Want a supercool trip next year....

We've been toying with some places:
India
Africa
Japan

We have certain reasons we don't want to go to some of those places.....so i'm trying to plan somewhere different that we won't be able to go to when we move back, have a family etc......New Zealand and Australia may be places we hit on the 'last hurrah' trip in a year and a half's time......

any suggestions?  We love different cultures and food.....so india is leading.....

I'd go to India in a heartbeat! It's been at the top of my wishlist for a while now. Certainly can't argue with Japan or Africa though. Both sound fabulous as well.

I'm no help. 

I'd personally go with Japan, but then I am biased.   

And of course now, I'd go with Africa, as I'm biased!
But I also know that my folks, who have been to all three, would also vote for Africa.

Hubby wants to go to Africa next year, I am not sure,, I really would like to go to the Maldives.  He really wants to do the photo safari thing. I want 5 star hotel,, so we are still in discussions,,lol. He also wants to go back to Austrailia. I havn't been, but he worked there for a bit, and loved it.

I would love to go to Tokyo!!!  My sister-in-law is Japanese and she was telling me that they have this "electronics district" there.  I LOVE GADGETS... I would be in gadget heaven (too bad I can't read Japanese to buy any)

Hubby wants to go to Africa next year, I am not sure,, I really would like to go to the Maldives.  He really wants to do the photo safari thing. I want 5 star hotel,, so we are still in discussions,,lol. He also wants to go back to Austrailia. I havn't been, but he worked there for a bit, and loved it.

you'd be surprised at the five star accomodations you can find out in the bush while on safari. i have a friend who started up his own safari company in kenya and is working his way towards building a high end lodge in a few years. the right price will get you anything EVERYWHERE around the world.

I vote  for India too.

there are so many places i want to see

malaysia
dubai
thailand
queensland looks lovely
maldives

As they are quite big, what part of Africa or India?  Hell, Africa is an entire coninent, do you have a specific country in mind?  Or are you thinking of going to multiple countries?

As we're due to get a £630 flight voucher in December we're keen to make a nice trip in 2006 somewhere, but we have to use it for one flight only so we're thinking of somewhere far flung.  The current list:
Hong Kong as DW has friends who have a crashable apartment there (and, of course, to see the place!)
Maldives or Seychelles or Mauritius (The Indian Ocean tour)
Hawaii - less likely as it would definitely require a plane change and is like 18 hours journey from London


Oz & NZ are off the list for now due to 24 hour flippin' flights!  God that must be awful jet lag.  I think I'd have to go for a good 6-8 weeks.
Thailand and Alaska are potentials as well.

Matt

Maldives...via Dubai with Emirates flying time is 13 hours aprox.
Seychelles..you can fly from LHR direct with Air Seychelle and it take 12 hours
Mauritius BA non stop 2 hours

still a long slog...but I would think it would be oh so worth it!

my short list of places are:

Beau Rivage-Mauritius
Banyan Tree-Maldives
One & Only Reethi Rah..the water villas..they have netting suspended from the dock....

and Dubai would have to be the Mina A' Salam


Not that I will be going anytime soon mind you. We did several big trips in 2003 and are still paying them off.
Hayman Island in the Great Barrier Reef Queensland 

What part of Africa are you thinking of? It's so diverse.  I always recommend Ghana to everyone, beautiful beaches & scenery, loads to see and do, great weather all year round; and Kenya of course has the wonderful scenery and wildlife.   And I'm with the others on Dubai, fantastic place for a holiday.

NZ I'm biased because I used to live there, but a great place to go if you want the scenery and not too much culture shock. Same goes for Oz. You can break up the long flight with a couple of days stopover in lots of great places.

In regards to Africa, and I'm sorry it's taking me forever to put up a blog with pics, but...
Most of the places we stayed (Kenya and Uganda) were indeed, gorgeous lodges, and all meals included.  Even the 'tent camps' we stayed in were what I would consider 5-star, in that they were very large, had hard floors, and running water.  Only one place in Uganda didn't have running water, but it was for two nights, and other than that, the food, the staff, the accommodations were all lovely and very accommodating.
You are always looked after; even though we were 'on our own,' we always had a driver/guide looking after us.
We stayed at four different Serena hotels in Kenya; Samburu, Mountain Lodge, Sweetwaters and Mara (my personal favourite, where they upgraded us to a gorgeous suite!):  http://www.serenahotels.com/safari.htm
And in Uganda, we first stayed here:  http://www.ecoafrica.com/african/safaris/SanctuaryLodges/GorillaForestCamp.html (where there is no running water, but if you're not a princess, it's lovely), and then here:  http://www.mweyalodge.com/, which I absolutely LOVED.

For some reason, my computer's shutting down when I try to upload pictures right now; but here are a couple of where we stayed at Sweetwaters Tented Camp (I'll put more in the gallery if anyone else is curious, and not to take up loads of room here):


So you can see, even though it's called a 'tent camp,' it's really very nice!

Here is one taken at breakfast at Samburu Serena Lodge - all open, looks out onto a lawn and then the river; really gorgeous surroundings.

If you're thinking of India, what about Goa?  I've heard it's quite nice.  As far as culture and food, it probably has an interesting mix of Indian and Portuguese.  I believe that Americans still need a tourist visa to visit India, though, so that may be something to take into account.  Also, for any coastal locations in South or Southeast Asia or the Indian Ocean, check to see how badly they may have been affected by the tsunami.

Kuperama, I stayed at the Mara Serena. It was fabulous. Very funky interior and design. One night we were up late outside of our suites when a guard came by and reminded up that we were in the middle of the wild and should go inside. It is funny how easy it is to forget that the animals are real and that you are in their territory. I've also roughed it in the Serengeti and the next morning we found lion prints around our tents. Very exciting! Looking back... quite insane really! 

well the hubs got really REALLY sick in goa....which i know could happen anywhere, but i'm a bit nervous about going back due to what happened. he lost 2 stone in 6 days......it was bad news.

i do have a few lbs to shed though... 

dave wants to take me to uganda to see his friends but thinks now isn't the time to go.

i was thinking more a week in zanaibar and then a safari.....but once again, still up for discussion.

but the seychelles look lovely......and dave loved hawaii so much i know i could get him there in a heartbeat!    but when we move back to america we will do a ton of caribbean traveling (that is how i grew up) so i want to push my comfort level.

i duunnnoooooo............bah.  i still am thinking india......

we're gonna do a lot of smaller breaks too.  like spain for a week etc....but i wanna nice big bang!