Your latest trip fantasy

[billt4sf]

Hi Guys. We need to make a couple weeklong / 10 day trips from our base in Bali.

First from 6 Oct - 13 Oct (no wife in tow).

Second from Jan 31 - 10 Feb. with Emily.

Any suggestions from this group? Whatever it is, we need aircon and at least 3 Star accommodations.

These do not have to be scuba trips. Any where in SEA that is reasonable for a week to 10 days might work. We want to see the area while we're here. First thought for the Feb trip is Siem Reap / Ankor Wat but I would not want to spend 10 days there. Is early Feb a good time to go there?

We're in our 60's, reasonably active but we're not climbing any volcanoes.

Thanks in advance,

- Bill & Emily

 

[Dan]

That's raining season in most of west Indonesia, but since you mentioned an interest in Angkor Wat, have you been to Central Java to see Prambanan & Botobudur? Here are places around there that may be a good visit:
Kura Kura Resort - Karimunjawa Islands, Indonesia's premier paradise resort
Prambanan - Wikipedia
Borobudur - Wikipedia
Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat - Wikipedia

 

[Luko]

First thought for the Feb trip is Siem Reap / Ankor Wat but I would not want to spend 10 days there. Is early Feb a good time to go there?

Feb is almost bearable from 7AM to 11AM in Siem Reap after that it's time to change your sweatsoaked shirt and go to the hotel pool/have a siesta until 3PM. You wouldn't want to be there in April !!!
You HAVE to go to Angkor temples if you haven't been yet, this is certainly the most impressive complex in the world. It smokes anything manbuilt that is still existing and viewable.
You may combine it with a few days Thailand/around Chiang Mai as well as Luang Prabang/Laos, put the three together and you are directly plugged to a dharmic enlightment. (Ho wait... there's also Yangon's Shwedagon to see).

A little further you may also want to visit South India on a private tour (Tamil Nadu absolutely fantastic temples, setting you back more than a thousand years ago) or Sri Lanka. Feb may be the best period of the year for south Asia, 10 days gives you enough time to visit a region.

 

[billt4sf]

GREAT Suggestion! What am I going to do with a week in October?

 

[Luko]

GREAT Suggestion! What am I going to do with a week in October?

Dive Raja Ampat maybe?

 

[billt4sf]

Dive Raja Ampat maybe?

Just got here. not ready to dive yet. RA in December & April

 

[billt4sf]

What do you mean "private tour" in S. India? Where do you fly into? -- Chennai?

Is it worth to add a stop in the Andaman islands for diving? We are running out of money.

 

[Luko]

Tamil Nadu is a large state, there are many sightseeing/cultural stops that are worthwhile but scattered in different places (such as Mahallapuram, Trichy, Madurai, Pondicherry, etc.), so you'll need a private driver from Chennai who will drive you to all these places.
The agency will take care of the hotel bookings for you (and for the driver... until I discovered mine wasn't paid enough to get decent rooms and slept in his car, so I paid decent rooms for him... decent for an Indian driver means less than 10USD per night).

I wouldn't recommand diving the Andamans & Nicobar for you. I don't know whether you could find a aircon hotel, it takes hours to get to the dive site, often on longtail boats they're noisy and really not comfortbale. Add on top you can get currents anytime.

 

[Luko]

We are running out of money.

Get a job!

 

[dirtfarmer]

Get a job!

He has one, making me jelous!