Thread 2830925

Help me decide
1.) Athens or Thesaloniki in NYE, Then driving around pelopones and visiting some islands. I am interested in seeing greek tragedy live with subtitles and any ruins/temples, totally interested in this. Studying included
2.) Flight to Laos Vientianne and go by Railway China Train to visit: VangVieng, LuangPrabang, with last stop in Kunming.
Or other way around - NYE in HongKong, then flight to Kunming, there start my epic train trip and just 3 weeks get out where i fancy, see some cool places in China and Laos. How is studying situation, probably poorly? So if time will allow i can catch flight Vientanne->Pattaya for good ending for the trip.
3.) Tokyo in NYE - i heard they are visiting family and Tokyo may not be that fun back then and closed? Catch speed train to Osaka too. It may be fun and all, but it may be cold and ugly in Japan in december/january, so not sure about that option. Studying included.
4.) Maybe back in Thailand - but start from ChiangMai - NYE there or in Pai. Then maybe catch flight to HCMC Vietnam (i heard that Hanoi is cold i dont want to go where its cold), look at cool museums about Vietnam war. Then flight or bus to Angkor Wat. After seeing everything there , catch bus or flight to Pattaya. Studying included. I already spend NYE in Bangkok, it was so so i am not very excited to go back to BKK desu, not very excited about Thailand at the moment.


Which of these would be best for slightly awkward 30yo boomer solo traveller? No uber-normie/chad crowd but also no totally autistic population that would look at me weird for attempting smalltalk? Which would be most fun in NYE? Which most doable.

>>2830925 (OP)
I'd recommend SEA as it would have the warmest temperatures of where you listed.

>>2830931
How much warmer?
Greece is only 4 hours away from me, while SEA is 15 hours away from me.
Greece is visa-free , China or Vietnam, maybe Laos and Cambodia are at least visa-hassle.
Greece has cheaper plane tickets however everything else there may be more expensive than SEA.
So it is difficult decision you see

5.) appalachia
there's no wrong time of year to visit
if you want lots of "goings on" you could pick a more touristy place like bethlehem, pa, jim thorpe pa, or gatlinburg, tn, (or asheville might be nice come to think of it)

>>2831075
Athens is ok for NY but not worth travelling to imho. People in Athens will not look at you weird if you don't chat them up in a weird way or in the wrong context (in church).
Most of the places you want to go are quite gloomy at this time of year, if you don't want to do summer, spring is better. What do you think youre going to do during a family holiday in a family oriented culture, alone as a foreigner?
I'd recommend a big asian city or even second rate french (Lyon).
Or if you are a baller, go to Norway and party in the fjords.

>>2830925 (OP)
>1.) Athens
>Studying included
There are many qualified Russian and Ukrainian tutors there during the summer semester, not sure about winter

>i heard that Hanoi is cold i dont want to go where its cold
Hanoi is cold, damp and miserable in the winter because they never learned how to install insulation in buildings

I would suggest Rio or other South American destinations that are warm that time of year

>>2830925 (OP)
I'll suggest Tokyo for new years since I have been there during new years. Plenty to do, bar scene is fun and you get the fun new years atmosphere, visit the temples on new years day. Though, many museums or shops may be closed for the holiday so do take note of that. If not then do Hong Kong or Greece, I feel like any of these 3 are great choices.

>>2834303
>>2834303
>big asian city
what do you think about HCMC for NYE?
>>2834326
>I would suggest Rio or other South American destinations that are warm that time of year
yes, sometimes i think about Colombia, Cartagene for example, because i like Marquez but isnt Colombia really dangerous? Is Rio safer for solotraveller dork like me and good for NYE?

>>2834369
>what do you think about HCMC for NYE?
It was pretty good when I was there like 10 years ago
>isnt Colombia really dangerous? Is Rio safer for solotraveller dork like me and good for NYE?
I feel much safer in Rio than Medellin, most of the violence in Rio is contained in areas you won't go to, not random guys on bikes with guns terrorizing the whole city and drugging foreign scholars is much rarer. I've heard it's good for NYE, but Rio is crazy enough for me at normal times so I try to avoid NYE and Carnival. If you're really paranoid about safety but still want decent access to the city you can stay in the Jardim Oceanico area of Barra da Tijuca. There's some bars there and a metro stop and it felt perfectly safe at all hours, but I don't feel it's the real Rio experience. Ipanema, Leblon or Copacabana in that order would be my choice of where to stay in the actual city.

>>2830925 (OP)
>Athens or Thesaloniki in NYE
as a solo it will be really trash
>visiting some islands
off season not even close to being worth it
>seeing greek tragedy live with subtitles and any ruins/temples
this happens only in the summer