What other Asian countries do you like?
 

Most people here of course have a love for Japan.

But what other Asian countries do you like? Are there any you have visited that you also love?
Maybe there's one(s) that you wish to visit or live/work in for a little while, whether you've been to them or not?

For me, the only Asian countries I've been to and had experience with are Japan and Malaysia.
I like Malaysia. I wouldn't go as far as to say I love it to pieces there, but I have a friend who lives there, and so I have a big advantage of having locals showing me round all the hot and hidden spots, so I had a very intimate experience with the country. For that reason I'm booked back to go to Malaysia in July. I don't put it extremely high in my top countries list though because there are places I simply like a little better. But of course I liked Malaysia or I wouldn't have booked to go back ;)

I want to visit China and both Korea's. All three of those countries have a lure to me in their own ways.

Looking a little more to the West of Asia. I'd like to go to places like India and Pakistan. Maybe the Maldives before they sink. ;)

2 random ones at the West of Asia that I'd like to see are Israel and Saudi Arabia.
I checked, and the Middle East counts as Asia, so it's all good. :D

What makes you like a country?

I don't like countries. I like aspects of countries but studying International Relations has made me realise that ALL countries suck. Some just suck more than others.

Ahh well it's basically the same thing, so for you, which country's aspects do you like? XD

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.

I haven't been to any Asian countries. But I am interested in going to Korea someday. I'm starting to get into the fashion and the music.

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

I like Japan's low violent crime rate. One of the safest countries I think I've visited.

I like Japan's pacifist constitution. While it's true that they have a military in all but name.. I just think it's something that all other countries should commit to in writing like Japan has.

I like Japanese pre-modern culture just because to me it's aesthetically the most beautiful in the world.

I like the environment of Japan. It's an island country so it's surrounded by sea but it's also mountainous and has many forests and rivers. Not to mention the four seasons are really nice in Japan (except for Typhoons)

For those reasons I think Japan is one of the countries I like the most.. though I would like to be more accurate and say that Japan is one of the countries I hate the least.

The rest of Asia.. meh.

Chinese history and philosophy is interesting though. And the beaches of Thailand look great!

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

China is so vast and its people and landscape has suffered so much in the past.


I was totally ignorant about China until I read "JUNG CHANG's Wild Swans." AND her "MAO". I am still very ignorant but when I was watching a dvd on China's war-- with Japan-- those Chinese people-- survivors were so brave and hard working. There is much I dislike especialy the way they mistreat animals--skinning cats and dogs alive!!! URGH--- but I also have respect for individual Chinese people. They are industrious hard working.

I have Chinese friends who I respect massively.

Their dynasty reaches back to 5'000 years we are told.

Now they are moving forward at a rapid pace-- so much of what we buy comes from China.

Have you ever read Pearl Buck's "The Good Earth?" Her parents were missionaries in CHina-- that book describes peasant life in China during that period.
You know-- I think when visiting a specific country or part of it-- its worthwhile reading and learning as much as possible before going there.

Japan is so small compared to CHINA.

PS I do wonder about the inbalance between male and female re the policy of getting rid of Chinese female infants. Not sure if that is still the situation. I would sincerely hope not.

we see programmes telling us there are not enough women for the Men-hardly surprising.

small, but prioud
 

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.

technology
 

You are right. And Japanese do it perfectly.

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.

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.

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. :/

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

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

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. :D

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.

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.

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!

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!

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[

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

lol.. don't worry. None of this is meant personally. (That might be an indication of what is to follow :mtongue: )

England is similar to New Zealand culturally speaking so I can't really say I particularly like anything about it because it just seems normal to me.

What I dislike about England, I dislike about New Zealand and Western countries in general.

We eat too much, drink too much and are quite materialistic.

On the plus side we have a great tradition of philosophy which promotes egalitarian and philanthropic values. The problem is what we practice is a lot different from what we preach.

I do think England is overpopulated though and London at least is an extremely dirty city.

But on the flipside there is a lot more to do in England than there is in New Zealand and going on holiday to another country is a cheap train or plane fare away.

i always thought that south korea is an interesting country (including people, culture all together), of course next to japan.
i have an aunt who had recently visited seoul and shes from new york. and she said, shes pretty amazed and impressed how clean and modern seoul was. she said, its interesting how a modern city like seoul is surrounded by mountains, and i think she found temples and korean infrastructure in general fascinating.

id say id also like to see thailand for its famed beach lines, although i havnt even seen most of the philippines' islands where i came from. lol

to the post above me. ive recently just moved here in england from the philippines. id say, the weather is really depressing. especially when you are used to seeing the sun and the moon/stars at night, all year round except when there are monsoon rains and typhoons which dont really last long. lol. not to mention, in the equatorial regions, i think, the sun rises, and sets in almost a constant interval 6am and 6pm. so, seeing the sun at 10pm, kind of messed up my already f*ckd up sleep wake cyle. haha.

people here are really nice. although i used to get confused when people were asking me something or making a request, as ive noticed most sentences are seemingly constructed in a question form. but generally, most locals i know are very polite, although the very frequent use of words such as lovely, wonderful, and brilliant, will make you think or wonder if people really mean what they say.

and on the contrary, i think the english have better control of their diet than say the americans or maybe than filipinos?, just my opinion.

and i do agree that the peple here are more liberated when it comes to philosophy and religion in general. maybe because it very multicultural, or a significantly older civilisation that tolerated immigration early on... people are seemingly more inclined on the humanitarian good side of people rather than the religious implications of being 'good'. thats just my view on things, coming from a morally uptight christian dominated country myself.

