Help With Planning an "AustralAsia" trip

[colmx]

Hi All
I have a thread on the global forum but unfortunately isn't getting many visitors... so u have (cheekily) decided to post here too :blackeye:

http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/fo ... 15004.html (http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/tokyo-taipei-or-hk-t15004.html)

I am planning on spending around a month visiting Sydney, Taiwan, Beijing, Shanghai, HK, Tokyo and of course BKK in November...

I keep changing my mind but my current itinerary is:
City Days Arrive Depart
Bkk 3 02/11/2008 05/11/2008
Sydney 6 05/11/2008 11/11/2008
Tokyo 4 11/11/2008 15/11/2008
HK 4 15/11/2008 19/11/2008
BJ 4 19/11/2008 23/11/2008
Shanghai 4 23/11/2008 27/11/2008
Taipei 3 27/11/2008 30/11/2008
Bkk 60 30/11/2008 29/01/2009

Just interested in getting any input from the forum regulars who don't delve into teh more remote boards!

Whats this gotta do with gay Thailand? 63 of the 90 days will (hopefully) be spent in LOS... SO hopefullythe mods will leave this thread here to gather some momentum -before banishing it to the doldrums!

[Smiles]

63 of 90 days in Thailand should easily be enough for this thread to live out it's days here in this Forum. The Unknown Factor however starts with a lower-case letter "j". :blackeye:

That's quite the itinerary Colmx. What on earth does one do in Tokyo for 4 short days, besides spending $16,590 ... not including accomodation?

Cheers & good luck!

[colmx]

spending $16,590 ...

I'll probably be tied up and in Some Japanese porn movie! :drunken:

Actually its starting to look more like тВм16,590! Might have to knock some of the more expensive cities out and stay in KL instead!

Beijing in November can be very unpredictable temperature-wise. The first few freezing days of winter usually sets in that month.

I see from your earlier thread that sex is a big part of your itinerary. In that case, you should not imagine China and Japan to be anything like Thailand. The potato-queen scene in these places are much smaller and harder to find. So keep your expectations low or else you may be disappointed.

[Aunty]

BKK-SYD-TOKYO, that's an awful lot of flying there, so will be expensive. Why not just drop SYD out of it. OZ is hardly 'Asian' if you are looking for an Asian holiday. Why not just go BKK-Tokyo and do Australia some other time with a stop over in BKK on the way out there, or back?

[lonelywombat]

Hi All
I have a thread on the global forum but unfortunately isn't getting many visitors... so u have (cheekily) decided to post here too :blackeye:

http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/fo ... 15004.html (http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/tokyo-taipei-or-hk-t15004.html)

I am planning on spending around a month visiting Sydney, Taiwan, Beijing, Shanghai, HK, Tokyo and of course BKK in November...

I keep changing my mind but my current itinerary is:
City Days Arrive Depart
Bkk 3 02/11/2008 05/11/2008
Sydney 6 05/11/2008 11/11/2008
Tokyo 4 11/11/2008 15/11/2008
HK 4 15/11/2008 19/11/2008
BJ 4 19/11/2008 23/11/2008
Shanghai 4 23/11/2008 27/11/2008
Taipei 3 27/11/2008 30/11/2008
Bkk 60 30/11/2008 29/01/2009

Just interested in getting any input from the forum regulars who don't delve into teh more remote boards!

Whats this gotta do with gay Thailand? 63 of the 90 days will (hopefully) be spent in LOS... SO hopefullythe mods will leave this thread here to gather some momentum -before banishing it to the doldrums!

I am not sure what airline you are flying on and your options
Personally I would do the China, Taipai and Japan legs in a direct flight from the UK to any of the 5 cities. Forget the 3 days in BKK
You can get direct flights to BKK from most of them. You can get direct flights to Sydney as well
All of these Asian ports are getting colder with every week getting close to snow times
My recommendation is fly direct to Japan and work anti clockwise to Hong Kong
From there a direct flight to Sydney and a direct flight back to BKK
Have you thought of an excursion fare, similar to round world but not as many ports

This will substantially your time waiting around airports and IMHO time effecient

Try both airline groups

[DJB0Y-old]

This looks like a great trip.

My only comment is related to your itinerary. I would suggest listing each travel day as a "travel day" and not count it as a day in that city. You might find that the travel eats up a lot of the time and you have little or no time left to do much, except get ready for your next travel trip.

