London to Melbourne via....?

[crazycatguy]

I'm off to Australia this summer (again!) and as I can't stand to be on a plane more than 7 or 8hrs at a time I generally go in hops on one way tickets there and back. This gives me the chance to visit places en route for a few days at a time and gives me a chance to sleep!

Last time I went London to Dubai to Shanghai to Singapore and onto Sydney from there. Home was Singapore, Colombo and Dubai again.

Any other route suggestions? I have five weeks off so time isn't an issue. I have some money to spend but don't want to be throwing out many thousands!

Hong Kong is my favourite Far East city. If you have not been there you MUST go! I prefer it over Singapore/Bangkok anyday

I came on to suggest Hong Kong too - safe, vibrant city and plenty to see. There are some good night markets and day trips if you want to go further afield.

I absolutely love Bangkok so would also recommend that as a stop though I'm not sure I could go back without exploring more of Thailand at the same time - it's definitely a whole holiday in itself. I love the colour and chaos of Bangkok though.

Also recommend HK, but London-HK - Melbourne will involve more than 7/8 hours for each leg of the trip.
Other cities you could consider - KL or HCMC or Bangkok. Beijing would also be possible with Air China from Heathrow, but again longer than 8 hours although you could then do a short hop to HK (3.5/4 hours I imagine) and on to Melbourne from there.

If you choose Bangkok there are a couple of easy day trips from there - Kanchanaburi for the bridge over the river Kwai and Ayutthaya which is a world heritage site.

Another vote for HK.