Making the most of my trip to Asia

October 20, 2015 9:07 AM

I'm heading to Asia at the end of this week to spend two weeks (on business travel) in: * Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam * Taiwan * Zhongshan

I've never traveled to Asia before, so I'm looking for some tips on how to make the trip successful.

* What to do/Places to see/where to eat?
* Tips for the 16 hour flights (business class)
* Things I should know about Vietnam/China?
* Proper Etiquette? Sites that discuss this?
* Gifts for my kids/family/friends

I'm travelling with other people.

Thanks!

posted by GernBlandston to Travel & Transportation around Chongqing, China (2 answers total)

Etiquette tip for Taiwan: don't refer to Taiwan as China. (Describe your trip as Vietnam/TAIWAN/China, at least while in Taiwan.)

Are you going to Taipei? Best city view is the Elephant mountain hike. Raohe and Ningxia nightmarkets are good for street food. Addiction Aquatic Development is nice for super fresh seafood and sushi.
posted by horizons at 9:57 AM on October 20, 2015 [2 favorites]

In Taiwan eat eat eat eat-- especially if you are going to be in Taipei. The night markets there are wonderful. Go to the original Din Tai Fung in Taipei and enjoy the dumplings. Try stinky tofu just to say you've done it (I like it). Try milk tea. If you like to hike, don't miss Yangmingshan-- very close to Taipei.

(And, yeah, Taiwan is not China. Or rather, it's ROC China not PRC China but this would get mighty confusing for someone on a business trip, so just stick to Taiwan. )

Tea is always a very nice gift from either China or Taiwan. I prefer Taiwanese Oolong myself, but you can buy nice tea throughout the area.

In Zhongshan, the only thing I really know there is what everyone knows-- the Fufeng Pagoda, but it is pretty cool. If you're interested, you can get to Macau from Zhongshan in about an hour by bus. You can also get to Hong Kong from Zhongshan by ferry-- around 90 minutes.
posted by frumiousb at 7:48 PM on October 20, 2015