US, New Zealand and ??Asia

[TouringTumourantula]

I'm planning a big trip for once my brain tumour treatment is over...

London - New York (1 week), New Zealand (6 weeks), and then a week in a city in Asia. I'm unsure on which Asian destination though I have ruled out Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan and China (two I've been to, and two I think aren't worth a one week trip. The city must have enough going on for me to spend a week there... I'm undecided on whether to go back to Singapore, or visit Seoul, or Manilla, or ???

Looking for advice on where you would go please.

I like photography, culture, food, and the outdoors

Hanoi (North of Vietnam) and its surrounding areas is good for a week trip; Fly into and out of Hanoi.

Agree with Hanoi/Sapa/Ninh Binh type combo or Hoi An, but if that's one you've been to before would consider these - all of which we've done in one week breaks:
Cambodia - Siem Reap.
Kyoto/Osaka combo very doable in a week if you were discounting based on time.
Seoul and Taipei both fun.
Hong Kong is fab for a week.

Less city, more country/outdoorsy:
Borneo/Sarawak
Lombok/Gili or Komodo
Chiangmai
Yogyakarta

Singapore is obviously an easy option and depending on time of year/monsoon a straightforward hop to Malaysian or Indonesian islands for a couple of nights.

From NZ though I'd consider perhaps a week in Sydney or Perth on way back. Or you could do Maldives/Sri Lanka pretty easily too.

A Bangkok/Chang Mai combo would be cool. Or Chang Mai/Chang Rai up into the Golden Triangle.

But if you haven't already been my pick would be a Penang/Langkawi combo. Though you could also do a few days in Singapore which is a good flight hub, then a very quick and cheap hop to Penang for a couple of days.

Seoul is amazing!!

or you could look at Taiwan which is a really small country, so a week will be enough.

Don’t go to Manila

I would think there's plenty in Singapore, it was better than expected. I see you've ruled out Vietnam and Malaysia. Bangkok??

I would advocate for Seoul or Hong Kong any day over Singapore. So much to do in both cities, with equally stunning countryside within easy reach.

Taiwan as a country would be perfect for a week but I'd suggest plan to travel Taipei and Kaohsiung

Possibly Golden Triangle area for Thailand, Laos and Myanmar.

India - and so many regions to choose from. They have their own 'Golden Triangle' around Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. Or go to Rajasthan.

A lot depends on time of year SE Asia can get quite monsoony at certain times and insanely hot at others.

I'd put HK in with China.

Agree one hundred percent.

Should have said, the countries I've ruled out are because I have travelled extensively through them whilst living and working in them.

I'm Australian as well so Australia has been ruled out for that reason. Borneo/Sarawak - Lombok/Gili or Komodo - these are also out as except Komodo we've been.

I'll have a look at the new suggestions. I'm not keen on India for this trip - we've been before and would like to do it as a family trip in the future as it's magnificent and so, so child friendly.

Good thinking about the monsoon - I need to look into that.

Hong Kong - could hike some of the Lantau trail or something like that?

Or... looking from a slightly different angle, could go into more Polynesian destinations from NZ - somewhere like Fiji or the Cook Islands.

Congrats on getting through the brain tumour

Are getting a round the world ticket Or buying flights per leg? I'm sure you know, but some airlines re-fuel in certain places, which might be cheaper than using airline A which then needs a smaller flight to get to country B. Singapore Air used to give you a free city tour if you have a stop over there. NZ air have the option of buying 3 seats for 2 people, which I think fold down to more of a bed.

What do you like to do? Beach/scuba/sun, museums, food, culture? You can always find things to see/do to fill a week IMO. Even if a day is just resting in the hotel and catching up with jet lagged sleep!

If you have been to Singapore, what did you see/do? I love Thailand. You could easily spend 2 days in Bangkok and the rest in the south for sun, or the north for cool/trekking/culture. Taiwan felt like a more sanitised China. Interesting museums, Tea plantations, the zoo etc.

I loved Taiwan. Taroko Gorge is a stunning day trip and Taipei is a fascinating city with some really amazing museums and sights to see. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Not Singapore. You only need a couple of days there.

Bumping because we're thinking about a stop at Seoul en route to Tokyo. DH has a friend who went and raves about it. But interested in other views