Originally Posted by
CrazyInteg
Honestly, 9 days is not enough. The travel time alone can be 24 hours each way, so then you're looking at 7 days of vacation. I would shoot for a minimum of 14 days.
It would help if you could narrow down the areas or countries a bit more. With your budget any Asian country is possible. Some countries are easier than others for first timers as well. Some countries allow a visa-free visit which can save money.
I'm not a backpacker, but I would recommend carrying your stuff in a backpack unless you plan to stay in the same hotel room for the duration of your trip.
In regards to booking legs of flights... Basically you will determine what days you will have off work and book your roundtrip flight. You don't have to fly into and leave from the same airport, and many airline website's allow you to book trips with multiple cities. Personally, I create an outline of where and when I want to visit in the region, and then look into the airfares connecting my dots. Korean air offers some more interesting airline connections via Seoul.
Anyways, feel free to ask more questions or provide us with more relevant information. Lots of good advice can be gained from this forum.
Thanks so much.
Visa-Free is probably how I need to go for this trip, because I have zero experience with that stuff.
Just from my initial research, it appears like Korean Air will offer the best money/time balance because they fly non-stop to Seoul from ATL. It seems like all Tokyo connections want me to fly to JFK or Detroit first.
I wish I had more time but 9 days is probably my max with work schedule. I can telecommute but that's not what I want to do on vacation and I didn't even plan to bring a phone or computer.
As far as destinations, I find all of Asia fascinating and interesting. On this trip, however, I think I'd like to focus more on Southeast Asia. I'm fine with visiting one country or multiple countries.
I'm a planner and a bit of a budget hound so I just want to minimize my travel costs and have more to play with. I would assume flying to Manila, Bangkok, Phuket and Hanoi is cheaper than more obscure cities like Phnom Penh and Kuala Lumpur for instance. If I wrong, feel free to correct me.