[colmx]

Beijing in November can be very unpredictable temperature-wise. The first few freezing days of winter usually sets in that month.

I see from your earlier thread that sex is a big part of your itinerary. In that case, you should not imagine China and Japan to be anything like Thailand. The potato-queen scene in these places are much smaller and harder to find. So keep your expectations low or else you may be disappointed.

Hi Marconi
Received 11 messages on Gaydar today - since shifting my profile to Beijing... I know its Olympic time at the moment - but have never had that many messages in a day.... So hopefully GWMs are becoming more popular in China now!

[colmx]

Personally I would do the China, Taipai and Japan legs in a direct flight from the UK to any of the 5 cities. Forget the 3 days in BKK

My recommendation is fly direct to Japan and work anti clockwise to Hong Kong

This will substantially your time waiting around airports and IMHO time effecient

Try both airline groups

Hi LonelyWombat - the reason for visiting BKK first is that i will be carrying quite a lot of stuff for the 2 months in Pattaya that i would like to offload before going travelling.Plus with the weather differences between South and South EAst asia i would have 2 sets of clothes to be carrying...

It also seems like it will be difficult to get a direct flight to Taipai from China, so i may have to do some further re-routing there

I will head into trailfinders tomorrow after work and see what they have to offer me!



BKK-SYD-TOKYO, that's an awful lot of flying there, so will be expensive. Why not just drop SYD out of it. OZ is hardly 'Asian' if you are looking for an Asian holiday. Why not just go BKK-Tokyo and do Australia some other time with a stop over in BKK on the way out there, or back?

Hi Aunty
Unfortunately visiting Australia is one of the main pretences under which i managed to obtain th 3 months off in work - so kinda have to vist there!
Have already spent a year living there so kinda know what to expect - but it would be nice to catch up with old friends (and find some new ones in the Midnight Shift!)

[andrewcraig]

Hi LonelyWombat - the reason for visiting BKK first is that i will be carrying quite a lot of stuff for the 2 months in Pattaya that i would like to offload before going travelling.Plus with the weather differences between South and South EAst asia i would have 2 sets of clothes to be carrying...

It also seems like it will be difficult to get a direct flight to Taipai from China, so i may have to do some further re-routing there

I will head into trailfinders tomorrow after work and see what they have to offer me!

quote]

Check out the cost of unacccompanied backage, which would be held at BKK until you arrived. These days you get a computer tracking slip to confirm where your baggage is [OK thats the theory]

It seems a lot of flying just to drop off two suitcases of summer clothes. The cost of sending them unaccompanied is far less than the reduction of flying hours and increases your flexibility

There was a news item in the last few weeks about direct flights from Taipei and China Maybe a google search would give you some answers

[RonanTheBarbarian]

I keep changing my mind but my current itinerary is:
City Days Arrive Depart
Bkk 3 02/11/2008 05/11/2008
Sydney 6 05/11/2008 11/11/2008
Tokyo 4 11/11/2008 15/11/2008
HK 4 15/11/2008 19/11/2008
BJ 4 19/11/2008 23/11/2008
Shanghai 4 23/11/2008 27/11/2008
Taipei 3 27/11/2008 30/11/2008
Bkk 60 30/11/2008 29/01/2009

As Beijing is closer to Tokyo than Hong Kong, I would suggest going to Beijing after Tokyo.

Also, commercial flights from mainland China to Taiwan have only just started, and are rare at present.

Therefore, I would suggest you do it:

BKK
Sydney
Taipei
Tokyo
Beijing
Shanghai
BKK.


But it is hard to know with airline schedules- my experience is that the most direct route is often the most expensive, somehow!


Anyway, hopefully I will see yourself and T soon.


Ronan.

[colmx]

Hi All
Just wanted to update this thread
Visited my local trailfinders today and the girl there recommended the following itinerary for me:

DUB-LON-Tokyo-Sydney-Beijing-(own tranport)-BKK-Lon-Dub

Have been quoted тВм1650 for this which seems quite good to me - but it has to be booked before 6pm tomorrow!
Have decided to drop the Taiwan leg as it just seems impossible to get reasonably priced flights there...

Instead the (own transport) section above is now PEK-SHA-HKG-SIN-BKK
Beijing - Shanghai тВм98 on Air china
Shanghai - Macau тВм160 or Air macau or direct to HK for тВм230
HK-Sin тВм55 on JetStar Asia
Sin-Bkk- тВм58 on JetStar Asia or Air Asia

So all in the flight will be around тВм2100
I think this is a fairly good price - what to others think?
Is it worth paying the extra тВм70 to fly direct to HK and skipping the Macau Hassle?

