Philippines seem cool if you like beaches and island hopping. My dad went to Davao and liked it a lot.
I was wondering the same thing... 6 countries in 3 weeks is terrible. You will do any of the countries justice. I really liked Thailand and Indonesia.
As has been already eloquently stated. Do not go to 6 different countries in 3 weeks. I'm not sure where you live but you will probably spend 2 of the 21 days for travel there and back. When you travel between countries it will take most of the day to get up, shower, eat, pack, travel to airport, go through security, go through customs, travel from airport to the city, find hotel... bam your day is over. So say you have 19 days left of travel and go to 5 countries that that leaves you with 14 full days for the places you will be at, so that would be 3 full days at 4 countries and 2 full days at the 5th. That is the most I would do. Perhaps you should consider going to 4 different countries and maybe go to 2 different places in one of them. For example Tokyo/Kyoto or Bangkok and one of the islands (I don't recommend Phuket) It would take less time to fly across a small country like Japan or Thailand obviously.
Don't listen to everyone that says 6 countries in 3 weeks sounds terrible. I did 6 in 12 days including various cities/areas/islands within those countries. As long as you're young-ish, active, willing to see and explore you should be fine. The time differences, early sun-rises and weather alone will keep you on the move assuming you go to SE Asian countries.
See Tokyo is one of the very few destinations where I agree with you, as there are things you can buy there that are not really available anywhere else. Especially a lot of the Made in Japan items (i.e. Tokyu Hands), Japanese street fashion, etc. But when Americans go to places like Dubai "to shop"...that I really don't understand.
Hong Kong is the best city on earth. And it's not just for the rich parts. Before you go, watch some Wong Kar Wai movies like Chungking Express, Days of Being Wild, Fallen Angels, As Tears Go By, In the Mood for Love. They're about as much of a love story to the city as you can get. The "Westernized" parts of Asia are gonna be the best gateways if you've never been there. Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, pretty much all of Japan and S. Korea (although I would discourage visiting either without a contact with language proficiency there), and maybe the biggest coastal Chinese cities (Shanghai more than Beijing or Guangzhou). I've spent 2 months in China, and when you get away from the biggest cities, it doesn't matter how big the other cities are you are pretty much sacrificing your ability to do things like use a credit card, sit on a toilet seat, have toilet paper available in public bathrooms, receive napkins when eating out for dinner, etc etc. Not to say that this is a bad thing. Actually nowadays when I go to Asia I do my best to avoid all the Western parts of towns I go through. But I'm just telling you if you've never been there, dip your toes in the water first; don't dive all the way in. Go to the gateway cities unless you're an adrenaline junkie like my friend who took his first trip in Asia to Burma.
Definitely not. I don't know a word of Japanese (or anyone living in Japan), but Tokyo is one of my all-time favorite cities in the World. Seoul is great, too.
Same here, I was able to get by in Osaka no problem with English. Even bought train tickets (Shinkansen FTW!) and travel to other parts of Japan with no real problems. FYI lots of shopping for the wife in Osaka. SMH Kyoto was very nice, trule the only city that was not destroyed by WW2. Still has a lot of historical sites
Women. Though it does make sense in certain situations, the exact same Chanel/Gucci/Louis Vuitton etc bag in Europe will cost $1,000 to $2,000 cheaper when compared to US.
Um, no. It say's it a group of vigilantes who go after people "suspected of being drug dealers, child rapists, murderers and other repeat offending criminals"... so I don't think tourist will have any issues unless they plan on doing some ****ed up **** on their vacation. Interesting stuff though. Davao is actually touted for being a very safe city, I'v seen some articles saying it's the safest in the Philippines and one of the safest cities in the world(Maybe the vigilante group is keeping it safe ). I don't know how true that is, but I'm willing to best it's safe enough for south east asia, dad didn't have any issues whatsoever. I will say this as a Travelers beware, the Philippines has ridiculously extreme laws against weed. Just a little can get you life in jail, a good amount can get you executed... but then again, I've heard like 5 bucks can bribe the cop to leave you alone, but still, scary.
