do think they have great itineraries which you could probably book variations yourself but I can happily lose myself for an hour or do day dreaming Far East itineraries

Summer is the worst time to visit Japan I'm afraid; the heat and humidity are oppressive. If you want to get out and about and explore the cities then you may find it very hard when the sweat is running down your body only five minutes after getting out of the shower!

Our holiday this year is Kuala Lumpur, Borneo, Singapore. Mainly chose the two cities as they were the ones we can fly direct into from UAE.

In Borneo we're doing 3 stops - shangri la rasa ria in Kota Kinabalu and using that as a base for a week to do things like whitewater rafting and other exploring, and a couple of 1 day treks. Not climbing the mountain though too fat for that

Then we're off to Sukau rainforest lodge including trips to sepilok to see the orangutans. Would have liked to stay at Borneo rainforest lodge but no availability. We'll be doing the historical
Side of sandakan too, visiting the war
Memorials.

Then we're off to Gaya island where we're hoping to chill out, but more trekking (that ones is 2-3 hour trails so fairly chilled out), with snorkelling and kayaking. And the big zip line to another island.

We'll be going back again so decided to limit this trip to Sabah area as we only have 3 weeks in total. Have a look at Sarawak (inc Kuching) too.

For big trip planning, we usually pick an area of the world the South America trip is planned for early 2018 and go on the Kuoni website to the tours section, and exodus.co.uk - between the two it's a mix of luxury and adventure - and use the trips they do as a basis to personalise our trips. Both of those do Vietnam/Cambodia trips, and that spreadsheet is being developed for a future holiday Chez Snails too.

awesome responses, thanks - and I'll check out those websites Mard we are planning SA for 2018 too - was going to be 2017 but our Brazilian friends have told us to delay cos of political upheaval :(

Will make a note of the weather issue....hadn't thought about Borneo!!

Wanted to add this website is really good for showing which areas are wet in which months
www.selectiveasia.com/asia-holidays/weather/august

Is it uncomfortable hot and humid in Japan in July and August then? We live in a fairly hot place already but I don't want a miserable complaining family!

We are off to Vietnam, fling in to HCMC taking a boat up the Mekong Delta , arriving in Siem Reap and then flying back to HCMC to return home to the UAE. yep it will be wet but hot and fast I'm hoping.
As we only have 11 days we can't do everything 😢
Last year we had 5 days in Rangoon and 10 days in Khao Lak and 2 in Bangkok (been there a number of times). That was a proper bucket list trip. and if I don't get this trip sorted pdq we will be going back there.