Not too obvious Asia punting trip...

[Nagual]

Hi guys, new to this section but a regular contributor to the London TCM massage topics...

Caught the Asian bug (aka Yellow Fever) also due to the fact that I have been learning Chinese for work for 6 months now, and come across some really hot Chinese (civvie) girls here in London...

Anyway, I am thinking of taking a 3 weeks solo holiday/mini sabbatical and travel through SE Asia and China. Never been to this part of the world, so the idea would be to mix visiting the region highlights while experiencing top punts along the way. OH agreed to let me go on my own as she knows I have a genuine interest in the region (which is true, but I am also interested in the chicks ... )

Of course I am aware that Thailand (BGK, Phuket, Pattaya) is the punter’s holy grail. I was thinking of hitting China first - Beijing/Xi An and Shangai for 1 week -then fly to Cambodia or Vietnam (4 days?) and then end with 10 days in Thailand split between BGK / Cheng Mai and Phuket (5 days at the end).

Questions for the seasoned Asian punters/explorers:

Does my itinerary make any sense, both travel- and punt-wise (bear in mind I need to hit China to justify my trip with the OH)?

What places are best for punts and civvies pickups in China (I know it’s become a difficult place due to govt crackdown on prossies)?

As regards rest of SE Asia (not Thailand), which places offer the best combination of good and cheap punts with good historical sights/nature etc.? Cambodia? Vietnam?

Apologies for the long post, and thanks in advance for the replies   

[Sigma]

If you are flying from the UK I would do China last as it's on the way back. Phillipines is also a good shout and would be easy to justify to the other half. You could go to cebu, Angeles, palawan or plenty of other places and internal flights are cheap.

You can even get an air Asia flight one way from there to Bangkok for about £70.

[billybob69]

I never punted when in China, so can't comment on that. From a tourist point of view, absolutely loved Xian and Beijing was great as well.

Agree with @Sigma if I was in China and wanted to hit the nearest mongering destination from there I would head to the Philippines with Angeles a good start. Trouble is with PI, there isn't much in the way of historical sites in the country. So it would be for the nature / beaches primarily.
I would say that Cambodia slightly beats Vietnam for a historical sights / puntering combo. In Cambodia you have Angkor Wat with the possibility some P4P in Siem Reap and quite a few girlie bars in Phnom Penh and the Killing Fields nearby. Siagon has an easier P2P scene, but apart from a few sites related to the Vietnam War doesn't have an abundance of must see things.

Both BKK and Chiang Mai would give a good combination between tourist and stuff and P4P. Personally I would skip Phuket. If you want some mongering at a beach town, Pattaya is a much better bet.

bb69

[WARSZAWA16]

Never punted when in China but would recommend Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong from a tourist point of view if you can get to all those. In Beijing there were lots of places that looked like barbers but were definitely offering more. In Shanghai me and my mate were approached by a pretty young student who wanted us to go to her place and look at her drawings(!). Again I suspect more was on offer but my mate was worried it was some sort of a trap so we made our excuses. Loads of places in Hong Kong and parts of it are quite seedy at night.

Found Pattaya a bit too much with loads of fat 60+ plus blokes walking around arm-in-arm with very young local girls and boys.

Hope you have a good time and adventure wherever you end up. Don't go too "downmarket" though as you never know what you might catch.     

[Logamimo]

Went to Vietnam a few years ago and popped over to Cat Ba Island situated off the coast of Hiaphong and Halong Bay. Stayed in the Sea Pearl hotel. GF dicided to have a sleep so I went off walking alone along the seafront, it was hot, got about half a mile along the road when I heard a motorkibe come up behind me and stop. Looked around and this beautiful Vietnamese girl straddled on the motorbike wearing a very short skirt offered me some "Boom Boom". Her English was not too good and I did not understand what she meant until she gestured by making a hole with her left hand and then inserting a finger into the hole, got it  Told her I had my own Boon Boom in the hotel, she then rode off.

As far as I am aware prostitution is illegal in Vietnam and its also illegal to have a Vietnamese woman in your hotel room unless you are married to her. Be careful, I got followed by the police while out with my Vietnamese GF. Some hotels don't seem to mind who is in the room but others have a close relationship with the police. If you do want to punt there go to Cat Ba island, find the Sea Pearl hotel, if you come out of the hotel and turn right there is a thriving red light district about 400 yards down the road with lots of beautiful girls looking for tourists to pick up.

[Nagual]

Thanks all for the solid advice. I have a much better picture now.

I had not considered the Philippines, it sounds ideal but I am a bit concerned that it will be a bit too “downmarket” compared to Thailand. What is the offering in Philippines in terms of gogo bars, soapy massage shops etc. in comparison to Thailand? Also, is it easier to pick up civvies in the Philippines?

China looks like a though nut to crack. I have read many stories of people being scammed and even beaten up for money in those seedy barber shops. It also look like many clubs will be shut in Beijing due to communist party conference! 

[WARSZAWA16]

For Beijing it might also be worth seeing if you can befriend and have a discreet word with the doormen if you are in a decent hotel. All of the hotels seem to have loads of staff in them, you just need to suss out the right one(s) to speak to. A doorman sorted me and 3 mates out a taxi with a great driver for the whole day. He took us to the Great Wall, waited 3 hours while we visited it, and took us back again with various stop-offs at other historical sites and bars. It only cost us £60 in total for all that. Certainly in this instance if we were after girls I'm sure they would have sorted something out for us.

Shanghai seems a lot more easy going than Beijing and the people seem a lot less uptight. I wonder if maybe adverts in a local paper or magazine might possibly be a good starting point there.     

[billybob69]

I'm not sure what exactly you mean by "downmarket", but overall you will find Thailand more economically developed that PI.
I don't want to get into a PI v Thailand debate, but overall PI is going have less of 'a range' of P2P options than Thailand. After all, Pattaya and BKK are THE best places for mongering.
It will be WAY easier to pick up a Civvie in PI, mostly due to the language. But even then you will have to be on the dating apps beforehand and you probably still won't be in a place long enough to seal the deal. Personally I wouldn't bring the possibility of nailing a civvie into your trip decision making.