A Trove of Insiders’ Tips for First-Time Visitors to Asia

If you’re heading for Asia but don’t know where to start planning, travel writers Lucy Ridout and Lesley Reader (who have spent a combined 15 years traveling through the continent) have put together a helpful handbook filled with the basics.

“First-Time Asia” (Rough Guides, $9.95) isn’t a guidebook per se but is useful for planning a trip. It provides advice and information on weather, special events, accommodations, transportation, safety, cultural concerns and a wide range of activities.

The authors warn that in China, Thailand and Sri Lanka, foreigners may be charged more to enter a museum or historical site--often by an amount so small that it’s hardly worth getting upset about. On the other hand, you may also be charged more for everyday goods or services, and here, the authors explain, there are good reasons to haggle.

“Be aware that as a person with cash you can easily pump up local inflation just by paying over the odds for a taxi ride or even a mango. Traders then overcharge the next customer and so prices rise and rise. The worst-case scenario is when goods and services then become so expensive that local people can no longer afford them so traders start catering solely for foreigners. Ask local people about prices before buying.”

The guide also gives suggestions on timing your travels to take in the kind of major cultural events that provide lifetime memories. For example, if you’ll be in India in the fall, consider heading northwest to the Pushkar Camel Fair. Or if you’re near Thailand in November, you could take in the Elephant Roundup at Surin.

You’ll also get advice on cultural taboos you may not be aware of. On public transportation, no matter how crowded, women travelers should not sit next to a monk: “Monks in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam are allowed no physical contact at all with women. If they accidentally touch or are touched by a woman they must engage in a lengthy series of purification rituals.”

Ridout and Reader also offer suggestions for some excellent deals. Great guest houses include the treehouses at Our Jungle House in Thailand’s Khao Sok National Park, “in a secluded spot beside the river”; Mt. Davis Youth Hostel in Hong Kong (“you couldn’t find a calmer or more panoramic spot on Hong Kong Island”); and Kalsang Guest House in Dharamsala, India, where “you get perfect views of the snowcapped Dhauladhar mountains.”

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