What other Asian countries do you like?

[simpsonka18]

Originally Posted by termogard

By comparison to big China, small Japan is a motherland of modern technology.

That's true but Japan actually hasn't invented much itself. It only developes others' ideas. Of course that's only my opinion.

Apart of Japan, I really like Korea. Maybe it's history doesn't attract me much, but I'd like to learn Hangul and visit the country someday. Well, seeing Seoul in dramas has affected me a lot.

[termogard]

Originally Posted by simpsonka18

That's true but Japan actually hasn't invented much itself. It only developes others' ideas. Of course that's only my opinion.

You are right. And Japanese do it perfectly.

[Ronin4hire]

I don't think there is an accurate way you can measure this.

Furthermore... regarding invention.. the Chinese invented quite a lot

But more importantly is the point that all inventions are developed on the back of the ideas and discoveries of others in the past.

[dogsbody70]

I see that a CHINESE from Mainland China has won the snooker masters here in UK.

I hear that many Chinese are now learning to play snooker so judging upon their success in the sports fields table tennis-- the Olympics they are going to succeed.

they also have amazing musicians. The Chinese really know how to study and to work as hard as they can in order to achieve great things.

[Umihito]

Originally Posted by Columbine

I've been to 7 countries in S. E Asia; they're all pretty unique. The main thing I really came to realize is that Japan is about as 'Asian' as the UK is European. Nominally there are similarities, but there are huge, HUGE differences too so it's hard to compare. Especially to still-developing countries like Indonesia and Laos. And that's not even including central asian countries like India and Uzbekistan which have vastly different cultures to much of the rest of Asia, and each other.

Of the ones I've been to, I (predictably) liked Japan the most. It's where I'm most comfortable traveling. Singapore would be a viable second- even though I didn't get much of a 'feel' of the place, it's fairly westernized in some regards so I think I'd be Ok there. I also really enjoyed Vietnam; I'd happily go back there to travel. Malaysia was also nice, and along with Thailand and China is on my list of places to go and see more of. Actually my trip to China was awful but I'd like to attempt it again. Benefit of the doubt, kind of thing. It's a big country after all.

I'd like to visit Laos, Indonesia and various of the smaller island nations in Micronesia, but I don't think theres anywhere I've never visited that I want to live or work in.

Definitely agree with you there. It's like.... S.E. Asia is a different continent from North Asia, and then Japan is a different continent from the rest of Asia!

Singapore eh? I've heard that most people like Singapore for like... a day out during a layover to go to a different place. I haven't met many people who've spent longer than a few days there at most.
Vietnam only JUST didn't make it on my list. I'd like to go there sooner or later if I get the chance though.
Glad you liked Malaysia too! Hope you get to explore more of it when you go again.
I've never had any interest in Thailand however. It's probably one of the only countries in Asia that I actually don't want to visit. XD
It just seems like it's a boozers and partiers paradise, both of which I don't do. Then the South, where all the beaches are etc looks good for a couple of days maybe, but not enough to last an entire trip. I'd rather just go to Malaysia where there are similar beaches but in a country that suits my interests more. XD

It's a shame about China being a disappointment. Where did you go there? If you went to somewhere like Shanghai then I don't blame you because I don't like the look of that place. Hong Kong doesn't look too good either.

Those smaller islands in places like Micronesia and the Marshall Islands are VERY high on my list too. I didn't put them on the list though because I think they're in Oceania. :/

[Umihito]

Originally Posted by NanteNa

I'm very interested in Korean history, language and culture. Am going to Uni to study exactly that.

Good luck with your course!
If I ever end up going to Uni, I will only ever consider doing some sort of language/culture course, seems as it's my biggest interest in life. XD

[Umihito]

Originally Posted by JamboP26

For me, China. Much the same reasons as my love for Japan, just less on the entertainment side. More culture, language, people, history & future

Yeah, my biggest reason for going to China is the history. I wanna see the Great Wall and Terracotta Warriors etc.

[NanteNa]

Originally Posted by Umihito

Good luck with your course!
If I ever end up going to Uni, I will only ever consider doing some sort of language/culture course, seems as it's my biggest interest in life. XD

Oh, please use the 'edit' function in your entries instead of posting so many in a row : )

And it's not just a course, lol. It's an actual bachelor degree in Korean language, culture and history : D I'm excited!

