I looked at Thailand for a bit of autumn sun but am going to Turkey instead. I just couldn't be arsed to do a long haul flight again this year in economy. Have a great time, mate.
If anyone would like to visit beautiful Japan I may recommend Spring the most but it is year round fun with lots to see and do at any time. It will be my pleasure to advise you!
Off to Southeast Asia (and maybe India) in december with 4 mates, just wondered if anyone who has been recently can give an idea of how much they spent? We were only planning to go for 12 weeks initially but now looks like we'll be able to take around £3000 each spending money which will do us for longer than that no(bear in mind with budget we'll be getting pissed a fair bit but not every night)? Starting off with a couple of weeks in Bali before flying up to Siem Reap and doing Cambodia, Vietnam Laos and Thailand. Hoping now that as we'll have more money than we first planned we can go to Burma and India too.
You'll spend a mint in Bali as the prices reflect the tourist's budget and since it's like being in Australia everything is more expensive here than the rest of Indonesia. Cambodia is cheap as chips, accommodation shouldn't be more than a fiver a night in most places and the people are great. Thailand has two heads; it's cheap in the north, both accommodation and the food, and it's relatively expensive in the south where the islands are and the food is not so good (although it's still better than Vietnam or Laos). Bangkok is shit. A lot of Laos is still out of bounds because they haven't cleared large areas where the Americans dropped bombs during the Vietnam war. This means that the bits that are safe; Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, Vientianne, are all overloaded with tourists. Of those three I'd avoid the capital. If you have the time go to Pakse and the four thousand islands on the Mekong river, it'll look lovely in December because the rainy season will have finished and the river will be full which makes it look so much better. Haven't been to India but the bits I've seen of Burma is lovely but it's nowhere near as cheap as it's neighbours. Travel and food is OK but accommodation costs are creeping up and bordering on the costly.
I take it you entered Burma via the Golden Triangle? Burma is stunning but incredibly dangerous, I've been into a few countries with tortured political systems, but it was the one time I really felt I was taking a chance; diplomatic emissaries have very little freedom of movement within the country and getting into trouble there is not an option. That said and done, the Golden Triangle with all the Chinese hill tribes who are spread across it from the North of Thailand, across the Meekong and into Laos - and how they work hard for each other in order to exist, justified the effort, and is something all people should want (or need) to see. I still have the opium jar and head rest the villagers let me keep - the day after, when I regained consciousness.
Bit of a long shot but has anyone been to Belarus? I have just sorted out a visa (annoying process) and wondered if anyone's been? I planning on seeing Minsk and possible a few other cites.
Yes, as well as two other border crossings at Mai Sai north of Chiang Rai and Rayong down south. Mai Sai is a tourist town where the farang who live in Thailand do their border bounce for visa purposes and so there are a lot of sharks circling the wallets as you walk down the busy market streets, but it's worth getting a visa to be able to travel further into the country and see what it's really like, which is an absolute treat as soon as you get away from the hustle and bustle and interact with the villagers, who are in the main very friendly.
