On Sun, 8 Mar 2009 20:18:23 -0000, "Steve" wrote:

"MC" wrote in message
.. .
"Steve" wrote in message
...
I'm based in the UK and I fancy a trip to East and/or South-East Asia. My
budget is around £2000 for the trip (plus spending money), I have up to 3
weeks holiday available and I'll be going sometime between August and
December.

I would like to visit some cities - plus potentially some historic sites
and possibly have some time on a beach. I would however be happy just
visiting interesting cities. The cities that interest me are Hong Kong,
Tokyo, Singapore and Beijing.


OK. Having experienced all these places I would suggest the following:

1. Fly to Hong Kong and spend about 5 days - Less of an immediate culture
shock and a place to definately experience. A wonderful, colourful and
vibrant (always busy) place and I think everyone should experience Hong
Kong at least once. Treat yourself to a new camera or something while
there )

2. Fly on to Beijing and spend 7 days - A fascinating place only just
getting to grips with western ways. Loads of places to visit if you want
to experience the old chinese culture and way of life.

3. Fly onto Tokyo and spend 7 days - Well, Japan is Japan and can be a
great mix of ultra modern and ultra old. Would not stay in Tokyo though I
would use it as a base, maybe, for other trips in and around Japan.

Sounds good.

Forget Singapore. A good transit city on your way to other places but only
good for 2 or 3 day stopovers IMO.

I think Singapore is a must because the wife will want to visit at least one
beach.

If you're including Singapore mainly for the beach then you could
probably choose a better destination than that. Cities and beaches
don't normally go well together, so it may be better to schedule a
side-trip to somewhere like Phuket or one of the Malaysian resorts.
There are direct flights to Phuket from many cities in the region and
you can be on a good beach within a couple of hours of landing. I'm
not so familiar with Malaysia, so perhaps someone else will make some
suggestions.

Chris