My First Post in the best Japan Forum on the entire World Wide Web :)

As for the topic, I have been to South East Asia before and I've also met Japanese and Korean people in Australia. I actually traveled with three Korean guys down in OZ.

I have to say that, the biggest and by far most beautiful difference to our Western society are the lovely people. And this really counts for more then 90% of the Asian society if not more. It's just amazing how different these people are compared to us. It's also almost impossible for me to explain there kindness and lovely (character) traits.

I always tell people, that if we all were Asian's that this World would be a better place!

Thanks for this beautiful Forum guys :)

Yeah true. The countryside is nice. I especially thought the Isle of Wight was nice.

As for London.. don't get me wrong.. I had a great time while living there and met some cool people.

But the people I happened to meet made it for me more than the place.

which parts of LOndon are dirty.

I am a LOndoner lived there at different times. I'd say its people who are dirty who leave litter everywhere.


Ihate litter droppers. they exist all over the place not just London.

different parts of London vary a lot. it's a big city with many suburbs.

Maybe you were there when we used coal fires etc.


Smog and all that. Maybe factories that throw out discarded smoke and chemicals into the river etc.


If everyone treated any town as their own home and picked up ALL rubbish and litter-- bottles, cigarette ends etc takeways leftovers>

Its people dirty neglectful lazypeople. they do not exist in London alone

steam trains left lots of smut to ruin the washing hanging out to dry.

I go there fairly often; compared to other cities (especially Japan), it's pretty grotty. We also don't cull our pigeons so much so there's loads of diseased birds limping around, and we have more dogs. Not nice. Plus the sheer amount of car fumes stains things; it's pretty much a local joke that londoners have black bogeys. The amount of cigarette butts and chewing gum is outrageous too. Didn't seem to be half so much left all over the place in Japan, which considering how many people smoke is fairly remarkable. London's still not as bad as China though. The British may let their dogs poo on the street, but at least we stop our kids from doing it.

*groans* don't say that. I spend half my time convincing foreigners that London isn't full of pea-soup smog and they won't die of air poisoning at night if they go there. The Thames isn't perfect, but it's actually cleaner than it was. Still work to go on it, but they're slowly recovering fish stocks in the river.

and I'm pretty sure THAT hasn't been an issue pretty much anywhere for a good 50 years.

I said that steam trains Left lots of smut on clothes etc.

I did not say Leaves.

Fifty years--not quite I think.

It was in the mid sixties when we had to stop using coal fires that smoke.

Some places i have visited such as HULL have huge chemical factories.

London has to cope with a lot of people-------- it costs a lot of money to clean public buildings.

as far as dogs are concerned its against the law not to pick up the poo. There again its lazy owners to blame.

we have pigeons and seagulls here near the sea and starlings can leave a heck of a mess

I used to think that Edinburgh was very dark and grey. mostlybecause of the granite buildings but when they are cleaned they look wonderful.


London is like many little villages. I spent a lot of my childhood in battersea immediately following the war-- there was a lot of bomb damage. Nowadays it is a place for commuters and the property is sky high in price compared to what it used to be like. Awful smelly factories. I also have lived in other parts of London

It depends which part of London you visit. I love London for its many parks and common land
.

I live by the sea now so would not want to live back in London but there are many sides to the city and its suburbs.


I still say that people have to be tidier and not drop so much litter.

One time when I was in glastonbury I was shocked at the way litter louts just dropped litter.

We also have many of those here. even though there is a law most people seem to ignore it.

disgusting.

Bangladesh is the most popular country in Asia. There are many historical places.

No problem : D

Uhm, I'm starting Uni this summer.. I practiced hangeul and a few sentences so far, but of course I can't learn grammar and stuff without a tutor.
Well, I live in Denmark : / Education is free, but unless you get sponsored by a company or the government feels like ''rewarding'' you, it's all on yourself and your own wallet. I'd love to go there for a few weeks in the summer and then maybe for a longer period after a while.

I'm from Syria , I like Saudi Arabia because it was the cradle of civilizations and Sciences , and I like Malaysia because people there are very Good ang they are
very modest

I like Iran because of Mahmoud I'maneedajab, what a guy LOL