Where should I spend my time off?
January 9, 2018 3:58 PM Subscribe
I can will be taking 4-6 weeks of vacation at some point this year, tentatively scheduled for spring however I don't know where to go....
I want to spend most all of this 4-6 weeks in one location, for two main reasons: money is an issue, I need to live cheap and also I like the idea of feeling like a bit of local for a change, compared to my usual travel.
I'm fairly well travelled and fairly well read, I strongly prefer big cities to nature, I've been around a fair bit to some exotic/unusual places and am comfortable anywhere, I will be solo. I have never been to SE Asia or South America however. I have done Europe with the exceptions of Spain and Ireland/Scotland.
Where would you think an urban, curious, 40 year old solo traveller would enjoy hunkering down for a month or more?
Hong Kong? Shanghai? Saigon? Singapore? Lima? Moscow? Dublin? Beirut? Where else?
I'm iffy on India as I'm wary of getting sick.
I want to spend most all of this 4-6 weeks in one location, for two main reasons: money is an issue, I need to live cheap and also I like the idea of feeling like a bit of local for a change, compared to my usual travel.
I'm fairly well travelled and fairly well read, I strongly prefer big cities to nature, I've been around a fair bit to some exotic/unusual places and am comfortable anywhere, I will be solo. I have never been to SE Asia or South America however. I have done Europe with the exceptions of Spain and Ireland/Scotland.
Where would you think an urban, curious, 40 year old solo traveller would enjoy hunkering down for a month or more?
Hong Kong? Shanghai? Saigon? Singapore? Lima? Moscow? Dublin? Beirut? Where else?
I'm iffy on India as I'm wary of getting sick.
Response by poster: I've spent a nice bit of time in Mexico City, I love it and have friends there but feel like somewhere new.
posted by Cosine at 4:04 PM on January 9, 2018
posted by Cosine at 4:04 PM on January 9, 2018
Bogota, Colombia! It's urban, artsy, relatively cheap and safe. There's loads of stuff to do, and lots of ex-pats to help you find the secret cool spots.
Santiago, Chile is also fun, but the smog is kind of oppressive.
Lima and Quito are dangerous af unless you have a local taking you around. Do not recommend.
I did really like Cuenca, which is a historic city in southern Ecuador. It's mostly European style buildings, LOADS of art and music. Very cool culture and good food.
posted by ananci at 4:21 PM on January 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Santiago, Chile is also fun, but the smog is kind of oppressive.
Lima and Quito are dangerous af unless you have a local taking you around. Do not recommend.
I did really like Cuenca, which is a historic city in southern Ecuador. It's mostly European style buildings, LOADS of art and music. Very cool culture and good food.
posted by ananci at 4:21 PM on January 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Of the options you mention, I think Hong Kong is the best choice — it’s an intensely urban, fascinating place. Lots to do and see, but it also has many intimate corners that I could envision spending a lot of time in.
I personally found Saigon a bit underwhelming as a city, and —anecdotally — it’s the one place I’ve experienced food-borne illness in my extensive southeast Asian travels.
While I enjoyed Singapore for a short stay, I doubt there’s enough of interest to sustain you there for 4-6 weeks. Also, because so much of it is either brand new-ish or single-use residential campuses, I’m not sure it will scratch the urban itch for architecture, history, or unique neighborhoods.
Finally, not sure if you’ve been already, but I ‘d be remiss if I didn’t mention that I really enjoyed Seoul during my two years there — it’s a very modern landscape, with superlative public transport, but it also features some pretty quirky university districts that you might enjoy and a decent dose of history. That said, certainly not a winter destination if you’re planning to take this trip soon.
posted by charlemangy at 4:29 PM on January 9, 2018
I personally found Saigon a bit underwhelming as a city, and —anecdotally — it’s the one place I’ve experienced food-borne illness in my extensive southeast Asian travels.
While I enjoyed Singapore for a short stay, I doubt there’s enough of interest to sustain you there for 4-6 weeks. Also, because so much of it is either brand new-ish or single-use residential campuses, I’m not sure it will scratch the urban itch for architecture, history, or unique neighborhoods.
Finally, not sure if you’ve been already, but I ‘d be remiss if I didn’t mention that I really enjoyed Seoul during my two years there — it’s a very modern landscape, with superlative public transport, but it also features some pretty quirky university districts that you might enjoy and a decent dose of history. That said, certainly not a winter destination if you’re planning to take this trip soon.
posted by charlemangy at 4:29 PM on January 9, 2018
Istanbul is great. Big, vibrant, beautiful, full of history.
posted by the duck by the oboe at 4:36 PM on January 9, 2018
posted by the duck by the oboe at 4:36 PM on January 9, 2018
Loving the suggestions. I've covered Seoul and Istanbul already but Hong Kong is a strong contender along with South America.
Cairo? Beijing?
posted by Twinge at 4:56 PM on January 9, 2018
Cairo? Beijing?
posted by Twinge at 4:56 PM on January 9, 2018
I just read this article about best places to travel alone and was intrigued by their descriptions of Lisbon, Portugal and Seville, Spain--some other interesting choices there, too, including Bangkok.
posted by stellaluna at 5:11 PM on January 9, 2018
posted by stellaluna at 5:11 PM on January 9, 2018
I can personally testify that Hong Kong is amazing and Shanghai is...overwhelming.