I'm a frequent traveler to Asia and have lived there. First off 6 countries in 3 weeks is no problem. You could easily do those in short trips right out of Singapore. It really depends on what you want to see and the diversity of experience. Given though if you're going to see a lot of countries in a short time it probably makes sense to stay along the tourist path with well known locations. This will make it easier for you to do things like get local currency, info and support if something goes wrong. Keep in mind with some countries you might need to plan ahead the People's Republic of China (PRC) doesn't have visa on arrival for US citizens and you have to apply ahead of time from either a PRC consulate or an organization that is authorized to do so. Hong Kong and Macau allow for visa on arrival and from a traveler's standpoint they are essential separate countries from the PRC and each other. In Hong Kong, and probably Macau, you can apply for a PRC visa and get it within a day. Keep in mind though that PRC visa isn't cheap and even applying ahead of time (could take as long as three weeks in the US) still cost over $100 US and getting it in HK within a day could be over $200 US. Because of that restriction I would be very careful about including the PRC in your 6 country trip. The PRC is so big and there is so much to see you're better off planning a trip just for the PRC. I haven't been there but I've heard that going to Myanmar you need either a visa in advance or else a lot of cash (US dollars). Other countries like Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia will also charge for visas and you can apply ahead of time but you can also get them on arrival without much trouble. My recommendation is to base your trip around a travel hub that you fly into the continent and out of. This gives you flexibility in your travel schedule and a convenient point to plan around especially if things change or something goes wrong. 1. Using Hong Kong as a travel hub besides seeing Hong Kong it is very convenient to hit the following countries. Macau - Done as a day trip by ferry. The Philippines Taiwan Vietnam Thailand Korea - This is getting a little further and if so you might want to consider use Seoul then as either the entry or exit point of your trip with Hong Kong as your base. Japan - Same as above except Tokyo or Osaka. PRC - You can take, train, bus or ferry from Hong Kong but do to the visa restrictions I would only consider going to the PRC for your trip if you're prepared to spend at least 10 days there and try to see at least two cities (with one being Beijing). There are many cheap flights out of HK to all parts of the PRC and for even more savings you can fly out Shenzhen (right on the other side of the border) and/or take high speed trains to other parts of southern China. Going to the PRC though as American isn't something to just do on a whim and outside of Beijing and Shanghai you will have a tough time getting around. 2. Using Singapore as a hub. Malaysia - Singapore is connected to the Malay peninsula by two bridges and can take ferries also many other parts. There are buses from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and many affordable flights to KL and other parts of Malaysia. Indonesia - You can take a short ferry trip to two nearby Indonesian islands and there are many affordable flights to Jakarta, Bali, and other parts of Indonesia. One money saving possibility is to take a ferry to the closest island Batam and from there you can fly domestically to other parts of Indonesia. Thailand Cambodia Vietnam If you really want to and are willing to spend more time in these locations from Singapore it is about a 4 hour flight to India, Sri Lanka, and Australia (Perth). As you can see there are a lot of options and if you have any particular questions feel free to post them here and will answer them if I can.
That's because the Kill Squads are true and belongs to the mayor of that city, who is going to be the new president of the Philippines. Look him up, Duterte aka The Punisher. Pretty much this, if you're not a criminal you have nothing to worry about when going to the Philippines.
What do you think of the mayor? My father has Filipino friends who are relatives with him, think he might be their uncle or something.
My trip will be 2 weeks max because I don't want to burn all my PTO. I want to save some for a new zealand trip and also an africa trip. I would like to see my friend in the air force. He is located in northern japan. I figured I can fly into tokyo and take a train or something up there. If i am going to go to asia might as well see him also but I feel like it's out of the way and maybe I should just go to Japan and call it a day. Considering a stop in Tokyo..which 2 or 3 countries make sense? PRC/Korea I can do at another time.
If you decide to go to China, I can tell you about the following cities: Shanghai Nanjing (near Shanghai) Hangzhou (near Shanghai) Xi'an Chengdu Beijing Hong Kong Macau
