It wasn’t that long ago that the words, ‘The Far East’, seemed steeped in mysticism; a distant land, full of the exotic and mysterious, known only to intrepid explorers and that guy in your Uni class who only stopped playing hacky sack to talk about how he backpacked alone through Cambodia and Vietnam last year, what a spiritual journey it was and to correct you on your pronunciation if you happen to be ordering a bowl of Phở. But all of that is changing….
While flying to Asia is always going to require a little forethought, with more and more flight routes from the UK to Asia being added each year, it is now much cheaper (and quicker) to reach a multitude of Asian destinations than it used to be in the days of yore. Add to this the fact that many parts of Asia (especially South-East Asia) can be very cheap when compared to Europe in regards travelling and suddenly the mental distances are closing up. We choose 10 destinations that we think are amazing. Some are famous, some not so much, but all of them are places that will feed everything from your taste buds to your soul. The East is no longer that far (away).
Travel to Laos and let go a little
Flights from £508Accommodation from £5
Laos is still largely unaffected by mass tourism yet still manages to surprise and invigorate even the most jaded of travellers. With the extreme contrasts in the eternally beautiful landscape, hikers, bikers, canoeists, casual strollers, swimmers, abseilers, in fact, active people of any description are going to feel like kids in a candy shop. Add to this the incredible food, the country’s famously relaxed approach to life, some of the world’s warmest people and the prismatic cultures that they embody; I mean really, what more could you want?
✈ London – Vientiane starting at £508
Flights from £507Accommodation from £21
KAYAK Tip: To travel to Laos UK passport holders will need a Travel Visa. It is a straightforward process and you can usually do the whole thing on arrival, but as requirements are subject to change it may be an idea to apply directly at the Laos Embassy in London.
✈ London – Luang Prabang starting at £507
Curry Laksa in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Flights from £349Accommodation from £11
Kuala Lumpur is a thriving, dynamic and bustling city. Futuristic skyscrapers soar upwards aching to touch the hemisphere and at street level, thousands of nooks filled with different cultures, communities, ideas and interests are connected by one thing. Food. Blending Malay, Chinese, Indian and Western styles, spices and influences creates a kind of culinary glue that seems to connect everyone. Casting out into the great beyond, Malaysia continues to blend differences to create a truly unique land. From incredible coastlines ripe for diving, lush green woods to orangutan-populated dense, dark jungles, isolated villages to international cities Malaysian constantly continues to surprise.
KAYAK Tip: If you are planning to travel through Asia in a relaxed and spontaneous way, flights to Kuala Lumpur are often a bit cheaper than to other major destinations within. Save yourself some cash, and fly in and out of Malaysia on your adventure.
✈ London – Kuala Lumpur starting at £349
✈ Birmingham – Kuala Lumpur starting at £352
A kind of cultural cornucopia – Taipei, Taiwan
Flights from £338Accommodation from £21
Taipei is kitsch, cosmopolitan, curious and contemporary, all rolled into one. Taipei is a cornucopia of culture; Chinese culture has a presence of course, but Japanese, South-East Asian and a bit of American thrown in for good measure, create a dynamism that is rarely seen in a city. Far from being a Frankenstein’s monster though, it’s this patchwork quality that gives Taipei its charm. The hodgepodge of shop fronts, street food outlets, cafes, museums and memorials, are periodically interrupted by splashes of nature as gardens, streams and trees are interwoven into the fabric of the city.
KAYAK Insider Tip: If you really want to get a sense of the soul of the city visit one of its extraordinary night markets, such as the Shilin Night Market or Ningxia Night Market.
✈ London – Taipei starting at £342
✈ Manchester – Taipei starting at £338
The city that really never sleeps – Seoul, Korea
Flights from £362Accommodation from £17
We’ve all heard it before “(Insert Name Here) the city that never sleeps”, but Seoul seems like it may be the true heir to the title, leaving cities like New York, Mumbai and Las Vegas eating dust. The capital of South Korea is an amalgamation of cutting edge architecture towering over Buddhist temples and decaying freeways converted to urban gardens, all passed through a pop-culture lens. If you were to hide the time on your phone as you rolled out of bed, you could easily spend the day wandering from temple to teahouse, from quaint neighbourhoods to sleek skyscrapers, from food cart to restaurant, from soju bar to karaoke to club; and lose 24-hours without even realising it.
KAYAK Insider Tip: Lotte World Tower has just opened and it has the highest glass-bottomed observation deck in the world, Seoul Sky, which is a whopping 500m above the ground. If your hunger for thrills still hasn’t been sated, head next door to Lotte World Adventure, which is the indoor theme park which is just across the street, complete with indoor hot-air balloon rides.
✈ London – Seoul starting at £362
✈ Birmingham – Seoul starting at £370
We are simply passing through history – Xi’an, China
Flights from £459Accomodation from £13
If you have even the most fleeting interest in archaeology you really have to get yourself to Xi’an. Alright, Indy, settle down. We’re not talking a constant stream of pursuers, be it boulders, or men in uniforms with indeterminate bad-guy accents, but more carefully excavated sites and museums that encompass some of the most important archaeological finds in the world and impress upon you the weight of centuries. The most famous of these is The Qin Tomb Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, the excavated site where over 8,000 life-sized statues were buried over 2,000 years ago, now preserved and open to the public. There are many other fantastic museums around like the Banpo Museum, an excavated Neolithic settlement, and the Shaanxi History Museum, where the bones of the Lantian Man can be seen, one of the human races oldest discovered ancestors who lived about 1.7 million years ago.