If you're feeling in a more Northern mood, Edinburgh is great (small, but sophisticated).
posted by soren_lorensen at 5:24 PM on January 9, 2018
If you're feeling in a more Northern mood, Edinburgh is great (small, but sophisticated).
posted by soren_lorensen at 5:24 PM on January 9, 2018
If you’re not planning to travel much, I wouldn’t do Lima. The food is great but if you don’t have a reason to be there I’m not sure it’s that appealing.
Buenos Aires is pretty appealing, assuming it’s safe these days. (Crime was an issue for a while, hopefully the economy stabilized.) Santiago is not a world class city but is pretty manageable (though yes, the smog can be a drag) and there’s a lot of charming stuff to see that isnt too much hard travel away.
Spain is great - I like Madrid. Lisbon is also lovely.
posted by vunder at 7:31 PM on January 9, 2018
Buenos Aires is pretty appealing, assuming it’s safe these days. (Crime was an issue for a while, hopefully the economy stabilized.) Santiago is not a world class city but is pretty manageable (though yes, the smog can be a drag) and there’s a lot of charming stuff to see that isnt too much hard travel away.
Spain is great - I like Madrid. Lisbon is also lovely.
posted by vunder at 7:31 PM on January 9, 2018
There's a lot of range between different cities if money is an issue; Barcelona is probably at least twice as expensive as Bangkok.
Madrid and Barcelona are both very interesting - Madrid's better for art and Barcelona for architecture. Madrid is better situated for day trips / weekends elsewhere in Spain, but Barcelona is pretty amazing. But both are expensive. Seville is lovely, but a whole month could be a stretch, depending on how much you want to see things and how much you want to hang out.
Buenos Aires is also amazing and a lot cheaper; there's a ton to do there.
If you need a tie breaker, if you prefer pork, go to Spain and if you prefer beef, Buenos Aires.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 9:00 PM on January 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Madrid and Barcelona are both very interesting - Madrid's better for art and Barcelona for architecture. Madrid is better situated for day trips / weekends elsewhere in Spain, but Barcelona is pretty amazing. But both are expensive. Seville is lovely, but a whole month could be a stretch, depending on how much you want to see things and how much you want to hang out.
Buenos Aires is also amazing and a lot cheaper; there's a ton to do there.
If you need a tie breaker, if you prefer pork, go to Spain and if you prefer beef, Buenos Aires.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 9:00 PM on January 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Taipei is amazing! Tons of things to do, from art museums to street food to hot springs that are metro accessible. It’s much greener and more livable feeling than Beijing/Shanghai, and you can visit almost all of the north and much of the west coast as day trips on local railways. It’s also cheaper than you might expect because street food and night markets are so prevalent, it makes it difficult to spend much on food.
posted by asphericalcow at 9:28 PM on January 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by asphericalcow at 9:28 PM on January 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
You are not going to live cheap in Dublin, or in Edinburgh. I would strongly suggest you re-orient away from Europe.
posted by DarlingBri at 10:34 PM on January 9, 2018
posted by DarlingBri at 10:34 PM on January 9, 2018
Nthing Hong Kong! You will not run out of places to wander / things to do in the amount of time you have. I've spent about a week there on two different occasions and felt that I wanted to stay MUCH longer.
posted by inexorably_forward at 11:53 PM on January 9, 2018
posted by inexorably_forward at 11:53 PM on January 9, 2018
Bangkok? 4-6 weeks is quite a long time to be in one place so I'd be heading towards a major city. Bangkok has a lot of variety and it can be cheap.
posted by jojobobo at 12:14 AM on January 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by jojobobo at 12:14 AM on January 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
You should def check the daily living costs of these places as the difference between Bangkok or jogajakarta and Dublin is vast. Even within Asia I believe Hong Kong is considerably more expensive than most of SE Asia.
posted by jojobobo at 12:17 AM on January 10, 2018
posted by jojobobo at 12:17 AM on January 10, 2018
April? May? That's the hot season in Thailand. It will be uncomfortably hot and humid. Yes there are plenty of air conditioned malls but is that where you want to hang out? You can easily spend a month in Chiang Mai, walking in the sois, much less polluted and grimy than Bangkok but again blisteringly hot in the spring.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 3:04 AM on January 10, 2018
posted by TWinbrook8 at 3:04 AM on January 10, 2018
Buenos Aires! My husband and I spent 10 days there a couple of years ago and still talking about going back (or moving there someday).
posted by GoldenEel at 11:59 AM on January 10, 2018
posted by GoldenEel at 11:59 AM on January 10, 2018
Response by poster: Thanks everyone for all the answers, much appreciated.
After some seemingly random chatting with friends last night about this plan my solo trip is now looking like it's instead going to be three of us spending a few weeks in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia (I've done Georgia before but not the other two). Life is funny sometimes.
posted by Cosine at 2:21 PM on January 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
After some seemingly random chatting with friends last night about this plan my solo trip is now looking like it's instead going to be three of us spending a few weeks in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia (I've done Georgia before but not the other two). Life is funny sometimes.
posted by Cosine at 2:21 PM on January 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oh nice, that's a great part of the world. Eat all the khachapuri!
posted by the duck by the oboe at 4:55 PM on January 10, 2018
posted by the duck by the oboe at 4:55 PM on January 10, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
Of the cities on your suggestion list, I've only been to Dublin, but would say that, no, it's not well suited to what you're looking for (great city for a weekend though).
Barcelona also seems like an obvious choice if you've never been to Spain. I think I could spend a year there and, at the end, feel that I'd only been a week.
posted by 256 at 4:03 PM on January 9, 2018