[lonelywombat]

Hi All
Just wanted to update this thread
Visited my local trailfinders today and the girl there recommended the following itinerary for me:

DUB-LON-Tokyo-Sydney-Beijing-(own tranport)-BKK-Lon-Dub

Have been quoted тВм1650 for this which seems quite good to me - but it has to be booked before 6pm tomorrow!
Have decided to drop the Taiwan leg as it just seems impossible to get reasonably priced flights there...

Instead the (own transport) section above is now PEK-SHA-HKG-SIN-BKK
Beijing - Shanghai тВм98 on Air china
Shanghai - Macau тВм160 or Air macau or direct to HK for тВм230
HK-Sin тВм55 on JetStar Asia
Sin-Bkk- тВм58 on JetStar Asia or Air Asia

So all in the flight will be around тВм2100
I think this is a fairly good price - what to others think?
Is it worth paying the extra тВм70 to fly direct to HK and skipping the Macau Hassle?

It looks more streamlined that your first plan Might I make a few suggestions

Shangkai to Hongkong Yes .Forget Macau How did you plan to get to Singapore from Macau and the cost?

If you are transitting Singapore to BKK, it is a waste of time and money. If you plan to stay in Sg [not in your original post] OK.

IMHO Hongkong / Bangkok direct overcomes all the hassle and unneccessary travel and you might be surprised at how little extra it costs.

Google Hongkong/ Bangkok cheap flights and compare

What airline are you flying LON-Tokyo-Sydney-BKK-Lon and does your package have a name.

Are you flying the same airline Sydney/ Beijing

[TrongpaiExpat]

Shangkai to Hongkong Yes .Forget Macau

Why? the BF and I are going to Macau next month and have tickets for the new Zaia Cirque Du Soleil at the Venetian. LINK (https://www.cotaiticketing.com/VCLTicketing/eventDetail.do?eventCode=cds2008&pid=macaudcgroup)

You didn't mention (unless I missed that in the speed reading) how you proposed to ticket this. The Star Alliance Circle Asia fare is usually good value, and there's the added advantage of the on-line calculator for planning - http://www.staralliance.com/en/travelle ... _fare.html (http://www.staralliance.com/en/travellers/fare_products/circle_asia_fare.html). However I think you'll find there's no Star Alliance partner that flies direct from Sydney to Taipei; if you take that fare you'll be going via Korea, I suspect

[lonelywombat]

You didn't mention (unless I missed that in the speed reading) how you proposed to ticket this. The Star Alliance Circle Asia fare is usually good value, and there's the added advantage of the on-line calculator for planning - http://www.staralliance.com/en/travelle ... _fare.html (http://www.staralliance.com/en/travellers/fare_products/circle_asia_fare.html). However I think you'll find there's no Star Alliance partner that flies direct from Sydney to Taipei; if you take that fare you'll be going via Korea, I suspect

I am not certain that you can get a direct flight Narita/Sydney on Star I know you can on the One World ticket

The fare you mention is more expensive than a round the world ticket with Star, and the Circle Asia fare is sure to have similar at One World [Qantas, BA, Cathay]

These are the member airlines with Star. You can fly on any of them using the circle asia fare
Air Canada
Air China
Air New Zealand
ANA
Asiana Airlines
Austrian
bmi
EgyptAir
LOT Polish Airlines
Lufthansa
Scandinavian Airlines
Shanghai Airlines
Singapore Airlines
South African Airways
Spanair
SWISS
TAP Portugal
THAI
Turkish Airlines
United
US Airways


Here is a link to the circle travel planner. You will find it is more effecient and cheaper than your travel contact

http://802.flightlookup.com/rtw/rtw_1.php

If that does not work use the link quoted by homitern. Look for the round world and circle fares

[colmx]

Hi All
Thanks for all your help
I have booked my flights today
The are with BA/Quantas

Have paid тВм1650 in total for the following flights:
Dublin-London-Tokyo
Tokyo-Cairns-Sydney
Sydney-Beijing
(own transport from Beijing to Bkk)
Bkk-London-Dublin

Quite a few 12 hour flights there just under 23,000 miles - so i think this is quite a good deal

The own transport will consist of flights from Beijing-Shanghai, Shanghai-HK, HK-Singapore, Singapore-Bkk

And then 60 days in LOS!

