Good morning everyone, I hope your week is going well. I am happy to share that Travel with Grant is now 6 years old! I can’t believe this blog has been around for 6 years. Boy, has the time flown by. I don’t have any gifts to give away today, but I did want to share an upcoming trip to Asia that I am in the middle of planning. This will be my first ever trip to Asia (I know, what took me so long??). I am not going to the typical Asian countries. These are the cities/countries I am visiting:
- Beijing, China (PEK) (28 hour layover)
- Yangon, Myanmar (RGN) (1-2 days)
- Dhaka, Bangladesh (DAC) (1-2 days)
- Paro, Bhutan (PBH) (1-2 days)
- Kathmandu, Nepal (KTM) (1-2 days)
Image source: http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=PEK-RGN-DAC-PBH-KTM
As someone who has never been to Asia or to any of those countries, I will need to do a lot of research on what there is to do in each of those cities/countries. If you have visited any of these cities recently, are there 1-2 things you highly recommend? If yes, please share the details below and I will add them to my trip planning Google Doc.
Thanks again for the 6 great years and I wish you all a great day, safe travels, and to enjoy every trip you take!
congrats !!
Thank you Abey!
Congratulations on 6 years! It seems like only last year when I recognized you as a newish blogger while we both sat in at the Avios part of Chicago Seminars some years back.
On the Yangon front, I might personally steer clear, between the genocide and jailing reporters considerations. That said, you’re certainly looking at some less traveled locations.
Dang, that was a long time ago. I still love going to the Chicago Seminars – I will be there this October.
Thank you for the heads up about Yangon, I will be as safe as possible.
As someone who has followed your blog and benefited greatly from your insights since the beginning of my travel hacking adventure, I want to thank you for your youthful enthusiasm and energetic pursuit of relevant information, even if it isn’t being covered by the larger publications. I appreciate your assistance and honesty when I have reached out in private messages. In regard to your upcoming trip plans, I like it! I’ve never been to these places either, and I a bit jealous of your energy and ambitious itinerary. It seems you might be spending too little time at each location though. I’m sure you have good reasons for this. There must be dozens of things to do and see at every one of these fantastic destinations.
I always appreciate getting your messages – you have great questions and insight. I only have limited PTO, so I try to pack in the destinations. My travel motto is, “If I like a place, I can always go back.” After 1-2 days, I usually have a good idea if I want to go back for a longer trip.
In Beijing see the wall of China and eat Peking duck.
Good tips, thank you Oscar :)
Congratulations on the 6 Year Blogiversary!
Great itinerary but looks very exhausting! You need at least a month just to scratch the surface!
Shame that you are skipping Thailand.
Happy Travels!
Thank you, I always enjoy your comments and blog discussion :)
Trust me, there are several more countries in Asia on my wishlist and Thailand is definitely high on that list.
Congratulations! Aisa is so much fun to visit.
It’s very cheap to stay in Asia, so you don’t have to book hotels ahead of time. I highly recommend download this app Agoda for hotel bookings.
Be careful with street food, if you have a sensitive stomach, street food might not be the best choice.
Don’t drink tap water in Asia, it’s not potable.
Also you might get sick as soon as you arrive in Asia. What I usually do is to take some Nyquil before I land for preventive measures. Being sick would ruin the whole trip, so make sure you stay healthy :)
I’ll stay away from street food and make sure to drink bottled water only, thank you for the tips :)
Hi Grant, and happy 6th! Very interesting choice of cities to visit. I was in Yangon last year. It isn’t a terribly remarkable city, but there is one must-see attraction: Schwedagon Pagoda. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shwedagon_Pagoda. There are some horrible things happening in Myanmar right now, but Yangon itself is very safe. Just don’t drink the water!
Hi Chris, thanks for the tip. We plan to stay in Yangon the entire time and will check out the Schwedagon Pagoda. I will make sure not to drink the water.