[Umihito]

Originally Posted by NanteNa

Oh, please use the 'edit' function in your entries instead of posting so many in a row : )

And it's not just a course, lol. It's an actual bachelor degree in Korean language, culture and history : D I'm excited!

Ahh I see, I'll be sure to do that from now on, sorry.
How many years have you been in Uni so far then? And do you get a year in Korea? With a few Bachelor Degree options here you get a year abroad in the country you're studying.

[Columbine]

Originally Posted by Umihito

Definitely agree with you there. It's like.... S.E. Asia is a different continent from North Asia, and then Japan is a different continent from the rest of Asia!

Yeah, and there can be major differences between areas too. N. Vietnam had a definite lingering chinese flavour, whereas S. Vietnam was noticeably more indo-vietnamese.

Originally Posted by Umihito

Singapore eh? I've heard that most people like Singapore for like... a day out during a layover to go to a different place. I haven't met many people who've spent longer than a few days there at most.

We spent 3 days there? To be honest, it's pretty small, so there's not masses to see. We knew people there so we had a pretty good time. If you like eating out and shopping, it's pretty good and there's a zoo/theme park and bits. Not masses on the history front, but if you've templed and museumed all the way from Japan, that's actually quite welcome! I don't think I'd go back as a tourist again for long, again just as a pass-though, but I could see myself managing to live and work there. It's pretty westernized as I said before.

Originally Posted by Umihito

Vietnam only JUST didn't make it on my list. I'd like to go there sooner or later if I get the chance though.

Vietnam is ~lovely~. Fantastic food and it's pretty varied and the people are quite nice mostly. The only major hassle is the transport system; you can only really get to other cities by bus and some of them are pretty alarming. One we were on smashed through a road sign and er... kept going!

Originally Posted by Umihito

I've never had any interest in Thailand however. It's probably one of the only countries in Asia that I actually don't want to visit. XD
It just seems like it's a boozers and partiers paradise, both of which I don't do. Then the South, where all the beaches are etc looks good for a couple of days maybe, but not enough to last an entire trip. I'd rather just go to Malaysia where there are similar beaches but in a country that suits my interests more. XD

Hmm, i'd say give Thailand a chance. Bangkok is pretty meh, but you can stay in the business end by the Skyrail instead of kaosan road which is where most backpackers head, and avoid a lot of the crap while you check out the main points. We went north to Chiang Mai as everyone else went South for the full moon party. it was good; pretty laid back, no real encounters with drugs and hookers, and there's a lot of good day trips. We went on a 3 day jungle trek and saw the elephant sanctuary, and went zip-wiring in the jungle and did a cooking course. it was really good fun!

Originally Posted by Umihito

It's a shame about China being a disappointment. Where did you go there? If you went to somewhere like Shanghai then I don't blame you because I don't like the look of that place. Hong Kong doesn't look too good either.

We had originally planned to sail to Shanghai from Osaka, work our way down the coast and go to Hong Kong, but unfortunately they changed their visa specifications because of the olympics and we would have got stuck in HK. We also couldn't cut straight down the country because of the earthquake and flood disaster (this was in Spring/summer 2008) so we ended up going osaka -> Shanghai (boat) -> Beijing -> Xi'an -> kunming -> nanning -> Hanoi, which is a MASSIVE loop around half the country. As a result we were pretty limited for time; you know, a trip of over 5000 miles in 3 weeks, and cause of the train times we HAD to spend almost a week of that in Beijing. So yeah~ most of the cities were rather stark and horribly polluted. Shanghai Old Town was fairly interesting and we had some good meals in Beijing and saw the sights, but compared to other places we went, the forbidden city was pretty disappointing and there was so much smog we could barely see the great wall even from the top. We liked Xi'an best; the muslim quarter was relatively nice and we had fun in the markets and teahouses. The rest were pretty blegh. Just massive commercial centres with not much to do or see actually IN the city. Trips went out to the stone gardens etc, but we had not time to get there and back in time, and to top it off, in Nanning we got moved to this dodgy hotel in the business area from the one we'd actually booked, and I got the most horrendous food poisoning. SO yeahhh~ China. I'd go back to see the Li river valley and just... not the cities. 8[

Originally Posted by Umihito

Those smaller islands in places like Micronesia and the Marshall Islands are VERY high on my list too. I didn't put them on the list though because I think they're in Oceania. :/

I'd like to see that island where the inhabitants used to use stone money that was almost as big as a house!