My girlfriend and I will be finishing our 1 year working holiday in New Zealand this October and have saved up money for a trip before returning home for the holidays.
Already been to:We have both to fiji but nowhere else in Asia/Oceania.
Length 6-8 weeks (we leave NZ in October and want to be back in the US by mid December)
Budget We plan to have roughly 2,500 usd each to travel with. Accommodation-wise the priority is peace and quiet at night, no party hostels.
Interests A big decision for us is what we will send home from NZ. We both like to rock climb (mainly single pitch sport climbs thus far) and are considering bringing our gear with us on this trip. It adds a lot of bulk and weight to our luggage though so I think that if we do bring it we would like to spend as little time in transit as possible, even at the expense of seeing less places. The same thinking applies to my paragliding gear! It is essentially an additional large backpack to bring. If we do bring rock or flying gear we would like it to be a big focus of the trip, but they could be sent home to make the traveling easier. Another interest is SCUBA. I am certified, she is not. If there is somewhere with great diving where she could learn/participate that would be great! Our interests are definitely in the outdoors. Countries with hiking, trekking, wildlife, camping, etc are far more interesting to us than big cities and museums. Cultural contact is another priority for us as well. We like WWOOFIng and helpx more than hotels or resorts.
Current ideas/research Bali looks like a promising first stop! We had looked into trying to do a trip to tibet from Bali by taking a train to Lhasa from Shanghai but it would likely be in November and the few tour companies I contacted there said that no trekking would be possible at that time ( I had read you must use an official tour company?) We still considered it because it looked like an exciting train journey but the same companies basically laughed at me when I said I was interested in 2 weeks in tibet for up to 500-600 usd :(. Nepal offered a similar appeal but I'm concerned that it would be frustrating to go in winter conditions and miss out on some hiking, and that the flights would stain the budget. Thailand looks great! Especially the north. I am always up for getting off the beaten path and wonder if Myanmar or Bangladesh would be worth a visit? We are really up for anything north of Australia, east of Nepal, and no further north than Japan.
It feels like there are almost too many options! Let me know if you have any questions.