I know singapore wasn't on my original itinerary - but have decided i'd like to pay Clubone7 another visit or 2 :blackeye:

Still really want to visit Taipei someday - might try and get there on my trip after this one!

[lonelywombat]

Hi All
Thanks for all your help
I have booked my flights today
The are with BA/Quantas


And then 60 days in LOS!

I know singapore wasn't on my original itinerary - but have decided i'd like to pay Clubone7 another visit or 2

Still really want to visit Taipei someday - might try and get there on my trip after this one!

You have me confused Is there a Club One 7 in Singapore or do you mean Phuket

Quite a few 12 hour flights there just under 23,000 milesI thought Concorde had stopped flying - 23,000 miles in 12 hours. That's great

[Hmmm]

Still really want to visit Taipei someday - might try and get there on my trip after this one!

KLM flies BKK-TPE.

[colmx]

HI Guys
Thanks to everyone for theri help so far in planning my trip
Its now time to book accom and from my initial research I have chosen the following place to stay:
Would be interested in hearing others comments:

Tokyo:
Tokyo: Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku Hotel

Sydney :
Travelodge Wentworth st(only тВм60 per night and near Chinatown and Oxford st)

Beijing:
Marriot Beijing Courtyard (тВм60 per night through priceline)

Shanghai:
Holiday Inn Downtown (тВм60 per night through priceline)

HongKong:
Cosmopolitan hotel (happy valley) - can get at тВм50 Per night with Quantas... seems to good to be true!

Singapore:
Will just pick one of teh fragrance or Hotels 81's - plan on spending most of my time in Club one Seven or the new towel club

Thailand:
Will prob stay a few days in Ramsari/Ramkanhaeng and the remaining time in Pattaya/Buriram

Comments on locations and joiner friendliness of above establishments most welcome!

[Beachlover]

In Sydney, Travelodge Wentworth sucks... location is depressing (in an alley next to a busy intersection), service is full of contempt for its guests and interior is very cramped.

Try the following instead:

- Cambridge Hotel http://www.cambridgeinn.com.au/ - it's 2 minutes walk from Travelodge. Much closer to Oxford St, better service, great rooms and quite a nice view as it is up the hill

- Metro hotel on Pitt St (there are a few of these in Sydney... Pitt St one is best for you) - http://www.metrohotels.com.au/sydneyhotels/pitt - great location, rght in the heart of the Sydney CBD and 1 min walk from Chinatown. Service is great. Rooms are extremely nice. I took a date here on an impulsive night a while ago... was expecting a fairly cheap place to spend the night... but turned out to be really really nice! Rooms and interior are new and appealing. And you'll like being located in the midde of everything.

[Beachlover]

In Bangkok... stay in the Bally's Suite Silom... very gay friendly, overly helpful service and location is second to none (it's above DJ Station... and next to Sky Train). Nice restaurant with great views on 7th floor. And rooms are brand new and nicely decked out.

Get a massage at Paradis Spa next door... very good massages and cute therapists.

In Singapore, visit Chinatown. It's a lovely area. Get a body scrub and massage at Oasis in Chinatown... one of the best male massage places in the world I believe. Incredibly skilful and they have a special technique I've not found anywhere else. Do not go to the Elements spa or Natures Forrest Spa there... both are really crap.

[Beachlover]

I should also say if you stay a Ballys... make sure you stay at their silom one (Ballys Studio Suites Silom)... not Sukhimvit.

Call them direct and ask for a special. They are new... they are keen to fill up their rooms... and if you ask, they will give you excellent prices.

[colmx]

Hi Beachlover
Thankdfor teh Sydney advice
unfortunately it looks like the travelodge is gone on my dates now...
As is the Cambridge inn
And the metro is looking for AU$1400 for my 7 days (double what the travelodge was looking for!)
Any other recommendations?

http://www.oz.dreadedned.com/source/index.htm or Wotif - http://www.wotif.com or Agoda - http://www.agoda.com/

[lonelywombat]

HI Guys
:

Tokyo:
Tokyo: Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku Hotel


Comments on locations and joiner friendliness of above establishments most welcome!

