Whatever happened to the weekend getaway?

In Asia, it can be hard to do.

There’s the Friday night conference calls with executives back West. Congested roads all weekend long. Tourist spots that are too far from one another for a quick drive.

What’s a busy, but leisure-minded expat to do?

The Wall Street Journal suggests there are still good road trips in Asia, and recommended a three-hour drive from Shanghai to Moganshan, China for one.

There also are short drives that get you quickly into pseudo countryside.

A drive from Beijing to…well…outer Beijing (Shunyi) can hit the spot, at a place like Agrilandia. See our article here.

But based on my experience, the best three-day weekend involves some flight time.

A couple years back, I took a long weekend from Beijing to Hanoi, Vietnam in what was a perfectly comfortable, no-rush trip.

In three days, I did just about everything there was to do in Hanoi, including a side-trip to the majestic Ha Long Bay.

During my time in Asia, I’ve also learned:

• You don’t need much time in Singapore to experience all there is to do there. Enjoy the nightlife. Hit Santosa Island. You’re done. Unless you want to get a down and dirty glimpse of Malaysia across the border. Just get some delicious seafood on a Saturday night there, and you’ve tasted enough Malaysian culture for the time being.
• You can feel like you’ve experienced enough of Cambodia in a weekend. Siem Reap is the place to be to live it up like Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider. Get in a sunrise at Ankor Wat on Sunday morning, and some sightseeing before and after at various temples. Hit the downtown (which feels more like some laid-back place in Latin America than Asia). And you’re ready to come home. Oh, but you wanted to see the Killing Fields in Phnom Penh? Dude, it’s the weekend. Give yourself a break.
• A Bangkok tuk tuk gets a decent sightseeing job done in a day. Somewhat obnoxious stops at a friend’s diamond shop and multiple tailor shops are included. But with this vehicle, part of the destination is the journey. You’ll see temples galore too. Save Phuket for a real vacation.
• Hitting up the cafés in Ho Chi Minh City is all you need to relax a weekend away. Oh, but you wanted beach time? No problem. Catch a speedy riverboat on the Saigon River and head to Vung Tau an hour or so away. Or take a motorbike, which is definitely – per se - an adventurous destination.

So you see, Clark Griswold, you don’t need weekend road trip to have fun in Asia.

You do need a set of wings, a little more spending cash than gas money, and hopefully, a lot more to go for business class. We guarantee, that’s better than a Chevy.

    Channel: Local Wisdom     |