Now that people’s summer schedules are dropping in, it’s time for me to decide where to go this summer. Except I’m having a tough time deciding where to go as it boils down to a handful of categories that include location and costs as factors.
1. The Revisit: After doing quite a bit of travel last year (a year ago today I was in Burma) I have a lot of places on my list to see again, visit and stay with good friends or places to explore more. In the order of most desire to return: Singapore, Hong Kong, Mainland China and The Philippines. Both Singapore and Hong Kong are small places that don’t necessarily require that much time, however, probably less than a week. Except the costs to getting down are not enough to validate the travel. I know I would have a good time, but I want to go somewhere new. However, I also want to check see some friends.
2. Virgin Territory: While I have seen a lot of SE Asia, East Asia is still largely untraveled for me. I have yet to go to Japan or Taiwan or visit Beijing longer than two days. Really, the bigger deterrent for me at this time for going to somewhere like Japan is, to be frank, the summer cost. Getting a flight into Japan during the summer will be expensive as will be the time in the country. On review, cost isn’t a deterrent for the fact that I know I could go to somewhere like Osaka on a long weekend during the school year via Jeju Air (Korea’s budget airline) and spend less.
3. The Adventure: This is secretly what I want to do, but I don’t really think I have the time to really make it worth my while. I really want to go to Mongolia or visit Asian Russia. With only about 10 to 11 days off for the summer and a helluva distance to travel, I’m not so sure if it’s worth the effort to attempt to see so much in that amount of time. Unlike traveling to SE Asia or East Asia, I will spend almost zero time in the cities if I go to Russia or Mongolia. That means long transit times and spending a lot of time in wide-open spaces.
I have this crazy plan to cross Russia on a train someday… using the Trans-Siberian express, getting off at places along the way. It’s research for a novel I’m planning on writing. I MUST do this before I leave Korea, whenever that finally happens.
But I recommended Japan. It’s a little expensive, but you can get there on a boat which is cheaper, and it’s not as insanely, horrifically expensive as some people lead one to think. And I absolutely loved it.