I stayed in Sunroute several years ago the rooms are tiny despite the price. As you will have found out rooms in Tokyo are very expensive. If you do not mind living in a cupboard, the location is excellent just near Shinjuka railway station.
But finding your way around the gay areas without a guide is frustrating and almost impossible.
Do not get your hopes too high, Japan is nothing remotely like Thailand

go to this site ,register for free and ask on the forums for advice

www.jguyusguy.org (http://www.jguyusguy.org)

[Lunchtime O'Booze]

BKK-SYD-TOKYO, that's an awful lot of flying there, so will be expensive. Why not just drop SYD out of it. OZ is hardly 'Asian' if you are looking for an Asian holiday. Why not just go BKK-Tokyo and do Australia some other time with a stop over in BKK on the way out there, or back?

Ignore Aunty..cant you see shes from Auckland ?.they get so jealous as the sheep in Australia are so much more attractive.

At least that's a good time of the year to be visiting Sydney..head for the beaches and you can perve on the lifesavers..to die for !..huge gay scene but everyone over 21 seems to be bald..a big Asian scene as well but the shoes on the other foot there..they are in short supply and you are a dime a dozem..serves us farangs right I guess.

Last time I was there, there was a wonderful small club upstairs in Oxford Street ( the Golden Mile)with little booths where you put a dollar in a slot and the window went up..and WHAM..inside were beautiful German, Dutch, Finnish backpackers who had run short on cash and made it up by performing live sex shows. Wonderful !

Watch out for the giant drag quuens..hundreds of them ..all over 6 foot with big feet.

[Beachlover]

Hi Beachlover
Thankdfor teh Sydney advice
unfortunately it looks like the travelodge is gone on my dates now...
As is the Cambridge inn
And the metro is looking for AU$1400 for my 7 days (double what the travelodge was looking for!)
Any other recommendations?

Hmmm... not much I can do other than to search for you... but try these nearby hotels:

Vibe Hotel - Sydney (Not the North Sydney one)

Metro - Royal Garden Hotel

Regis serviced apartments

World Square (there are service apartments and a hotel here)

Ibis Hotel Sydney

Mercure Hotel at Central Station

.... anything in Surry Hills, near Chinatown or Haymarket

[Beachlover]

BKK-SYD-TOKYO, that's an awful lot of flying there, so will be expensive. Why not just drop SYD out of it. OZ is hardly 'Asian' if you are looking for an Asian holiday. Why not just go BKK-Tokyo and do Australia some other time with a stop over in BKK on the way out there, or back?

Ignore Aunty..cant you see shes from Auckland ?.they get so jealous as the sheep in Australia are so much more attractive.

At least that's a good time of the year to be visiting Sydney..head for the beaches and you can perve on the lifesavers..to die for !..huge gay scene but everyone over 21 seems to be bald..a big Asian scene as well but the shoes on the other foot there..they are in short supply and you are a dime a dozem..serves us farangs right I guess.

Last time I was there, there was a wonderful small club upstairs in Oxford Street ( the Golden Mile)with little booths where you put a dollar in a slot and the window went up..and WHAM..inside were beautiful German, Dutch, Finnish backpackers who had run short on cash and made it up by performing live sex shows. Wonderful !

Watch out for the giant drag quuens..hundreds of them ..all over 6 foot with big feet.

I might add... there are a lot of horny young Thai male uni students in Sydney!

[colmx]

Hi Guys
I have plumped for the "capitol Square Hotel" at тВм69 per night (30% discount on expedia) for my week in sydney... it gets mixed reviews on tripadvisor... but the location is good for me and there is obviously something going on in sydney the week i am there so thought best to book now!

Have also booked the Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku Hotel for the Tokyo leg...

Would be interested in getting any feedback of suitable hotels for my Beijing and Shanghai legs...

Thanks in Advance!

[colmx]

I might add... there are a lot of horny young Thai male uni students in Sydney!

When i lived in Sydney back in 2001 I had a lot of luck with Thai, Japanese and Cambodian students.... Hence the re-visit :albino:

[lonelywombat]

I might add... there are a lot of horny young Thai male uni students in Sydney!

When i lived in Sydney back in 2001 I had a lot of luck with Thai, Japanese and Cambodian students.... Hence the re-visit :albino:

In your original post you suggested first half november. University exams and HCE [year 12] commence around monday 3 november for 2-3 weeks. Then there is an exodus of overseas students flying home as quick as they can

Those asians who are local residents, rarely visit bars from early october until exams are finished. To meet them is easy after third week november

My experience of rice queen bars over 20 years is the pattern rarely changes