Asia - Asia Travel Questions

This isn't specifically a United question, but it seems like a lot of you guys travel to and from Asia pretty frequently. My wife needs to go to Seoul, South Korea in September on business. She's pestering me to go, but I actually have no desire to go to Seoul. However, I wouldn't mind going somewhere in Asia so I'm thinking about having my wife fly from Seoul to somewhere that I can fly to from the US and am interested in going. How expensive is intra-Asia air travel and does anyone have any suggestions for good destinations?

Bigrob--this is probably better off in the "Travel & Dining" forum, under "Other Asia" subforum.

I'm curious why you don't want to go to Seoul. In many ways, we find it better than Tokyo.

I'm looking for more of a beach-resort destination, but I literally know nothing about travel in Asia. What is united's codeshare over there? Are they reasonably easy to use?

I'd fly to Thailand if you're looking for beach life. Krabi, Koh Phi Phi, and Phuket have gorgeous beaches and great hotels for a relatively inexpensive price.

Asiana is the Star Alliance partner from Korea. Flying from there to, say, Bangkok, is 5-6 hours and probably not cheap. Ditto to any other Southeast Asia destination. But there are lots of flight options from the U.S. and Seoul.

Rhailand is great and using miles on Thai is easy. I would also suggest going to Singapore and then either rent a car or take a bus up to yjr Malaysian beacjes. You xould also take a ferry to Batam Island Indonesia. All atr good choices.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8703e/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/104)

I would recommend Jeju island in Korea. They say it is the hawaii of asia. Asiana flies there and the flights are cheap.

Krabi, Koh Phi Phi, and Phuket have gorgeous beaches and great hotels for a relatively inexpensive price.
We haven't been to Kho Phi Phi since six months before the tsunami. Has it been rebuilt?

I should first say that I found Seoul to be a very interesting city, but it is certainly not a beach destination. The DMZ is also worth a visit.

As others have said, Phuket sounds like the place for you.

In the Budget Travel forum, there is a sticky with links to low-cost carriers that operate in Asia. Many of these LCCs hub in Singapore or Thailand. I believe a carrier called Orient Thai flies between BKK and Seoul (although there have been mixed reviews). You might want to check out that forum.

I'm sure having a Korean wife helps, but I absolutely love Seoul. Great food, great people, history…

However, if you want to go to the beach, why not go over to Gimpo (GMP) airport and catch an OZ flight to Jeju Island (CJU)? Not a “tropical” beach location like Thailand, but it’s a beach! There are about 17+ flights a day (plus two a day from ICN), the tickets are cheap and it’s only about an hour in the air. I’m told Jeju is one of the top Korean honeymoon destinations so there is plenty to see and do.

Give Seoul a chance, it’s a fun place!

We haven't been to Kho Phi Phi since six months before the tsunami. Has it been rebuilt?

From what I understand, tourism is alive and well in that general area of Thailand. It's not like it was pre-tsunami, but it's getting close.

Definitely go to Jeju, and give Seoul a try--it gets a bad rap. It lacks the histroical and archeological sites fourn in Beijing or Kyoto (they were all destroyed in the war), but it is a vibrant, cosmopolitan city with great restaurants, bars and night life. It is a great place to spend a few days, especially if you book into the Shilla. Then, go out to the airport and fly down to Jeju (and check into the Shilla down there)!

Flights to BKK from Seoul in Y can sometimes be found for under $400. Usually, it's around $500. Flights to HKT from Seoul will usually be a little more expensive. I'd say a ticket around $500 would be good but when I tried to go, it was around $600.

If you do decide to check out Korea and want a beach destination, then Cheju would be your best bet. Kyeong-Ju is where you'd want to go if you were in search of historical sites. It is a nice area.

Bigrob--this is probably better off in the "Travel & Dining" forum, under "Other Asia" subforum.


Agreed

I travel all the time from ICN to BKK and I've sat next to guys traveling from the States all the way to Thailand for practically the same cost as traveling just to ICN. If you decide on Thailand, shop around before you buy your ticket and you might be surprised at how little extra, if any it will cost you for a vacation in Phuket vs. Cheju. Cheju is very expensive for everything when compared to most destinations in Thailand. For me, I'd pick Thailand any day over Cheju. The crowds (Koreans) that flock to Cheju would be mostly gone by September, but so will the warm waters and all the water activities. Thailand has warm temperatures year-round. September is still in the rainy season in Thailand, while the monsoon rains in Korea are finished by then, but typhoons are very much a possibility in September.

If you want to be adventurous try Sanya on Hainan Island, China. Plenty of resort hotels and they setup fresh catch seafood barbeques every evening. You will need a Chinese tourist visa which is relatively easy to get.

From Seoul you can take an Asiana flight into Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or Shenzhen and get a domestic Chinese airline into Sanya.