Favorite Vacation Spot?

[glatt]

I would suggest New Zealand.

I've been all over Europe a few times, all over the US, through much of Canada and a little bit in Mexico.

With all that traveling, my favorite foreign country is New Zealand. But I am the kind of person who likes rugged outdoor beauty. The South Island is the better of the two for the rugged wilderness. New Zealand has the added bonus of the English language.

I haven't been to any of Asia, but I have several friends and family who have spent a lot of time there. Asia is a very big place, and what you see and do there will vary a lot depending on where you go. You can go to expensive crowded cities, just get a hut on a gorgeous beach for $10 a night, or travel around the countryside.

How adventurous are you? Are you concerned at all about being able to speak the language? Read the alphabet? Do you prefer to park yourself in one spot and relax, do adventurous outdoors stuff, or visit museums and churches in a city?

Before you go somewhere, read up about the current state of affairs there. For example, Nepal is usually a cool place to go, but there has been an ongoing Maoist uprising there in recent months, and Americans are getting harassed on some of the trails of the Himalayas. My brother had a few harrowing days there in the spring, trying to avoids bands of roaming Maoists between some rural villages.