Where would you fly to for a 1 week holiday out of Thailand mid Feb?

[anchadian]

Cape Town but with only a week, your stay would reduce to 6 days.

[LaosLover]

Another a vote for Laos.

 

A couple of days in Vientiane are easy to fill, followed by the new train up to Luang Prubang.

 

Luang Prubang could fill 3 days at the minimum, followed by the 2 day boat ride north on the Mekong -it's much less crowded going up instead or coming down.

 

As per my name, I'd want 2 weeks for the above trip, but you wouldn't be bored for a moment on that intinerary.

 

Make it a foodie tour: for cheap eats, Vientiane is the best in the world -$9 Peking Ducks (on the scrawny side). Check out Mark Weins on Youtube for what kind of local feast 100 baht would get you.

 

VT also has a (overpriced) North Korean restaurant where the staff does song and dance routines about the beloved Kim (past and present). It's the staff from the NK embassy who receive no other salary.

 

You can also go have sushi where Obama ate, a great value for the money. That Dam Cafe (overlooking the overgrown That Dam Stupa) is a French/Lao mashup that I could eat in forever. For a single traveler, there's alway a chat on offer there.

 

Luang Prubang has some of the best SEA-fusion dining in the world, at least half a dozen 5* restaurants at 3* prices. Lao food has on average less oil and more herbs than Thai food, and obv, no salt water fish.

 

Or: less spicy Issan food with nicer sticky rice. This is a country to order the laarb in; that rice powder will have been toasted freshly within hours.

 

In Anthony Bourdain's Laos episode, most of the restaurants he went to were created by the government for him to film in and then disassembled.

 

A shame, because both VT and LP have upscale charity restaurants along the Cabbages and Condoms model that, while not exactly whatever authentic means, are some of the most balanced tasting Asian food I've ever had.

 

You can see how they took a bit of persnicketiness from the French: In Laos, it's considered bad taste to have lime leaf and lemon grass in the same dish -it's just too much. Garlic? Maybe just a whiff.

Edited February 1, 2023 by LaosLover

[buick]

i'm going to manila for a week in feb.  i've been there many times.  i don't bother with Angeles.  i like to stay in fort bonafacio area of manila.  aka Bonafacio Global City (BGC).  it is all modern and new, unlike other areas of manila.  easy to walk around.  no transport needed.  nice hotels, restaurants, bars, etc...  you can get to p burgos street in 10-15 minutes via taxi after 8pm or so (traffic not bad then).  it is close to the airport if you decide to make a sidetrip to beach areas like boracay.  i hated manila until i discovered BGC through a friend.  there are youtube videos of the area (of course there are !!!).  take a look.

 

edit:  for entry to the PI, you have to fill out an online Health Declaration Form.  it can only be done 3 days in advance of the flight, i haven't done mine yet.  if you are vaxxed, you don't need to do any testing.

Edited February 1, 2023 by buick

[Doctor Tom]

2 hours ago, still kicking said:

Yes but most destination are just like Thailand 

Yes but unless you want to waste one day of just 7 days in airports and flying,  you are rather restricted in choice.   If its difference the OP is looking for, at or around 4 hours flight time, then maybe Nepal. 

[KhunLA]

Alaska, though haven't researched it.

 

Yellowstone National Park area, mainly for the park, and at the park for as long as possible.

 

Need 3 days to travel, at least, so 10 days.

 

Too far, then Japan, for mountains & snow.  Maybe even St Petersburg.  Depends on weather.

Edited February 1, 2023 by KhunLA

[Jingthing]

Baguio

[ThailandRyan]

Cebu

[Saphan]

Southern Thailand. Its getting hot in Laos with bad smog as well.

[Jingthing]

Taipei

To eat.

[ubonr1971]

34 minutes ago, buick said:

i'm going to manila for a week in feb.  i've been there many times.  i don't bother with Angeles.  i like to stay in fort bonafacio area of manila.  aka Bonafacio Global City (BGC).  it is all modern and new, unlike other areas of manila.  easy to walk around.  no transport needed.  nice hotels, restaurants, bars, etc...  you can get to p burgos street in 10-15 minutes via taxi after 8pm or so (traffic not bad then).  it is close to the airport if you decide to make a sidetrip to beach areas like boracay.  i hated manila until i discovered BGC through a friend.  there are youtube videos of the area (of course there are !!!).  take a look.

 

edit:  for entry to the PI, you have to fill out an online Health Declaration Form.  it can only be done 3 days in advance of the flight, i haven't done mine yet.  if you are vaxxed, you don't need to do any testing.

Does it matter if my last jab was over 6 months ago?

[ubonr1971]

26 minutes ago, Doctor Tom said:

Yes but unless you want to waste one day of just 7 days in airports and flying,  you are rather restricted in choice.   If its difference the OP is looking for, at or around 4 hours flight time, then maybe Nepal. 

Actually Nepal is not a bad idea to be honest. I just looked at the weather in Kathmandu and its 20 degrees sunny

[ripstanley]

3 hours ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

Week in Darwin not too expensive if careful on hotels.  Could see Kakadu and take a nice trip to Katherine Gorge. Closer than Tokyo. Osaka and Kyoto would make a nice week and nice in the cold. Many South East Asian destinations a bit same same but probably more relaxing if that's what is wanted. 

February is still the wet season and cyclone season.  Best time to visit Darwin is from May to August. It is the dry season with cooler temperatures and lower humidity. The temperatures are still high 20s and low 30s

[Mavideol]

maybe worth a try 555

 

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

[Shop mak]

30 minutes ago, ubonr1971 said:

Does it matter if my last jab was over 6 months ago?

 

https://etravel.gov.ph/

 

 

[LaosLover]

3 hours ago, ubonr1971 said:

Actually Nepal is not a bad idea to be honest. I just looked at the weather in Kathmandu and its 20 degrees sunny

If you're going that far and have $250 a day to burn, try Bhutan.

 

Def on the quiet/cultural side, but most of the Himalayas is deforested and Bhutan is very dramatically green. Among my favorite travel experiences. It didn't wow me when I was there, but it stayed with me a very long time.

 

6-7 days would do it. You can fly direct from Bangkok.