At Least Korean Air Flies Into Hakodate

Alright everyone, it's time for a poll. With my new job, not only do I get a three-day weekend every week, I also get two weeks of summer vacation in July and two and a half weeks of winter vacation in December. So I'm currently trying to pick a destination for my summer vacation. Currently, there are three leading contenders: Mongolia, Cambodia, and Thailand. Mongolia has very few reknowned things to see, but the major mode of transit outside of Ulan Bataar is horse and who isn't excited about discovering Mongolia on horseback? Cambodia has Angkor Wat, which I really want to see, and lots and lots of jungle to hike through. Which of course means that with it's violent history, there's always the possiblity of stepping on a landmine and spending the rest of my life there in smaller chunks. And finally, Thailand is really cheap and has great beaches, which sounds like a perfect vacation, but I'm not certain that I could have some great adventures there like I could in the other two.

Therefore, I'm asking for input from everyone. A few things to keep in mind: 1) Whitney will probably be going with me and we're also trying to make this decision together, 2) I'm on a somewhat constrained budget, 3) I'm not terribly interested in learning another alphabet, and 4) It's a vacation, dammit, and I want it to be a kick-ass adventure for the two of us. So please, let me know what you think or if you have any other ideas about places to visit in Southeast Asia. All comments and opinions are welcome.

Comments

[Kathy]

I would suggest my favorite country ever, New Zealand (not Southeast Asia, but the South Pacific is also pretty close!). I spent the best month of my life there, it's cheap, you can hitchhike safely (everyone does it there), and the scenery and hiking are absolutely amazing. They also have the coolest (and cheapest) youth hostels in the world...you meet the nicest people ever. So that's my vote!

[Mom]

I think you should go see the great wall of china!

[~R.]

I want a postcard from Mongolia.But no matter where you go, when you show up you have to say 'Seriously, this is not where I parked my car.'

And dude, about the comment this morning: It's just what I needed. Thank you.