<p>My D will finish her work assignment in late Nov in China. She is considering trying to do some traveling after she is done. She will have to leave China since her Visa will expire.
She has a plane ticket to the US from Hong Kong which she would try to change. The flight is on Cathay Pacific. I think she might have to go back to Hong Kong from wherever she is to get home.
She will be traveling alone. Safety is a huge concern (for Mom)
Her first choice would be to go to India or Nepal and spend some time doing a course at a meditation retreat.
Ideas?</p>
<p>I found Vietnam (north & south) to be a beautiful country and very affordable. The people are wonderful and some speak a bit of English.</p>
<p>She should be able to get some tips from this blog.
[Women</a> Travel Tips: India, Solo, Eco-Friendly, Language, Motorcycle, Safari, Packing, Health, Business, Money, Gear | Wanderlust and Lipstick](<a href=“http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/wandertips/]Women”>Travel Tips for Women)</p>
<p>She should go to a travel agent and inquire. Very few people get tickets on internet in Asia because the travel agent knows how to route her ticket for the lowest cost. Cathay Pacific used to have a promotion where you have unlimited stops within Asia in a limited period. Some friends flew from HKG to NYC but their travel agent told them it was cheaper to head on to London, Paris and Amsterdam and stopping at each place than a RT HKG-NYC-HKG ticket.</p>
<p>Oh to be young and seeing the world! Of course she should travel. See some of China prior to visa expiration, if possible. Trains go everywhere. Otherwise, get a ticket to Bangkok, either from HK or within China. From Bangkok, she can get to Cambodia, northern Thailand, Burma, Laos, and the many lovely parts of Thailand, all by bus or short flight. Bangkok is safe, filled with western accoutrements, and will be a colorful relief from China. I flew into Bangkok a few years ago after visiting my S in China, and somehow felt a sense of aesthetic relief. Though I certainly like China as well.</p>
<p>By staying in one of the traveler areas in Bangkok, she will meet folks who have been to many parts of Asia, and can get a 1st hand feel for where she might want to go. It is a short flight from Bangkok to Kathmandu, and a stop over in Burma is possible. </p>
<p>Many years ago I traveled Asia on my own, falling in with fellow travelers for varying amounts of time. I had a great time, felt safe in most places, far more so than when coming into San Francisco after a year away, just after the Moscone/Harvey Milk shootings and the Jamestown deaths. It was a surreal time. As it is now in the USA, with recent shootings. </p>
<p>Finding a meditation retreat is a great organizing factor for her trip. Be aware that northern India in winter can be quite chilly. </p>
<p>My S has lived in China, and always took off to see more of Asia during Chinese New Year. One year he flew to Singapore, up the Malay Peninsula to Thailand, then to Vietnam, and overland from Hanoi back into southern China, Kunming, for a cheaper interior flight to ‘home’ in northern China.</p>
<p>Japan is a pretty safe and civilized country. And they have meditative retreats and such.</p>
<p>^ Yes. Don’t forget NE Asia. Japan and Korea.</p>
<p>S LOVED Thailand. He found it very safe (several young women he met were traveling alone & having a great time). It is very reasonable as well and easy to get around. He was also happy prices were great on clothing & merchandise–much was in his thinner, shorter size as well.</p>
<p>To his surprise, he was NOT charged a change fee when he wanted to extend his stay & change his reservations. His visa was set to expire, so he was urged to (& did) take a short trip to Cambodia, which would allow his visa to start again in Thailand. </p>
<p>He didn’t make it to Vietnam, but have heard many say it is very lovely and safe as well. A female friend & her family stayed in a yurt in Tibet & had a great time.</p>
<p>My daughter has been working in Thailand and will finish her contract soon. She traveled on her own for a while to Laos, and then with another woman friend to India, Tibet, Nepal, and a bit in China for six weeks. Before she comes home, also on Cathay, she will go to Vietnam, Indonesia, Burma, and Malaysia. She loved Thailand and all of her traveling was interesting and safe. I visited her (I’m mom) in Thailand last December and the two of us traveled a lot in Thailand. We had absolutely no trouble as two (gorgeous! 
) women traveling on our own. Everyone was respectful and we had a great time. This is the time to travel, since she is there. Great to take advantage of being in Asia. Definitely she should do it!</p>
<p>“Very few people get tickets on internet in Asia”
This is not entirely accurate. Your D may be able to find good fares through Ctrip - a huge Chinese internet travel company. They’ve been around since 1999, have 12,000 employees and an English language department and website, sell 30 million tickets a year and are listed on the NASDAQ.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great ideas and making me feel a bit more comfortable with her traveling alone. I am passing on the suggestions.
Her work has been busy and she has not had time to travel beyond her city of employment. She hopes to get time off in the Fall to see more of China. Her work ends just two days before her VISA expires.</p>
<p>If she wants to poke around China a bit more at the end, has she looked into extending her Visa. I have no idea if she can but it would be worth a try.</p>
<p>Another thought - my D spent a week or so at a monastery in Nepal about 8 years ago. She had a very good experience. Here is the link
[Kopan</a> Monastery and Nunnery, Kathmandu Nepal](<a href=“http://kopanmonastery.com/]Kopan”>http://kopanmonastery.com/)</p>
<p>Puzzled88- Kopan was her first choice of places to go post China. They start a 30 day program just before she finishes work so the dates are not going to work out.
If anyone has any ideas of places similar to Kopan I would love to pass them on to her. She spent a month in Northern India when she was 17 and would love to get back there or to Nepal if she can work it out.</p>
<p>mom60 - what an odd coincidence. My D was 18 when she was at Kopan as part of a 3 month trip and she also lives and works in China.</p>