KAYAK Insider Tip: What should one do when not exploring history in Xi’an? Eat, is the answer. When I asked our Chinese specialist, she recommended going to into any restaurant and ordering everything off the menu as it would all be delicious, but when pressed for one dish she went for Roujiamo, a kind of burger or hot sandwich found on food carts throughout the city, especially near the temples.
✈ London – Xi’an starting at £459
✈ Manchester – Xi’an starting at £495
Waxing on and off, lyrically – Okinawa, Japan
Flights from £332Accommodation from £22
Anyone who followed the story of Daniel Larusso will be familiar with the island of Okinawa from when Daniel accompanied the most obtuse martial arts master of all time, Mr Miyagi, as he returns home to Okinawa due to a plot that involves dying fathers, evil bully cum industrialists, several love interests and a rather dubious “drum technique” that translates as a lethal martial arts move. Of course, all retro lovers and children of they 80s saw the island a character in its own right, and while the previous statement is probably a load of old guff, it shouldn’t be. Okinawa is both a collection of islands and the name of the archipelago’s biggest island. About as far removed from Shinjuku Station as you could imagine, Okinawa’s white sand beaches, ancient forests, coral reefs and perfect waters are pretty much what springs to mind when one hears the phrase “island paradise”.
KAYAK Tip: After a day spent trekking from place to even more beautiful place refuel on Okinawa Soba, one of Okinawa’s most famous dishes this style of soba noodles is vastly different than you’d find on the mainland.
✈ Glasgow – Tokyo starting at £356
✈ London – Tokyo starting at £332
There is no excuse not to travel to Phuket, Thailand
Flights from £374Accommodation from £10
Phuket, Thailand’s largest island, has long been a coveted destination for UK travellers and has shown up on many a Brits radar when, as a child, phonetic pronunciation caused a great many giggle fits. Now that we’re all grown up and are no longer easily amused by such base humour, most of us have Phuket somewhere well high on our list of places we’d most like to travel to. We don’t need to spend time convincing you of why to come here, you know the score.
KAYAK Tip: While accommodation on Phuket tends to be reasonable at the best of times, booking yourself into a resort and allowing yourself a bit of luxury can be very affordable on Phuket. Check out the Blue Ocean Resort as just one sterling example.
✈ London – Phuket starting at £374
✈ Edinburgh – Phuket starting at £461
Hong Kong, China -Layer upon layer upon layer
Flights from £370Accommodation from £19
The sheer convolution of Hong Kong is at the core of its charm. The city feels like it is the aftermath of a game of Jenga played by the gods where every piece represents a different side of humanity and our creations. Cultures, philosophy, artisanal crafts, ancient recipes and new concepts, all balanced higgeldy-piggeldy on top of each other, yet all symbiotically reliant on each other. If its calmness and solitude you’re after you’re in the wrong place. If it’s a controlled chaos, that stimulates at every turn, step out on the street and just let your feet start walking.
KAYAK Insider Tip: If you want to get a feel for the thriving underground bar, arts and music scene in HK you could start at Sense 99, XXX Gallery or Hidden Agenda. From here, if you’re nice, some of the locals in the know might invite you to even more exotic hideaways.
✈ Edinburgh – Hong Kong starting at £386
✈ Manchester – Hong Kong starting at £370
Visit the mountains and villages of Yangshuo, China
Flights from £633Accommodation from £25
Geographically the whole of Yangshuo County is stunning. Its emerald fields flow towards the horizon only to be interrupted by the dramatic spires and peaks of the karst mountain ranges that populate the landscape. While the countryside is famous for its hiking and cycling trails and boating and swimming in the Li river is as tranquil as can be, the city of Yangshuo has a hippyish vibe to it and the bars are hopping until late into the night. If you want to get away from the crowds, spend some time in Xingping, a traditional village steeped in calm, cafes and cuteness.
KAYAK Insider Tip: Get your food on! Make sure to try the famous Guilin rice noodles (Guilin Mifen), spicy broiled snails (yes!) and drunk fish/duck which is cooked in beer.
✈ London – Yangshuo starting at £633
More city than city – Tokyo, Japan
Flights from £332Accommodation from £19
Looking like something straight out of a sci-fi film, central Tokyo buzzes like an apiary. Get swept over the crossing with the crowds at Shibuya, check out the craziest street fashion and cosplay at Harajuku, visit the traditional gardens in Shinjuku and lose yourself in the Roppongi nightlife. Any fears you had that Tokyo wouldn’t live up to its reputation will disappear like tears in rain.
✈Glasgow – Tokyo starting at £356
✈London – Tokyo starting at £332
KAYAK Staff Tip: Check in to the Tokyo Hikari Guesthouse Tokyo Hikari Guesthouse starting at £22 per night for an ‘excellent’ rated stay in this, the guesthouse with, apparently, the absolute nicest owners in the whole of Tokyo.
Note: These rates are based on search queries made on KAYAK.co.uk on April 6th, 2017. The prices are quoted in GBP. Flight prices are based on results for a return economy flight search. Hotel prices are for double occupancy and include taxes and fees. Prices are subject to change, may vary, or no longer be available.
